Dalit Student Beaten for Drinking Water from Common Bucket in UP school

On the day that people across the country were commemorating the Mahad Satyagraha, which saw Dr. Ambedkar's historic act of defiance by drinking water from the restricted Chawdar Talab, an incident in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh served as a stark reminder of the ongoing issue of untouchability in India.

Student beaten up severely 

As per the police report filed, Rajni the mother of the victim Ankush alleged that on March 18th, her son complained of stomach ache, prompting her to give him some tablets to be taken with water. Later that day, when Ankush felt pain in his stomach, he drank water from a bucket. At this point, a teacher named Shashi Yadav reportedly saw him and proceeded to lock him inside a room and physically assault him so severely that his nose began to bleed profusely. Upon learning of the incident from his classmate, Ankush's mother promptly rushed to the school.

Threat to ruin student's future

Ankush's mother further alleged in the police report that the teacher's actions were driven by her casteist mindset. When she confronted the teacher about this issue, the latter remained defiant and even threatened to ruin Ankush's future by striking his name off the school rolls.

Matter reported to higher authorities

The Bundelkhand Dalit Adhikar Manch, a social organization actively engaged in the region, dispatched a fact-finding team led by Vimal Kumar Baudh and Rajkumar Jatav to meet with the family of the victim, and they have since taken the matter up to higher authorities. Kuldeep Kumar Baudh, a prominent social activist from the organization, conveyed to The Mooknayak, "Our team interacted with the victim's family and submitted a memorandum of demands to the District Magistrate and District Basic Education Officer. In addition, we have communicated our concerns to the SC/ST Commission at both the state and national levels, the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, the Basic Education Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, and the Chief Minister, while seeking appropriate action." Furthermore, Kuldeep mentioned that the Bundelkhand Dalit Adhikar Manch is currently conducting a survey throughout Uttar Pradesh to gather data on schools that practice untouchability.