Miffed over atrocities on Dalits, Rajasthan MLA Pana Chand Meghwal decides to resign
Jaipur, Aug 15: Miffed over alleged atrocities against Dalits, Congress MLA Pana Chand Meghwal on Monday sent his resignation to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, saying he doesn't have the right to remain a legislator if he can't protect his community.
This comes two days after the death of a nine-year-old Dalit boy who was allegedly beaten up by his school teacher for touching a drinking water pot in Jalore.
"When we fail to protect the rights of our community... we have no right to remain in the post. After listening to my inner voice, I resign from the post of MLA so that I can serve the community without any position," said Meghwal, the Baran-Atru MLA, in his resignation letter.
Even though the country is celebrating 75 years of independence, atrocities against Dalits and the other deprived classes continue, he said.
"I am hurt looking at the atrocities. I cannot express my pain in words (at) the way my community is being tortured," he said.
Dalits are being killed for drinking water from a pot, sporting a moustache or riding a mare during a wedding. The judicial process is stalled and case files are passed from one table to the other. Cases of atrocities against Dalits have been on the rise in the last few years. It seems there is no one to protect the rights granted to Dalits by the Constitution, he added.
"In most of the cases lodged by Dalits, the police submit the final report. I have raised such cases in the state assembly many times but no action was taken by the police," Meghwal rued.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission (RSHRC) took suo moto cognisance of the death of the Dalit boy in Jalore and issued notices to the district collector and the superintendent of police. The RSHRC asked them to submit reports on the matter on August 26.
RSHRC chairman Justice G K Vyas and registrar will visit Jalore on Tuesday.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission chairman Khiladi Lal Bairwa arrived in Jalore on Monday.
The boy, Indra Kumar, was beaten up in his school on July 20. He died during treatment at a hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The accused teacher, Chail Singh, 40, has been arrested. The state government has announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh for the victim's family.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
