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This episode of News Today covers the suicide of a 20-year-old student in Balasore, Odisha, who died by self-immolation after her sexual harassment complaints against her Head of Department, Sameer Sahu, were allegedly ignored by college authorities.
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00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today, your prime time destination.
00:05News, newsmakers, talking points, Wednesday night. This is where you'll get all the stories that really matter.
00:11News without the noise. Our big focus tonight, the campus suicide that has shocked the nation.
00:18Odisha erupts in anger over a young woman self-immolating herself after charges of sexual harassment.
00:25Harassment on campus, how widespread is it? Is it a worst-kept secret?
00:31Also, was Akbar not so great as the latest NCRT textbook says?
00:37Are Mughals being villainized or is this cause correction?
00:41We'll talk on that too, but plenty else on the show tonight.
00:46I want to start first, as always, with the nine headlines at nine.
00:49National outrage grows over the Orissa sexual harassment horror that led to a young woman self-immolating herself.
01:01Internal panel suggests transfer of predator HOD in a July 9th report.
01:08College failed to share the report with the police.
01:10Election Commission chief thanks BR's voters for active participation in the electoral roll revision.
01:20Rahul Gandhi accuses the poll body of scrapping names of Congress-supporting voters.
01:26Says it's a fraud on the Constitution.
01:28Battle royale in Gauhati.
01:36Rahul Gandhi claims Assam chief minister Hemantar Viswa Sarma will be in jail after Congress forms government.
01:42The chief minister hits back, says the LOP himself is out on bail.
01:46Mamata Banerjee leads a march on alleged harassment of Bengali migrants in BJP-ruled states.
02:00Also claims names are dropped in poll roll revision will be put behind bars.
02:08Andhra Pajesh, Kanataka face-off over Aerospace Park after latter calls of land acquisition plan.
02:14Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh invites businesses to set up shop in Andhra instead.
02:20Karnataka ministers say won't let investors shift.
02:26Latest NCRT Class 8 textbook calls Mughal era a dark chapter in Indian history.
02:33Barbar shown as a brutal conqueror.
02:35Akbar also depicted for his brutalities.
02:38Bangladesh targets Indian cinema legend Satyajit raise home on its soil.
02:47India urges Bangladesh to halt the demolition offers restoration support.
02:51Supreme Court denies immediate relief to film producer of Udaipur Files.
03:01Stakeholders meet INB panel, government to decide on movie release that focuses on the killing of Kanai Alam.
03:08Israeli strike hits Syrian regime military headquarters in Damascus strikes amidst ongoing clashes in southern Syrian city of Sweda.
03:20The story that we are breaking tonight at the top, an internal committee had submitted a report to the principal on July 9th in the Odisha sexual harassment case
03:43that led to the self-immolation of a young girl student and has now provoked outrage both in Odisha and across the country.
03:52There was an Odisha band remember today called by the Biju Jantadal.
03:56The committee had suggested the transfer of suspension of the head of department who had been accused of sexual harassment.
04:03Sources now saying police had sought a report at that time.
04:07The principal didn't share the report with the police.
04:10The girl who said her complaints were falling on deaf ears, self-immolated herself and passed away earlier yesterday.
04:19So clearly at the moment, there is a sense that the girl's complaints and the recommendations of the internal committee of the college
04:28were not adhered to and led to self-immolation and has triggered this widespread outrage.
04:36A 20-year-old Odisha student from Balasor, remember, died after setting herself on fire.
04:42She had alleged harassment by her HOD, Sameer Sahu and inaction by the college authorities.
04:48Protests have erupted across Odisha as her father fights for justice, claiming his daughter has been murdered.
04:55The big question, will the system finally listen?
04:58Is sexual harassment on campuses one of the worst-kept secrets in this country?
05:04That's what I'm going to focus on in a moment.
05:06But first, take a look at all that's happened in that case today.
05:12The 20-year-old student of Fakir Mohan University got absolutely no support
05:17in the weeks that followed her complaint about sexual harassment by a professor.
05:22Her death has galvanized politicians, activists, students across Odisha, triggering angry protests.
05:37Making one wonder, why was this outrage missing when she first sought justice?
05:43On June 20th, the victim filed her first complaint to Principal Dilip Ghosh, alleging that the head
05:55of department, Sameer Sahu, was harassing her and seeking sexual favors.
06:04Shockingly, this complaint was filed in the presence of the accused.
06:08Days later, she submitted a second complaint to the principal.
06:12This too, was ignored.
06:15On June 30th, she sent a third reminder.
06:18This too, got no response.
06:20On July 1st, the desperate victim approached the college's internal complaints committee with her grievance.
06:27She also posted it online, tagging government officials and even reaching out to Chief Minister Mohan Manji.
06:33Union Education Minister, State Education Minister, and other higher officials.
06:41By July 12th, betrayed and hopeless, she gave up the fight, taking the extreme step of self-immolation.
06:50Two days later, after suffering 96% burn injuries, she was declared dead.
06:56His daughter, taken from him too soon, the father is shattered.
07:05First, she says, if he took care of the principal's bathroom, she took care of the principal's room and she took care of the philisade and she took care of the philisade.
07:10Yes.
07:12So, there is no combination of the house here.
07:13Yes.
07:15One small thing he lives into the principal's rooms and is now being in the 20 or 20 minutes later, he will take care of the follow-up.
07:24In the 20 minutes, he comes to the office here and comes to the philisade and takes care of the victim and takes care of the victim.
07:26Why?
07:26There is no combination.
07:27There is no combination of the water.
07:27God wanted me to tell you that I was not here to be by the public, the one who was told theancials.
07:31Yes.
07:31I spoke to myself, which I was not here to have a particular venue, that I was not here to be available.
07:32On Wednesday, the streets of Odisha erupted in anger.
08:01The principal opposition party, BJD, called a balasaur band.
08:12The Congress has called a statewide band on Thursday.
08:16The ruling BJP has urged rivals not to politicize the incident.
08:20The government of Odisha has a political party.
08:27The government of Odisha has a political party.
08:32foreign
08:40foreign
08:46foreign
08:52foreign
08:54foreign
08:58That, in a way, sums up the story of crimes against women in India.
09:13Political parties take a stand depending on where the crime happened, in a state ruled
09:19by them or their rivals.
09:23The call for justice rings louder than ever before.
09:27It is anyone listening, with Anir Banroy, Bureau Report, India Today.
09:39Let's raise the big questions.
09:40How widespread is sexual harassment on our campuses?
09:44Is there simply little protection for girls' students, especially from their own teachers?
09:49Is justice above politics possible in such cases?
09:54Joining me now, Lalita Kumara Manglap is a former chairperson at the National Commission
09:58for Women.
09:59Ranjana Kumari is director for the Center for Social Research and a prominent activist herself.
10:03And Akriti Bhatia is a former assistant professor at Miranda House and a sociologist.
10:09I appreciate your joining us.
10:10I want first to put a figure which has stunned me while doing research and I want each of
10:16you to respond to that.
10:17A 2018 NSUI survey in Delhi University said one in four women face sexual harassment on
10:25their campus.
10:26A 2022 survey done by Satyaki Das Gupta and Anisha Mukherjee, both research scholars showed
10:33one in ten had been sexually assaulted in higher education institutions.
10:37Lalita Kumara Manglap, quick responses from all of you to these numbers first.
10:41What seems to have happened in Odisha could be symptomatic of a wider problem.
10:46A woman in a campus is not safe.
10:49Rajdeep, from the data that you have just given us, it's fairly obvious that it is exactly
10:56as you say it is.
10:57That in India, on campuses across the country, women are still not safe.
11:03It is 2025 and we need to really hang our heads in shame if in our educational institutions,
11:10in our universities, our colleges, maybe even our schools, our girls are not safe.
11:16The whole country, in fact, the whole world says that without education, a woman will always
11:22remain as almost like a second class citizen of our country and the world.
11:27So when we are desperately trying to bring women into the mainstream, to help them to
11:34live better lives, empowerment seems a very hollow word sometimes, Rajdeep.
11:40What empowerment when women are not even safe from their own teachers?
11:43You know, from birth, you are taught that you respect your teacher.
11:46They teach you, they empower you, they train you, they show you how life should be lived.
11:53And one of them is going to harass women and in such a way that they can't even protect
12:00themselves.
12:01And the system, the entire system, whether it's the police or politics or the bureaucracy
12:07You are the principal ma'am, you are the principal was actually seen to protect the professor
12:12rather than take the side of the student, was seen to protect the professor.
12:15Exactly.
12:16And no FIR has yet been filed.
12:18So the entire system is actually protecting the perpetrator, the criminal and not another
12:24young girl whose life was unnecessarily been lost.
12:27I mean this is happening everywhere.
12:30Okay.
12:31The professor and the principal of course have since been arrested but Akriti Bhatia, when
12:34you first heard of this story, you are a former assistant professor at Miranda house in Delhi.
12:39Are you surprised by it?
12:40Were you surprised that the manner in which this is taken?
12:43There seems to be an asymmetry of power between the professor and the principal, both men and
12:48a woman who has gone to complain, that scene where the accused is around the same table
12:53as the woman, in a way reflects perhaps the asymmetry of power.
12:57No Rajdeep ji, I wasn't surprised because unfortunately we, there's an outrage only when there's a
13:07serious incident or a big case that gets highlighted or if there's somebody who kind of just opens
13:13up about something big.
13:16But actually it's an everyday issue for students and even for female faculty members.
13:23It's something that is, according to the same study that you reported, over 40% also refrain from reporting such incidents.
13:36You are saying 40%, let me get that right.
13:44Ma'am, there's a problem with your audio but let me get that right.
13:46You said 40% of women who suffer from sexual harassment refrain from reporting it.
13:53Am I correct?
13:55As per that report.
13:57Yes, yes, that they keep the same one, the one which says that one in 10 had been sexually harassed
14:05in higher education institutions.
14:08And the reasons are very simple.
14:10It's because they fear from resisting against figures of authority and they do not trust the institutions
14:18because they feel that institutions will again prefer reputation over justice.
14:23And thirdly, if they are reporting such instances, there's another structural issue
14:28that they might have to discontinue their academic studies and they might be married off.
14:34So what we really need to talk about here are the larger structural issues, which women face every day.
14:41And what ends up happening is that there's moral policing and students are given weird, very unrealistic, a few timings and those kinds of things.
14:54Right.
14:55So what we really need to do is to challenge.
14:57And this ICC, the GS CASH, the Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment really needs to step up.
15:06And they really need to kind of, the 99% of these colleges have reported zero incidents, which is absolutely not the case.
15:17And this is not in any way reflecting safety in campuses.
15:21It's reflecting silence.
15:23It's reflecting ignorance.
15:25And I think this is what really needs to be challenged.
15:29And the audience case is one such example where repeated attempts and courage of the student to repeatedly bring it up also did not help.
15:39And we see such incidents happening.
15:42I'm just going to stop you.
15:44I'm just going to stop you for a moment because you raise the issue of complaints committees.
15:48Now, Ranjana Kumari, in this particular case, there was an internal complaints committee.
15:53The student goes there.
15:55The committee apparently carries out an investigation, claims that they did not find any corroborative evidence of sexual harassment,
16:03but, but, still recommends the transfer or suspension of the HOD.
16:08What does the principal do? Sit on it and apparently plan to reinstate the HOD.
16:13The girl gets desperate, eventually self-immolates herself.
16:16What are these committees all about?
16:18These internal complaint committees, if they are not able to resolve these issues,
16:22then there is something seriously wrong with these committee systems.
16:26Well, Rajdeep, we sit on 39 government and corporate sector committees, internal complaints committees.
16:33I can tell you the internal story.
16:35They are supposed to have every quarterly meeting.
16:37They don't have it.
16:38They are supposed to inform every employee, everybody in that particular unit working,
16:44that there is this committee, this is the address, this is the phone number.
16:47Anyway, this college story is a little different because in this college, they had the committee
16:52and then that's our regular experience that you do, they do write.
16:56And as you heard that 40% women don't, you know, complain.
17:01300, whole of the 2023, they have reported only 376 instances across the country.
17:08UGC receives only 376 cases.
17:12Now, what does that speak?
17:14There is not an institution.
17:16There is not a college.
17:17There is not a university where there is a direct relationship of either boss and the
17:22someone who's working under him or there is a professor.
17:26And that's a very close relationship because students have to study.
17:29They have to submit their dissertations, research.
17:32There's a constant contact.
17:33And in that, there is so much of harassment goes on.
17:36We studied in the primates institution of this country, but there also there were cases.
17:41And we had to fight and complain and get the professors, you know, held accountable for that.
17:46But, you know, what really happens when women complain?
17:49So on her side, she's so worried that everybody will isolate her.
17:54She has to keep silent.
17:55Otherwise, everybody, she's a troublemaker or she's not telling the truth.
17:59That's where it starts that she's not honest.
18:01She's not telling the truth.
18:03She wants something, some favor.
18:04That's why she's doing it.
18:06Number two, the people who sit on the committee to inquire.
18:09And we have said, and I told you, my personal experience sitting on these committees, that they all gang up.
18:14When I say they all gang up, means if this is the position of authority, somebody has then, everybody, principal, professor, lecturer, everybody, the committee members will gang up.
18:24I do not know who were sitting on their committee in this college.
18:27Were there any external members?
18:29Did they have regular meetings of these committees?
18:31And then, you see, she died not because she was, she complained and she did not.
18:38She died because there's an institutional silence.
18:41They pushed her.
18:42They have driven her to commit suicide.
18:46And they should be held responsible because...
18:48You're saying they've driven her to commit suicide.
18:51I just want to throw some numbers, ma'am.
18:53Just a minute.
18:54The number of sexual harassment complaints reported by higher education institutes.
18:58In 2017-18, and these are only reported.
19:01As was pointed out, 40% cases don't even get reported.
19:042017-18, universities reported 46 cases while colleges reported 3.
19:09Number spiked in 2018-19, universities filing 141 complaints, colleges 31.
19:152019-20, 266 from universities, 24 from colleges, 20-20-21, 51 complaints from universities, 37 from colleges.
19:24It went up to 38 university complaints, 2 from colleges in 21-22.
19:28Then to 378 cases in 22-23, colleges filed 47.
19:33This is UGC figures.
19:34The point that is being made, Lalita Kumar Mangalam, the NCW for example.
19:40Many believe that it is a body which is toothless.
19:43And also will strike depending on which is the ruling government.
19:46If it's an opposition-ruled state, because NCW in a way is...
19:50Given its members come from the central government, they will quickly move into that state.
19:55Don't move when there's a BJP-ruled state.
19:57Are all these bodies also needing...
19:59They need a reality check, yes or no?
20:01Yes, absolutely.
20:05It also a lot depends on the head of the organization.
20:09If that particular person is not worried about advancement in politics or bothered about politics,
20:14or offending anybody in her own state, etc., then yes, some good work can get done.
20:20But otherwise, there is an enormous amount of pressure, which is, I suspect, exactly what happened in this case.
20:26Because it's very strange that an FIR was not filed.
20:31Also, Rajdeep, I think that all committees should have at least a minimum of 50% outside members.
20:38Otherwise, as Akritiji said, it's packed with people who want to somehow save the reputation of the college,
20:50somehow make sure that, you know, as Ranjananji said, that the girl is painted as a liar or bad character or wanting a favor, etc., etc.
20:58I don't know if getting 50% of the complaints committee members from external sources would work out.
21:06But the problem is that as of now, because education has become huge money in this country, let's not forget that.
21:14Everybody is too busy saving their own vested interest and nobody really seems to bother.
21:20It seems to have been almost internalized.
21:23So, you make a good point. You make a good point. It's reputation over justice in a way.
21:31You know, let's save the reputation of the college and let's not sunny it with what a girl student has said.
21:39Akritiji, do you believe that it is even worse in smaller towns than in urban centers?
21:45You taught in Delhi University. Is there a greater protection in an urban center, in a place like Balasore?
21:52Perhaps the equation, the asymmetry of power is even greater in favor of the men.
21:56Definitely, I think it would have, it's going to be much worse in tier 2, tier 3 cities and towns.
22:06But I would also make a comparison within Delhi. I studied from a premier institution, SRCC.
22:13And during fest time, there were so many cases during concerts that there was inappropriate touching that was reported,
22:21but still nothing major could happen. You couldn't identify.
22:24There were dark spaces and then the whole Pinjra Toad movement.
22:28So, I would want to make a point here. A lot is also about campus politics, the kind of campus politics that is prevalent,
22:38where women, girls are vocal enough to report instances.
22:43But if I compare my masters in JNU, it was a completely different kind of an environment.
22:48At 3am, it was absolutely normal for girls to go from library to hostels.
22:55So, I think within Delhi, you will find these kinds of asymmetries.
23:00But in Delhi University, I would still say that the politics is quite rogue and rowdy.
23:05But you are saying the emphasis is in a way on the college administration.
23:10They are the ones who have to create those kind of safe spaces. Am I correct broadly?
23:15Colleges, when you mentioned JNU there, if the college provides safe spaces, then you in a way empower the woman.
23:22If you don't provide that, then you don't do so, right?
23:25Absolutely.
23:26Absolutely.
23:27So, administration is definitely something that is very, very pertinent in this case.
23:33But the ICC is actually dysfunctional across because as we said, there are very big structural reasons of why certain incidents do not get reported.
23:45In fact, girls students don't even know many times that a professor or a staff person who is just casually making catcalling remarks and all would fall under the purview of sexual harassment.
23:56You make a very good…
23:57So, I think there's a lot of awareness that…
23:59You make a very good…
24:00You make a very good point about casual sexism.
24:02And that brings me to a final point there, Anjana Kumari.
24:05He's part of the…
24:06I mean, here are professors.
24:07You would expect professors to be socially conditioned to recognize what constitutes sexual harassment or casual sexism.
24:16But even that appears in this case certainly not to have happened.
24:20Instead, the professor by all accounts seems to have seized on the vulnerability of the student.
24:25Is that something that is even more deeply troubling?
24:29That here is a college professor, a college administration where this happens.
24:33Tazi, first of all, sexism is sexism.
24:37There is nothing casual about it.
24:39So, I really beg to differ with you that sexism is prevalent and that's what happens.
24:46I'm glad that Akriti brought the point about JNU.
24:49My own experience in JNU has been great.
24:51We have been all activists.
24:53You know, working there, day, night, library, whatever, friends, boys, girls.
24:58There was nothing.
24:59No, because the cultural ethos of the university, from the time the university started, we were third batch of the university.
25:05And we all created that kind of a culture in the university and authorities supported that.
25:09But here, when you go to tier two, tier three cities, roads are not safe.
25:14Homes are not safe.
25:16Workplaces are not safe.
25:17And similarly, university, I mean, college centers are not safe.
25:21Colleges are not safe.
25:22Now, educational institution, I want to fix responsibility.
25:26UGC should ensure whether these committees are functional.
25:30UGC has to bring a review, report, perhaps present to the Parliament of India that what is happening to our campuses.
25:37Why so many girls are…
25:38You see, part of the problem there, Ranjana Ji, there are hundreds of campuses.
25:41As was just mentioned, you know, you have colleges exploding.
25:45Many of them, capitation fee colleges that are looking only to make money.
25:49Who is going to control and monitor especially some of these private colleges?
25:52We cannot…
25:53Rajdeep, these can be all controlled.
25:55Globally, it gets controlled.
25:57Why we are not able to do it?
25:58Because nobody is bothered about what's happening to women.
26:00You can silence them.
26:02You can drive them to commit suicide.
26:04You can get…
26:05All the people harassing them can get away with.
26:07There is no punishment system, which is…
26:09You know, nobody…
26:10Police did not write an FIR.
26:12Can you imagine?
26:13I mean, some girl is committing…
26:14Has to commit suicide because…
26:16And she approached everybody.
26:17As I heard the whole thing.
26:18I spoke to people there.
26:19I think…
26:20She approached MLA.
26:21She approached the education minister.
26:24So many things she did to get justice.
26:27But everybody connived together.
26:29And…
26:30They really chose silence over justice.
26:32That's what happened in this case.
26:34Silence over justice.
26:35Trying to protect…
26:37The reputation of a college…
26:39Which was in any case…
26:40Should have been under the scanner…
26:41Ahead of justice.
26:43And now politics over justice.
26:44All that we want in cases like this…
26:46Is swift justice…
26:48And exemplary measures taken to ensure…
26:51That such incidents don't happen.
26:53The UGC can't wash its hands away.
26:55Nor can college administration…
26:57What happened to this beti of Odisha…
26:59Is unacceptable.
27:01And this is true of any state in the country.
27:04Stop playing politics with it.
27:06Ensure swift…
27:08Ensure justice above all else…
27:10Would be the message.
27:12I appreciate my guests joining us…
27:14And shedding light on what is…
27:16Dare I say…
27:17One of the worst kept secrets…
27:18In our college campuses.
27:20Let's turn from there…
27:21To more breaking news…
27:23That we are getting.
27:24The Chief Election Commissioner…
27:25Has now reacted a day…
27:27After India today's reality check…
27:29On the way…
27:30The Bihar Special Intensive Revision…
27:32Exercise is taking place.
27:34The Chief Election Commissioner…
27:35Has said…
27:36He thanks eligible electors…
27:38For taking part…
27:39In the SIR…
27:40Or the Special Intensive Revision…
27:42CC to India today…
27:43Cleaning electoral rolls…
27:45Much needed…
27:4688.65% enumeration forms received…
27:494.5% electors…
27:51Not found at addresses…
27:526.85% forms…
27:54Remain to be collected…
27:55Now those are…
27:56Figures that the…
27:57CEC is throwing at us…
27:58But as our report yesterday…
27:59Showed…
28:00Many forms are without documents…
28:01And are being signed…
28:02Without putting the documents in place…
28:04Only to show the big numbers…
28:06Aishwarya Paliwal…
28:07Now joins us…
28:08Aishwarya…
28:09It seems that…
28:10The Election Commission…
28:11Seems to say…
28:12There is no problem…
28:13There is no problem…
28:16Well Rajdeep…
28:17You know…
28:18If you look at the numbers…
28:19The numbers…
28:20Which at the moment…
28:21Are coming out…
28:22You know…
28:23We are looking close to…
28:2435 lakh…
28:25Close to 13 lakh…
28:26People…
28:27Are deceased…
28:28If you look at the numbers…
28:29Close to 17 lakh…
28:30People…
28:31Have either moved out…
28:32And the remaining…
28:33Close to 5 lakh…
28:34People…
28:35Are the ones…
28:36Which are a duplication…
28:37So that's the number…
28:38That's the number…
28:39That's the number…
28:40That's how the Election Commission…
28:41Has come…
28:42At this number…
28:43The Commission is also saying…
28:44That once…
28:45All the remuneration forms…
28:46Are with them…
28:47Then a double check…
28:48Is that…
28:49That's also something…
28:50That will be done…
28:51By the Election Commission…
28:52We still have 9 more days…
28:53To go…
28:54But the Commission believes…
28:55That this will be a pure…
28:56Electoral role…
28:57That we will see…
28:58And this is just the beginning…
28:59Rajdeep…
29:00We will see in other states…
29:01Also…
29:02One after the other…
29:03This revision being done…
29:04Okay…
29:05So the Election Commission…
29:06Is not willing to accept…
29:07The optimism…
29:08That it's getting…
29:09At the moment…
29:10They believe…
29:11Sub-Changasi…
29:12As I said…
29:13Aishwarya…
29:14Paliwal…
29:15Joining me…
29:16Well…
29:17The truth is…
29:18It is not…
29:19Sub-Changasi…
29:20Because…
29:21As controversy continues…
29:22Over the ongoing…
29:23Voter list revision…
29:24In Bihar…
29:25The Election Commission…
29:26Earlier this week…
29:27Announced that…
29:28People from Bihar…
29:29Living outside the state…
29:30Can…
29:31Use a QR code…
29:32To submit their…
29:33Enumeration forms…
29:34Online…
29:35The truth is…
29:36Thousands of migrant workers…
29:37Simply are concerned…
29:38Over the technological…
29:39Difficulties…
29:40They will encounter…
29:41Our correspondents…
29:42Went across…
29:43Some of Delhi's…
29:44Slum areas…
29:45To find out…
29:46How the migrant labor…
29:47Are looking at…
29:48This exercise…
29:49Online…
29:5073% of seasonal…
29:53Migrants…
29:54In India…
29:55Are from Bihar…
29:56Many of them…
29:57Move out of the state…
29:58To find work…
29:59And return…
30:00After three to four months…
30:02There are many more…
30:03Who live in cities…
30:04Across India…
30:05But are voters…
30:06In Bihar…
30:07And they…
30:09Are among those…
30:10Who could lose out…
30:11In the special…
30:12Intensive…
30:13Revision…
30:14Being carried out…
30:15By the election commission…
30:16The EC this week…
30:18Issued…
30:19Advertisement…
30:20In dailies…
30:21Urging people…
30:22From Bihar…
30:23Living outside…
30:24The state…
30:25To use…
30:26A QR…
30:27To submit…
30:28Enumeration…
30:29Forms…
30:30In this…
30:31Juggi cluster…
30:32In Chitra Bihar…
30:33In East Delhi…
30:34Home to thousands…
30:35Of migrant workers…
30:36From Bihar…
30:37Most…
30:38Are not aware…
30:39Of the EC initiative…
30:41We have given the QR code…
30:43But…
30:44We will not get it…
30:45We have no knowledge…
30:46How to scan…
30:47How to scan…
30:48How to scan…
30:49How to scan…
30:50We have no idea…
30:51In 2014…
30:52We have given the vote…
30:54And…
30:55Now…
30:56I will not…
30:57We will not…
30:58We will not…
30:59We will not go…
31:00Or…
31:01We will not go…
31:02Here…
31:03From Delhi…
31:04We will go to Bihar…
31:05Beyond 2,000$…
31:07And…
31:08Where will…
31:09We will continue…
31:10We will not go…
31:12Muhammad Iqbal from…
31:13Poor Nia…
31:14Is not aware of the app…
31:15But…
31:16Went to Bihar…
31:17To submit his form…
31:18Physically…
31:19I have not known…
31:21I have seen…
31:22And…
31:23I have registered…
31:24I have done…
31:25Many others shared similar concerns.
31:55Even those with smartphones like
32:25Dharmendra Kumar Shah from Purnia struggle with the tech barrier.
32:28India Today team reached one of the JJ clusters in the national capital to know the reality.
32:48Many of the people, those who reside in JJ clusters and are from Bihar said they are not aware about the QR code, this advertisement.
32:56And many doesn't have a smartphone.
32:58Many doesn't know how to read and write.
33:01And many are not able to fill form online.
33:05They clearly said this is more confusing than a solution.
33:09With cameraman Anki Singh and Molbali, Delhi.
33:12I hope someone in the election commission is watching our series of stories.
33:18The gap between advertisements and the reality on the ground.
33:22Let's turn to political wars.
33:24First to West Bengal where the Thinamul Congress held a protest rally against the alleged targeting of Bengali speaking people in BJP ruled states.
33:32The TMC and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claims that Bengalis are being detained and dubbed Bangladeshis and Rohingyas.
33:41She warned of nationwide protests if people of Bengal are targeted.
33:45The BJP Suvendu Adhikari hit back and accused the Chief Minister of supporting Rohingyas and enabling fake voter registrations.
33:52Clearly the battle lines are being drawn ahead of West Bengal elections next year.
33:57Listen in.
34:27He was an advocate for Hindi.
34:29He was a politician who was released on the other hand.
34:30He was elected to the first group of all the people of the country.
34:31He was elected to the first group of the people of the country.
34:32He was elected to the first group of the country.
34:35What happened?
34:36What happened?
34:37Bengali's rights.
34:38Tell us about the same thing.
34:40Who should not have Bengali's rights?
34:43that's not the only political war let's turn to the political war in assam where congress leader
35:05raul gandhi was in gahati today and alleged that assam chief minister hemanta biswas sarma
35:09is behaving like a king involved in corruption and said that if his party comes to power hemanto
35:15will be sent to jail the assam chief minister says it's raul gandhi who's out on bail and will soon
35:21find the law closing in on him listen in because they know that one day congress will put it in jail
35:33and i will not say it without thinking and i will not say it without thinking and in general what i say
35:38is that it is happening and today i will tell you that in some time you will see the same media
35:44while the assam chief minister has hit back in a message posted on twitter x hemanto biswas sarma said
35:56raul gandhi is facing allegations of massive corruption he's involved in a five thousand
36:13crore national herald scam he claimed raul gandhi will be remembered as one of the most corrupt
36:17congress chiefs remember assam like bengal also goes to the polls next year okay let's turn from
36:24political wars to history wars babar was a brutal and ruthless conqueror slaughtering entire populations
36:31of cities enslaving women and children and taking pride in erecting powers of skulls made from the
36:37slaughtered people of plundered cities akbar ordered the massacre of some thirty thousand civilians
36:42and the surviving women and children of chitogar were enslaved so generations that learned that
36:48akbar was great that babar founded the mughal dynasty will now also be told that akbar and babar must be
36:56seen very very differently and that's really part of how the new ncrt textbooks for class seven and eight
37:06students are going to view mughal history is are the mughals being villainized or is this course correction
37:14milan sharma brings you the latest controversy over history writing
37:20chapter two in the theme b starts with a note on history's darker period so which mentions how
37:27these chapters of indian history have been darkest hours for the country
37:39history wars are back the ncrt's latest social sciences textbook for class eight has a chapter
37:46on mughals and delhi sultanate which mentioned instances of religious intolerance and carries a
37:52note on what it calls some darker periods in history in the textbook babar the founder of mughal empire
38:01is described as a brutal and ruthless conqueror while akbar's rule is portrayed as a blend of brutality
38:09and intolerance detailing the massacre of 30 000 people during his attack on the rajput fort of chitogar
38:17and the attacks on the hindu temples by sultanate ruler allowed in khilji are detailed
38:25the mughal jazi attacks levied on non-muslims is described as a tool of public humiliation
38:34they also talk about how the sultans imposed uh attacks called uh jizya jizya which was
38:42subjected to all the non-muslims uh subjects who were also called infidels and uh of course
38:49they were either told to uh you know pay the tax or uh formed a financial and social incentive for
38:57subjects to convert to islam so the religion conversions uh that were happening the book also
39:05is talking about that the ncrt has added a disclaimer a note on some darker periods in history which states
39:15no one should be held responsible today for events of the past the note appears to be aimed at discouraging
39:22communal interpretations the opposition has alleged the change in a bid to hijack history and spread hate
39:46and communalism the nd on the other hand has defended the changes
40:10the judges do the ncrt textbooks try to portray history more correctly
40:33or is at an attempt to influence young minds the jury is divided with milan sharma bureau report india today
40:50and a short while ago the ncrt has released a statement saying class 8 being the last year of
40:55the middle stages the students are expected to acquire broad multi-disciplinary perspective
41:00in understanding of our past between 13th to mid 19th century ncrt textbook shows how the various
41:06events of that period have shaped to shape and influence the evolution of india of today all the
41:10facts presented in this textbook are based on well-known primary and secondary academic sources
41:15however in order to avoid generation of any prejudice and understanding a note on history's darker
41:20period has been added for the benefit of the learners is politics dictating school syllabi is this an
41:27attempt to villainize the mughals or is this course correction by the ncrt those are the questions i want
41:34to raise short face off ruchika sharma is a historian on medieval indian history ratan sharda is author
41:42also closely associated with the rss i appreciate both of you joining us uh ruchika your first reactions
41:49to these ncrt textbooks is this course correction trying to project an objective view of akbar and babar
41:56put pointing out the darker sides or darker shades of their rule um first of all i think there was a
42:05time when there were ncrt books which said that the term dark period or dark ages in history is a
42:11historical term it's kind of sad to see that today that entire term has made it back to the ncrt
42:18and is being used as an objective term as if uh you know classifying certain acts in history is dark or
42:26classifying certain periods in history is dark is a very historical thing thing to do academically these
42:31are terms which have been completely uh uh debunked and and we've said that these are terms which are not
42:37to be used because they create this idea that somehow there are golden periods quote unquote and darker
42:43periods which creates this comparison which cannot be done because there are different historical
42:48contexts for different time periods so this comparison across time periods of dark and gold
42:53anyway is very ahistorical and it's sad to see that ncrt is resorting to this the other important point
42:59over here is that uh the recent changes in the ncrt eighth class textbooks a lot of it are factually
43:05incorrect for example there is this particular bit where they say that the jizya was brought as a tax
43:10to incentivize the non-muslims to convert to islam in order to stop paying the jizya which primary
43:18source is the ncrt referring to firstly the ncrt doesn't tell us that but also if it does i would
43:25really like to file an rti and try and understand which source whether it's you know during akbar's time
43:31before akbar's time after akbar's time or you know uh any time in the islamic world when jizya is first
43:38instituted or or you know goes on being instituted where is this source coming from there is literally
43:44no primary source that says that then it goes on to say that akbar abolished jizya much later in his
43:50reign which is again incorrect 1560 is when akbar's reign starts 1562 is when he abolishes jizya that is
43:56not much later this is a man with 45 years of rule so if you really want to talk about you know much
44:02later it should ideally be 30 years into his rule or something right okay so the ncrt is i take your
44:08point i take your larger point you're claiming if if you're going by primary sources as students should
44:14be taught based on primary sources then those primary sources should be cited ratan sharda how do you
44:20respond do you believe this is course correction when uh uh it is suggested for example that uh the
44:27barbarity of uh barber or the uh of acts of oppression of akbar are also highlighted do you believe
44:34this is course correction and objective eye objective history or a saffronized history
44:43good evening you know very well that the history was rewritten with so-called scientific terminology
44:48somewhere in 1990s by the aligar school and jnu historians who believed that we should whitewash
44:54the history and present an amiable form of history which will try to disown the atrocities of invaders
45:02why are you focusing on akbar okay if you focus on urban akbar the most interesting part is that akbar
45:09there are two so-called great kings by the earlier historians one is akbar the great second is ashoka
45:15the great they were the only two kings who had a theocratic state akbar had his dina elahi ashok had his
45:22buddhism and both both had huge history of atrocities which are sought to be softened by historians i
45:32don't know why but no one mentions no one mentions sir in this book the the atrocities of ashoka no one
45:38will mention why what happened during kalinga corrections corrections can happen but what i'm saying is
45:44when you people start creating this controversy around the history history was never balanced where
45:50where did i read about the cholas and the pandeans cholas lasted from 300 bc to 1300 i think 13 bc
45:58you had aham kingdom for hundreds of years you had vijay nagaram for nearly 300 years what was mughal
46:05period the peak of mughal period was once to 200 years we talk of mughal period do we talk of the
46:11resistance given by the hindus that is the only reason hindu survived every other community vanished
46:17from where the islamic conquest came no we don't talk about that so the aryan indian theory it was
46:22put to our put to our head that we are all outsiders we were all we were one of the parts of the karma
46:28the captain coming to india and we can invade and state there but that has been falsified so now it
46:34is called aryan migration theory so can we at least now if uh people like hopper has come back to say
46:40ati is wrong it is wrong but aryan migration is better so that means there is always scope for
46:47people to look at the history and what is the history that's ncrd saying that history which has
46:51been said by jaduna sarkar rc majumdar before the maximizes to talk over and what was the ground for
46:58these historians the mughal historians who chronicle the lives of barber of akbar orange and everybody
47:04are we going to deny that so this the horrid past of akbar that 30 000 people are put to sword
47:12my my sir the same rules will have to be applied for all rulers most of whom were conquerors and
47:17you will have to look at it history in a much more complex manner not in a black and white of villains
47:22and heroes that's the only point but ruchika you want to respond because what ratan sharda says is an
47:27argument made by many right-wingers that history was driven by the marxists and therefore they
47:32highlighted akbar the great as come kind of a secular ideal glossing over perhaps some of the
47:39barbarities that were also committed in the course of his conquest absolutely there are a couple of
47:45things that mr sharda mentioned that i want to respond to firstly the fact that the cholas had an
47:51uninterrupted rule from 3000 bc all the way to 1300 ad is absolutely incorrect there were three different
47:57types of cholas who ruled in different regions they are not one and each of them had probably
48:02100 300 bce is not where the cholas start i'll just take a moment first century ad all the way
48:10to third century ad is the first time the cholas rule then they are then that's a different cholas
48:15then of course there is around fifth century to sixth century ad that's a different cholas
48:20and then the great cholas come in which come in from ninth century which is very much taught
48:25in fact even the sangam cholas the first century ad cholas are taught so both the cholas are taught but what
48:31we are not taught and this is what i'm coming to is for example when the chola rulers are attacking the
48:37chalukya rulers right in around 1042 ad they break a host of jain temples and burn this entire town
48:46called kolipakkai this is something that is not mentioned and this somehow does not for the ncrt qualify
48:52as something which is bad enough to label the cholas as brutal rulers or as cruel rulers however akbar and his
49:00siege of chittor is reason enough in in this man's 45 years of reign one instance to call him a brutal
49:07ruler however we don't apply the same standards to the cholas so i don't understand why there are
49:13these double standards also i've just got a minute i i you know i will try and do a wider debate but i
49:19think i take your point the double standards that you believe that exist in the way these books are
49:23being written rather than sharda 30 seconds you want to respond to that because surely students deserve
49:28nobody denies that a more complex reading of history but these books seem to reduce it to a very
49:34simplified version of history there are enough hindu rulers the cholas were also just now cited
49:39who've also resorted to brutality they were conquerors they were expanding their kingdoms
49:44why are we only down we we seem to have gone by you know to the point of only villainizing the mughals
49:51well rajdeep at least people of your kind and the historian have agreed that there are stories
49:55that are hindus the dark period they talk of millions of hindus uh perished and thousands of
50:01temples were destroyed because they were bigots because they were non-believers they were kafirs
50:06is it not written by the chroniclers of the of the uh so hindu rulers what happens to hindu rulers who
50:11destroyed you know that i'm happy that you come to the stage we are ready to say that history is
50:17complex it has to be read from both the sides and do not believe in monochrome history that the
50:23marxists have thrown at us all these years at least you are clear to that i'm very happy on that
50:27okay let me leave it there uh hopefully we will our students will get to uh read a history that is far
50:34more complex than these ncrt textbooks at the moment seem to suggest but we need a wider debate on this
50:40and i'm glad at least that the debate has been triggered off ratan sharda and ruchika appreciate
50:44your joining us let's turn to another of our top stories it's a demolition that is shaking the
50:49conscience culturally across borders the ancestral home of the legendary filmmaker the late satyajit
50:55rain bangladesh is being torn down a structure steeped in history memory and the bengali renaissance of the
51:0220th century india now wants to stop the restoration but can it stop bangladesh's descent
51:10into this form of extremism take a look at this report
51:24a legacy bulldozed a heritage erased in a move that has ignited outrage across borders the ancestral
51:39home of cinematic maestro satyajit ray lies in ruins in my men singh bangladesh the decision has triggered a
51:48cultural and emotional storm not just in india but also among heritage voices in bangladesh who see this
51:56as an irreparable blow to the region's shared identity and this comes on the heels of another cultural wound
52:05a mob vandalized rabindranath to gore's ancestral home in sarai ganch barely just a month ago raising
52:13serious concerns now about how bengal's legacy is being treated under the mohammad yunos regime
52:22the indian government has responded with profound regret underlining that this wasn't just a house
52:29but the ancestral house of upendra kishore rey chaudhary rey's grandfather and a towering figure of the
52:36bengal renaissance india had offered technical and financial help both to preserve and restore
52:43the structure proposing it be converted into a museum or cultural landmark a shared tribute to the
52:50indo-bangladeshi heritage the building which had served as the my men singh shishu academy until 2014
52:58was abandoned for nearly a decade bangladesh authorities cited structural danger to children
53:05as a justification for tearing it down but heritage activists and even bangladesh's department of
53:11archaeology have condemned the move claiming repeated preservation requests were ignored and the house
53:18was never granted official protected monument status satijit rey's son shondi pray says while the house was in
53:28ruins it had long been neglected despite ongoing talks of granting it heritage status
53:34so do you think enough was done by the bangladeshi authorities to actually preserve the site
53:56the site like you were told earlier from abandonment to demolition the fate of satyajit rey's ancestral home
54:23is no longer a local issue it raises a far deeper question how much of our cultural memory are we
54:30willing to sacrifice at the altar of neglect bureaucracy or political apathy pure report india today
54:41and bangladesh needs to look within a country a nation state that was founded on a cultural linguistic
54:46identity breaking away from the idea of a two nation state today is destroying the home of one of the great
54:52great icons of the bengali renaissance time for dhaka to wake up let's turn to our get real india story a
55:00school that exists only on paper but the students are forced to study in a leaking kitchen shed in chattisgarh
55:08sarguja district promises made 19 years ago have crumbled like the walls these students sit under
55:14take a look at tonight's get real india story
55:28this is where the government primary school of kudari jungle pada should have been instead it runs from
55:47a crumbling and leaking anganwadi kitchen shed
55:53so man can be chanik liya or
55:55bahar me chota jaga bachta husme kuch bachon ko kakchabai bai thak padhate hai or baki kichan
56:00may bachche bai t rahe kya khanam kichanwal khanah sahai ka joe hamlokka samuhka hi pe bagal me hi
56:08the headmaster says the high officials have been informed many times
56:20is
56:3919 years and counting, this village in Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh is still waiting for its school building.
57:04With Sumit Singh, Bureau Report, India Today.
57:09These are the stories that we will continue to highlight in the hope that things will get better.
57:18Let me leave you though with our image tonight.
57:20Heavy thunderstorms and flash floods lashing New York City and New Jersey.
57:25Flooding parts of the Manhattan subway, disrupting train services.
57:29That's right, those images are not in Mumbai or Delhi or Gurugram or Bengaluru, but in New York.
57:36Authorities issued several flash flood warnings across the New York City metropolitan area.
57:41The difference is, in our systems, these stories have become endemic and systemic.
57:48In New York, hopefully, the city gets its act together that much faster.
57:54Let me leave you with that image.
57:56In the hope that you are safe.
57:59Thanks for watching.
58:00Stay well, stay safe.
58:01Good night.
58:02Shubh Patri Jai Hind.
58:03Namashkar.
58:04No, no, you shouldn't.
58:05You should get out of the station.
58:06Yeah, yeah.
58:07Bye.
58:08Bye.
58:09Bye.
58:09Bye.
58:09Bye.
58:09Bye.
58:10Bye.
58:10Bye.
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58:26Bye.
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