The nation has been gripped with the violence that erupted from the Bharat Bandh that was organized by the Dalit community to protest against the revision in the SC/ST act. Punjab, Bihar, Odhisa, and other states of the country were riven with assaults on buses, government property, and the citizens caught in the protests. Three people died yesterday because of the violence. The government moved the supreme court to review the SC/ST act, and now Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and judges A K Goel and U U Lalit will hear the petition at 2 pm today.
The reason of the protests is the dilution of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) Prevention of Atrocities Act by the Supreme Court. The protests suddenly bloomed into violence, as people went to the streets, burned running buses, blocked train tracks and clashes with the police were also reported. Punjab, which is the state with the biggest number of Dalits, was hit quite hard, and internet services had to be shut down for a while, before resuming at 11 PM yesterday.
The Bandh has already caused political riffles in the country, with Rahul Gandhi blaming the BJP government for letting the Dalit’s not progress, and supporting the Bandh, while others have said that they support the Dalits but condemn the violent shape that the protests have taken. 6 people from Madhya Pradesh have died during the clashes, and severe security, along with anti riot branches have been deployed across the state to stop violence. The issue of fake new has also come forward, and people have condemned the actions of some groups who are spreading misinformation of the social media regarding the protests.
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