The Kids Aren’t All Right: Mental Health And Indian Youth

The Kids Aren’t All Right: Mental Health And Indian Youth

By Vijeta Laxmi in Mental Health, Society
13th January, 2021

TW: Suicide

The State Of Mental Health In India

A study published by Lancet in 2017 estimated, one in seven Indians, about 197·3 million people, comprising 14·3% of the total population of the country are suffering from mental disorders; which has almost doubled since 1990. National Mental Health Survey-2015-16, though presents a relatively skewed picture and pegs the prevalence at around 10.6%, which in the case of adolescents in the age group of 13-17 years stands around 7.3%, nearly equal in both genders. NMHS estimated that about 9.8 million adolescents aged 13–17 years need active mental health care intervention and that this number would be greater if the entire age spectrum of childhood and adolescence is considered.

Representational Image

India only has 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 population.

Mental health still hasn’t become a public health priority and shows an alarming level of treatment gap, ranging from 28-83%, which has been linked with stigma, lack of awareness, and inadequate availability of or poor access to services. Negating the most quoted estimate of 3800 psychiatrists in India, a study published by the Indian Journal of Psychiatry suggests, the total number of psychiatrists in India currently is around 9000, which means about 0.75 Psychiatrists per 100,000 population.

In order to meet the current need of the population in the country, the study makes a conservative estimate of at least 3 Psychiatrists per 100,000 population and highlights that even if population growth rates and attrition rates of psychiatrists are taken as 0%, India requires 2700 new psychiatrists annually to fill in the gap in the next 10 years. However, every year only 700 psychiatrists are trained in PG seats.

If we look at the allocation of the budget under National Mental Health Programme, it has gotten substantially reduced from 0.44%, of the total budget allocated to MoHFW in 2010 to less than 0.06 percent of the total 65012 crores budget allocated in 2020. If we look at the indirect costs associated with mental illness, resulting from loss of productivity, and economic opportunities due to disability, a study published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, makes an assumption of loss of productivity in nearly half of the about 13 crore estimated cases of mental illness and estimates an annual loss of Rs.3,43,200 crores to the country due to lack of productivity and depicts that investing in the implementation of MHCA, 2017 by the government will yield 6.5 times return on investment and a conservative estimate of the cost of implementing the same amounts to the tune of Rs. 94,073 crore annually, excluding the cost of infrastructure for implementing agencies and rehabilitation centres and the cost of human resources to run those rehabilitation centres, which would increase it many folds.

Underserved Mental Health Needs Of Children And Young People

Currently, information available on mental health is grossly inadequate and interventions are fragmented and derisory, especially with regard to the mental health of children and adolescents. There is no comprehensive and methodologically strong national epidemiological study on children and adolescent mental health. National Mental Health Survey focuses mainly on the 13-17 years age group. Though, if we talk about child mental health, the findings of one of the studies exclusively conducted to assess the prevalence of child and adolescent psychiatric disorder in Bangalore city, explains the context better.

Also read: “Here Are Some Of The Most Important Mental Health Issues Among Youth”

Estimates suggest that while about 12.5 percent of children aged 0-16 years are facing psychiatric disorders. The psychiatric morbidity among 0-3 yr old children is as high as 13.8 percent, besides certain genetic or developmental disorders, nutritional deficiency and lack of care have been identified as key reasons for mental disorders among younger children in this age group. The study highlights only 37.5 percent of the families perceived that their children had any problem.

Certain conditions identified in the research as mental disorders are commonly not seen as a problem, for example, ‘Pica’ a commonly found behaviour among younger children and sometimes in pregnant women or adults, gives an urge to eat non-food items like chalk, soil, hair, etc. is a mental health issue and is associated with multiple conditions including nutritional deficiencies and stress. Similarly, Disruptive Behavior Disorder (DBD), makes children show patterns of uncooperative and defiant behaviour.

Children of conflict-ridden stressful family environment or, where caregivers themselves are facing conditions like Oppositional Defiant Disorder, depression, or anxiety are more likely to develop DBD. A number of studies have also associated DBD and ADHD behaviour disorders with ‘Low Birth Weight’. LBW is common in rural parts of India and many times it’s a result of a deliberate choice made by eating less to prevent the chances of expensive C-sections by poor families. Thus, clearly mental health cannot be seen in isolation, and a number of factors may influence it, which could vary as per age, gender, class, or cultural context a person belongs to, and how commonly prevalent practices affect children or certain gender the most are aspects that need to be understood well.

The figures published by NCRB indicate a significant increase in the number of suicides committed by students in the last five years. More than 10,000 students committed suicide in the last two years, which means every day approximately 28 such suicides are reported and that’s alarming. Also, since section 309 of IPC, holds committing suicide as a criminal offense thus, the number could be expected to be much bigger, as often such cases are hidden to avoid investigation.



If we look at the cause wise distribution of suicides, NCRB Report on Suicides in India 2019 suggests the most prevalent causes of suicides among people below 18 years of age include family problems, failure in exam, love affair, illness, marriage related issues, and causes for a significant number of suicides are unknown. Category indicated as miscellaneous include a range of causes, reported in two-digits, like illegitimate pregnancy (other than extramarital), hero worshipping, indebtedness, poverty, physical/sexual abuse, impotency/infertility, unemployment, addiction, death of a dear person, etc.



Mental health as a subject still flummoxes a lot of people, the way condition like ‘depression’ is confused with sadness and casually used by people without really understanding what it means trivializes the issue. Sadness is not depression, confusion is not a hallucination, inability to learn quickly is not ignorance always; it could be Dyslexia or ADHD as well.

Often, people facing mental illness are seen as people of weak willpower and low self-esteem, facing results of their inability to make the right choices or efforts. Such perception often makes others indifferent to the sufferings of those dealing with mental illness, also making it difficult for the one to seek help because of fear of judgment or stigma and it hardly becomes a serious issue until a person commits suicide.

Some of the recent incidences of student suicides during lockdown for reasons like difficulty in attending online classes, the inability of parents to afford the cost of education, death of a popular film actor, etc. clearly indicate that how additional stress caused by lockdown and media to the already distressed young people just pushed them over the edge, as reaching the stage of committing suicide takes long and brings attention to the fact that once children reach the stage of understanding complex emotions like fear, shame, guilt, and anger.

They need support from adults to learn how to navigate through difficult emotions. While the need to make children develop certain habits for better physical health is given but the aspect of mental wellbeing is often not adequately engaged with, resulting in children engaging in unhealthy coping behavior like addiction, self-harming, etc.

The biggest challenge is, children are hardly encouraged to express themselves, and obedience is valued more than a child’s interest and sometimes even capacity and can be seen with regard to choices of subjects or career or a life partner. Further, practices like body shaming, bullying, violence, broken or conflict-ridden family, etc. silently depletes inner resources like confidence, sense of worth, self-image, and esteem, which supports the mental resilience of a person.



Rohith Vermula’s suicide was caused by the HU administration and their caste-based atrocities and indifference.

Since, as compared to home, children or young people spend most of their time either in school or colleges thus, the role that these institutions play in determining what they feel about themselves cannot be overlooked. Especially, if schools fail to give an enabling and empowering atmosphere to children, it will eventually impact their ability to stand for themselves even as adults and that’s what is happening in India’s reputed institutions like AIIMS, IIM, and IITs, where a number of Dalit students succumbed to the pressures of caste-based hostility and committed suicide.

If we look at various child-specific policies, none of these has thrust on ‘mental health of children’ for example, National Mental Health Policy identifies children just as one of the vulnerable groups in general, without much emphasis on their vulnerabilities. National Mental Health Programme also doesn’t have any special emphasis on the mental health of children. Currently, Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram is the key adolescent related policy that has a vision of adolescents becoming able to realize their full potential by making informed decisions about their wellbeing and health, including mental health.

Though policies like the National Youth Policy and the New Education Policy, 2020 also talks about holistic development and integration of mental health dimension in NEP 2020 is a much welcome move by the government in this direction. Still, none of these policies helps

Representational image.

in completing the picture and the focus on mental health remains fragmented. Going forward, the causes and implications of mental morbidities for different age groups need to be understood, the way maternal and child health is looked at on a continuum for effective programmatic interventions.
The National Education Policy And Mental Health

National Education Policy 2020 could be instrumental in strengthening the existing body of knowledge around the mental health needs of children and young people, provided the possibilities that it brings are adequately leveraged upon. ‘Emotional abuse’, is though often talked about and recognized as one of the issues of child protection. Currently, no data is presented in this regard, and the response is largely focused on violence.

Looking at the provisions, if we broadly take into account the aspects of ‘institutional factors’ and ‘social factors’ that might be influencing the mental health of children adversely, some of the provisions made toward (a) promoting better cognitive development; (b) reducing academic pressure and dependence on coaching; (c) multiple entry points and academic credit bank (d) distributing exam pressure by adopting suitable models (e) reducing hostility by sensitizing students on human values, equity and respect for diversity (f) improving access to education for women and transgender people (g) counselling support, etc, could be helpful to a great extent in addressing stressors related to education affecting the mental health of students while, the provision to (d) facilitate access to the protection services to children facing a risk of any kind, (e) Life skills, could be helpful in addressing social factors putting children in risk or stress. Still, there are some questions that policy doesn’t have clear answers for.
Also read: “3 Ways To Get Help If You Are Struggling With A Mental Illness”

National Education Policy 2020 though has focused on developing life skills but this has been envisaged mainly around Fit India Movement- focusing on physical fitness; sports- to develop collaboration, teamwork, discipline, self-direction, and service & participation in a community service program. While all these must favourably influence mental health, though skills of direct relevance like, developing healthy coping behaviour to deal with difficult emotions, knowing when to seek help, sense of self, flexibility, adaptability, decision making, etc. are important life skills that could be helpful in developing self-esteem. If we look at National Mental Health Policy, there as well ‘life skills’ have been mainly envisaged around discussion on gender and social inequalities, indicating the need to identify specific support needs in the first place.

Second, despite multiple cases of student suicide in premier higher educational institutions, like AIIMS, IIT, IIM because of caste-based harassment and anti-reservation mindset, the NEP 2020, doesn’t recognize the higher vulnerability of ‘socio-cultural identities’, categorized as SC, ST, OBC and Minorities, the passing mention to strictly enforce all non-discriminatory and anti-harassment policies, which already exists since ages and doesn’t really serve the purpose. After Rohit Vemula’s suicide, the investigation revealed how the university stopped paying his monthly stipend of 25,000 rupees allegedly because he raised issues under the campus’s Dalit-led students union. Thus, the policy should have acknowledged and proposed suitable measures to address the situation, which the policy doesn’t talk about.

Third, the policy broadly focuses on SEDGs, categorized as ‘women and transgender’. It talks about sensitizing students on gender equality, gender identities and makes the provision of the ‘Gender Inclusion Fund’ as well but is completely silent about educating children on ‘sex and sexuality’. Can gender identities be discussed without discussing sexuality and spaces of acceptance be created for such people? According to a study published in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, the suicide rate among transgender individuals in India is about 31%, and 50% of them have attempted suicide at least once before their 20th birthday.

Additionally, NCRB indicates unintended pregnancy as one of the causes of suicides. According to a study conducted with unmarried women of age 15-24 years, one in six participants acknowledged pregnancy from a non-consensual sexual encounter, and such reports were more frequent among those who obtained a second-trimester abortion and the study heavily emphasizes the need for sex education among in-school and out-of-school young women. While the policy recommends declaring regions of the country having large populations of educationally-disadvantaged SEDGs as ‘Special Education Zones’ (SEZs), where all the schemes and policies could be implemented to the maximum. Though, without ensuring acceptance for gender-based diversity in educational spaces, change might not be effective enough.
Also read: “Depressed Minds, Suicidal Thoughts And Unsafe Nets: Mental Health And The Pandemic”

The convergence of existing mental health interventions of NMHP and RKSK could now be easier. Though, at this stage, how things might unfold is not clear, as there is little evidence on the effectiveness of school mental health services and counselling through trained teachers envisaged under District Mental Health Programme or Kishore Swasthya Karyakram. Findings of a recent study published in Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, indicate the presence of negative attitude toward individuals suffering from mental illness among the teachers, about 70% of teachers in this study showed overall agreement to personal and perceived stigma toward the depression case in the vignette.

Considering the possibility of quality issues among school-based counsellors, the need of having certain guidelines cannot be ignored to prevent chances of stigma. Parity of esteem is fine, as long as early direct interventions don’t distort the self-image of a child, protecting that should be the priority and is certainly an aspect of capacity building of those involved in decision making and providing services.

Author:

Vijeta Laxmi,

Works as Programme Manager with Praxis

Views expressed are personal.

Supreme Court seeks Centre's response on casteism in campus - DNA India

Supreme Court seeks Centre's response on casteism in campus

According to the petitioners, there have been 20 other documented suicides of similar nature since 2004 that were not highlighted

 Rohit Vemula File picture of a protest seeking justice for Rohit Vemula

WRITTEN BY



Abraham Thomas

SOURCE
DNA
Updated: Sep 21, 2019, 05:00 AM IST

The Supreme Court on Friday set out to examine how despite regulations being in place to check caste-based discrimination in central universities, persons belonging to the reserved communities felt victimised with some even being driven to the point of death.

Sharing this concern with the Court were two mothers – Abeda Salim Tadvi and Radhika Vemula – who lost their children to such discrimination – one her daughter, a resident doctor Payal Tadvi in May 2019 and the other her son Rohit Vemula in January 2016. Both incidents were documented cases of suicide due to discrimination.

According to the petitioners, there have been 20 other documented suicides of similar nature since 2004 that either could not be highlighted or failed to get noticed. It was only after the recent suicide of Payal Tadvi, the Government woke up. The University Grants Commission (UGC) shot a letter to all varsities reminding them of its UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations 2012 aimed to eliminate all forms of discrimination by providing preventive and protective measures.

CASE FILE

According to the petitioners, there have been 20 other documented suicides of similar nature since 2004 that were not highlighted
It was only after the recent suicide of Payal Tadvi, the government woke up, say petitioners

The letter disclosed the fact that the Regulations required all colleges/universities to establish an Equal Opportunity Cell and appoint Anti-Discrimination Officer (ADO) to investigate complaints of any form of discrimination. Reminders were issued by UGC to all colleges from time to time on July 2011, July 2013, March 2016, September 2016, May 2017, June 2018 and latest in June 2019 seeking compliance of the Regulations.

The petition said, "The non-implementation of the UGC Regulations has resulted from lack of accountability on part of the university or college administration. The repeated inaction by state functionaries is resulting in an increasing number of student suicides and thus is violative of right to life under Article 21."

The bench of Justices NV Ramana and Ajay Rastogi felt that the matter required consideration and issued notice on the petition to the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development, UGC and the National Assessment and Accreditation

Senior Counsel Indira Jaising, arguing for the petitioners, highlighted that there are 288 central universities and an equal number of deemed varsities. An RTI seeking details of compliance by Universities on the UGC's Equity Regulations for the year 2017-18 revealed that only 419 universities out of around 880 recognised universities had replied to UGC. The UGC has till date failed to take any action against those universities which failed to comply, the petition stated.

In the instances highlighted by the petition, in 2007 a PhD student Senthil Kumar committed suicide due to alleged discrimination at the University of Hyderabad. This was the same place where nine years later, Rohit Vemula too ended his life after he was suspended from the college for alleged anti-national activities. He was a member of the Ambedkar Students Union. In November 2013, a PhD student Madari Venkatesh consumed poison and ended life in a college in Hyderabad. On enquiry, it was revealed that he was not allotted a PhD guide for his doctoral studies. Another instance of discrimination surfaced in January 2018 when a faculty member of IIT Kanpur complained of discrimination by his colleagues which were found true on enquiry. The suicide of Payal Tadvi then followed at a Mumbai colleague where she suffered discrimination due to her Adivasi identity.

Supreme Court
Mumbai
campus

Students and Dalit organisations across the country led demonstrations in the memory of Rohith Vemula. - News Click

Students and Dalit organisations across the country led demonstrations in the memory of Rohith Vemula.

Newsclick Report 17 Jan 2018

Image Courtesy: Mubashir Hameed

Two years back on this day, January 17, Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula committed suicide in NRS hostel in University of Hyderabad. After protesting for two weeks against his suspension along with four other Dalit students, losing hope, Vemula took the extreme step. Outraged over his demise, students of the University led a collective struggle demanding the arrest of University’s Vice-Chancellor P Appa Rao, the then MHRD Minister Smriti Irani, the then Central Minister Dattatreya and ABVP activist Susheel Kumar who were influential for the suspension meted to the five Dalit students. The struggle transformed into a nationwide students and Dalits movement which brought to the forefront, the discourse on the condition of Dalit and marginalised students and the functioning of the Educational system in the country.

However, when the central government appointed Roopanwala committee claimed that Rohith Vemula is not Dalit as his father belonged to Vaddera caste (OBC) and his Mother belonged to Scheduled Caste- Mala community, no police action was taken against the accused.

In his suicide letter, Vemula wrote “My birth is my fatal accident…. The value of a man was reduced to his immediate identity and nearest possibility. To a vote. To a number. To a thing.” His letter explained his struggles in his life for being born as a Dalit who eventually became an Ambedkarite student activist.

Hyderabad University’s Ambedkar Students Association has organised ‘Rohith Shahadath Din’ in Vemula’s memory on his second death anniversary. Students have taken permission from the campus authorities to allow Radhika Vemula along with six others including Kancha Ilaiyah inside the campus and address the students gathering in Savitribhai Phule auditorium. Last year, on the same day, Telangana police had arrested her when she had tried to enter the campus.

After her son’s demise, Radhika Vemula has been raising her voice against Dalit oppression and has become a part of the Dalit movement in the country.

Students from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, IIT Madras, Osmania University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences and other state and central universities have participated today in demonstrations, rallies to commemorate Vemula’s death anniversary.

Sunkanna Velpula, one of the five suspended students along with Rohith Vemula wrote on his Facebook wall, “I don’t know whether we have the right to remember you Rohith because we failed to deliver justice for your sacrifice in Hindutva ruling. But one thing is true… We Missed You. There is no one to replace you. You are Unique.”

Rohith Act:

Framing and promulgation of a ‘Rohith Act’ which can safeguard the students from marginalised sections in Indian Universities was another main demand from student communities after Vemula’s death. While various political parties, student organisations and social scientists have suggested various drafts for a separate act in Rohith Vemula’s name, however, it has not seen the light of the day in the current BJP-led central government.

Student groups at IIT Delhi, JNU to mark a year of Rohith Vemula’s death - Hindustan Times

Student groups at IIT Delhi, JNU to mark a year of Rohith Vemula’s death

DELHI Updated: Jan 17, 2017 13:35 Ist

Heena Kausar  Hindustan Times

Students demand justice for Rohith Vemula who had committed suicide after alleged discrimination on the basis of caste. (HT FILE)

A year after PhD student Rohith Vemula killed himself at University of Hyderabad after caste based discrimination, students in Delhi will come together to remember him.

Vemula’s death had sparked protests in the university and across the country over caste discrimination. It had led to heated discussions in Parliament and committees were formed to probe the events leading to his death even as contradictory reports emerged over whether he was an OBC like his father or an SC like his mother. The one-man committee formed by HRD ministry said that he was not a Dalit.

To mark a year of Vemula’s death on January 17, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) will be organising a protest march from Mandi House to the HRD ministry. “We will march to demand enactment of Rohith Vemula Act against caste based discrimination in campuses. And also to seek punishment for those responsible for his death,” said Mohit Pandey, president JNUSU.

At IIT-D, a group of students and professors have come together to form “Ambedkar Study Circle” which will hold a remembrance meeting. “We will organise a meeting of remembrance and commemoration for Rohith Vemula Shahadat Diwas,” a member said.

Measures to be initiated to prevent suicides on campus: HRD minister - TNN

Measures to be initiated to prevent suicides on campus: HRD minister

Punkhuri Kapoor | TNN | Oct 6, 2016, 09.28 PM IST

VARANASI: Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said that induction courses would be initiated in every university campus along with counseling sessions, grievance redressal and student-teacher dialogue to prevent suicides in varsity campus. 

Referring to the Rohith Vemula's suicide while talking to reporters on Thursday, Javadekar said, "To ensure that suicides on campus is not repeated, the vice-chancellors of the central universities have been asked to introduce induction courses, ensure arrangements of counseling sessions and a grievance redressal cell besides student-teacher interaction." He also appreciated the six-week-long induction course run by IIT-BHU recently. 

On being asked about the probe report by judicial commission stating that Vemula's mother faked dalit status, Javadekar said, "I am yet to read the report submitted by former Allahabad high court judge A K Roopanwal which is to arrive at office on Friday. As of now, the process is being followed and things are being looked into." The contents of the report are Justice Roopanwal's findings with depositions from different people hence would only comment after reading it, he added. 

In reply to another question pertaining to forgery of marksheets/degrees, HRD minister said that national depository initiatives were being introduced on lines of dematerialization of shares as a part of which degrees of all central universities will be digitized. It has been implemented from this year, he added. 

When asked about majority of vacant seats in universities every year, Javadekar said that it was discussed in the review meeting with VC's of all central universities and they assured that the vacant seats will all be filled. He also cited how the newly opened central university in Motihari filled its seats within a short period of two months. The HRD minister, when questioned about former HRD minister's announcement to fly tricolour atop a 207-ft mast in all central universities, said that he would look into it and check its status. 

Divulging details of the review meeting chaired by him at BHU on Thursday, Javadekar said, "In the meeting, we stressed upon developing each and every central university as a centre of research, innovation and quality education. The VC's of a total of 36 Central universities gave their presentations and the kind of work they're doing. But, we intend to open gates for higher education and efforts are on to increase seats in IITs, IIMs and also ensure that no seats are left vacant in NITs."

Citing examples of universities like Nalanda, Taxila and Vakramshila, HRD minister said, "Our country was one-third of the world trade and that was because we had great universities like Nalanda. If global rankings existed at that time, these universities would have bagged top positions," he claimed, adding that the Britishers provided education to a limited class to serve their administrative purposes but did not want Indians to really learn. 

Javadekar, who also inaugurated the Shatabdi Krishi Bhawan and green building of BHU, appreciated the efforts of varsity towards sustainable development.

Minister of state for HRD, Mahendra Nath Pandey, said that to boost the level of primary education and improve its quality, a pilot project of imparting science skills will be given to primary schools in as many as 88 blocks of Varanasi and Vindhyachal commissionaries to raise the bar of primary education. "We wish to improve the quality of primary education so that the children are not merely lured by introduction of schemes like Midday meal and others. Hence, a pilot project will soon be introduced in both these commissionaries," informed Pandey.

Rohith's suicide, JNU row unites Left and Dalit students all over India

Rohith's suicide, JNU row unites Left and Dalit students all over India

SPEED NEWS DESK

|7 March 2016

University and college campuses in India are seeing more unity between opposing student unions than ever before thanks to the issues of the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula and the nationalism-sedition controversy at JNU. Some colleges that never had a student body before are also now creating them.

In JNU, from where Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was charged with sedition together with seven other students with various political ideologies after an event was organised on campus on 9 February, where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised, Leftist student organisations such as the Students Federation of India, All India Students Federation and the All India Students Association are now working together with Dalit group, Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association (Bapsa).

The All India Students Association and All India Students Federation members were the first in JNU to protest discrimination against Dalits after Rohith's suicide on 17 January, and Bapsa members participated in rallies organised by their one-time rivals to protest the government and police crackdown on JNU.

"We still have ideological differences but have decided to join hands on common issues. It's not a permanent union," said Manikanta, a Bapsa leader.".the recent association is aimed at fighting the Right-wing forces, which are on a mission to destroy institutions."

JNU row, Rohith Vemula's suicide: Decoding HRD Minister Smriti Irani’s speech in Lok Sabha - ZEE News

JNU row, Rohith Vemula's suicide: Decoding HRD Minister Smriti Irani’s speech in Lok Sabha

By Manisha Singh | 

Last Updated: Thursday, March 3, 2016 - 21:28

Just before the Budget Session of Parliament, it was reported in the media, though not officially confirmed, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted his party colleagues to go all out and be aggressive on the JNU row and the Afzal Guru controversy. And, we saw just that from various BJP lawmakers like Anurag Thakur and Venkaiah Naidu who sought to make the debate into one of nationalism versus anti-nationals.

However, it was the firebrand HRD Minister Smriti Irani who stole the show in Lok Sabha and became the talking point. Her speech was debated in TV studios and became one of the top trends on social media. It also impressed PM Modi so much so that he tweeted a link of the speech and asked people to listen to it.

There is no doubt that for someone who is just a little over a decade old in politics, Irani exudes tremendous amount of confidence and has a ready rejoinder to the barbs thrown at her by her opponents. And that is what was at display in Parliament, especially in Lok Sabha where she sought to turn the tables on the Opposition and hammered home the point that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was a political opportunist who, if given a chance, would even align with so-called anti-nationals.

What struck many was the fact that like a good show, the young minister’s speech was laced with both emotion and aggression. Her eyes welled up with tears when talking about the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula where she talked about herself being a mother, but the next moment she thundered with anger and challenged anyone to prove that she was guilty of saffronisation of education.

Irani also countered the Opposition charge that she failed in performing her duty and took a dig at Congress, saying that they were taking revenge from her for contesting against Rahul in 2014 General Elections. Perhaps, she went a little overboard with the theatrics and sounded dramatic when she said ‘my name is Smriti Irani and I challenge you to tell my caste’, but in a nutshell there is no doubt that she stood her ground with her oratorical skills and by summoning the right materials and papers.

However, the flip side is that Irani banked on emotions and aggression to circumvent certain matters that the BJP is not very comfortable answering. For example, the minister did not touch upon BJP’s alliance with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir with the latter’s view not really in sync with the former on Afzal Guru. 

Also, having sort of won the battle in the Lok Sabha, it was a different ball game in the Rajya Sabha for Irani. The Upper House saw huge uproar over her comments on the ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’ being celebrated in JNU with the Opposition accusing the HRD Minister of trying to play communal politics. And BSP chief Mayawati did not let go of the chance to corner Irani by pointing out anomalies in her speech and accusing of BJP of being anti-Dalit.

Not only this, Vemula’s family and friends called the minister's speech in Parliament about the events surrounding the Dalit scholar’s death as a bunch of lies. And her assertions that no doctor was allowed to attend to Vemula for hours and hours, were also refuted by a university physician. To clear the air, Irani needs to tell the nation as to what her facts were based on, otherwise she will be accused of misleading the House.

The HRD Minister is not new to controversies and in the short span that she has occupied the office she has weathered many storms – like the allegations of intervention in IIT appointments and accusations of appointments at various educational bodies of those sympathetic to ‘Hindutava agenda’. She was also attacked by the Opposition for allegedly giving wrong facts about her educational qualifications.

However, every time she gave it back to those criticising her in her own style and it’s likely that Irani may wriggle out of this one too. Yet, she has to be careful because people see through half-truths and lies, if any. But as of now, the HRD Minister to a large extent was successful in fulfilling her party’s agenda of playing on the nationalistic sentiments in the Lok Sabha and emphatically driving home the point to her opponents by stating - “I am not certifying your patriotism, but don’t demean mine. I am not certifying your idea of India, but don’t demean mine.”

First Published: Thursday, March 3, 2016 - 21:27

Rohit Vemulas Suicide Rocks Parliament

The New Indian Express JNU Row, Rohit Vemula's Suicide Rocks Parliament; Emotional Smriti Attacks Opposition The New Indian Express She said Rohith Vemula said that no one was responsible for his death and ... While attacking BJP and RSS, Scindia also raised the issue of FTII, IIT ... HRD Minister Smriti Irani speaks in the Lok Sabha in New Delhi on Wednesday. | PTI NEW DELHI: In one of the fieriest debates in the recent times, the issue of Rohit Vemula, Dalit scholar who committed suicide, and JNU episode rocked both the houses of the parliament as Opposition and the treasury benches traded charges. While, emotionally charged HRD minister Smriti Irani attacked opposition, particularly Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, of politicising the death of a student and siding with those opposed to India, the united opposition pilloried the government for playing partisan politics.  Congress, TMC, BJP, Left while denouncing anti-national slogans in JNU, they charged government was gunning against students opposed to their ideology. Aggressive Irani took on the united Opposition in Lok Sabha head on while speaking during the discussion, saying she would leave politics if anyone of the vice chancellors appointed were to suggest she was indulging in saffronisation.    “I am not certifying your patriotism. But don’t demean mine. I am not certifying your idea of India, but do not demean mine,” she said even as opposition parties staged a walkout. Rubbishing opposition charges over for her handling of Vemula’s death. Irani said, “My name is Smriti Irani. I challenge you to tell me my caste.” "No one can raise a finger against me on this issue. I am taking it personally as woman who gives birth can break from inside,” Irani said choking with emotion while referring to her criticism over Vemula’s death while adding "Our children are not vote-banks."   She said Rohith Vemula said that no one was responsible for his death and even added that the executive council that took the decision to suspend Rohith was appointed by Congress.  In Rajya Sabha, BSP supremo Mayawati clashed with Irani as her party members forced adjournments over non-inclusion of a dalit in the inquiry panel to probe Vemula’s death, and even insisting on separate discussion into Vemula’s death rather than clubbing it with the JNU issue. She also accused government being anti-dalit, even as no business could be conducted for the first day. responded to Mayawati by saying, "I am ready to reply to all questions. First you allow the discussion... You are senior to me. You are a woman. If you want, I am ready to reply. If you are not satisfied with my reply, I am ready to behead myself and lay it on your feet." In Lok Sabha, Irani turned emotional several times as she read out from the posters and slogans used in the JNU against India, questioning the death penalty of Afzal Guru and even some uncharitable remarks against Goddess Durga. She questioned why was Rahul Gandhi siding with the anti-nationals and if attack on her was because she was Congress VP’s rivel in Amethi.  “Even Indira Gandhi lost power. But her son never supported slogans demanding destruction of India,” Irani said targeting Rahul for supporting JNU students.  Reffering to some in JNU also praising Yaqub Menon, she said bomb blasts took place in Mumbai on March, which is my mother’s birthday, how can i forget. They questioned Supreme Court and India, she added.   Irani named all the student mentioned in the JNU report and said "Umar Khaild misled the university administration saying that he was organising a poetry reading event". Referring to Rohit Vemula case, she said even other MPs had written to him several times, like Congress Hanumantha Rao, Assadudin Owasi, as it was her duty.  “My ministry handled 61,000 complaints we never asked the caste or religious of them,” she charged.  She accused Telangana government of playing politics over the death of a child. “ Have you seen Rahul Gandhi going to a spot twice. He went there, as he was playing politics. Earlier gandhio speaking to reporters outside the parliament had said he was willing to speak but he was not being allowed to voice his opnion. Rajnath Singh responded with saying government will not stop anyone.  Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the Lok Sabha that no innocent student will be harassed and said the issue of sedition charge slapped against some students should be left for the courts to decide. Earlier during the day, Congress MP Jyotiradtiya led the attack on government for death of Vemula and crushing dissent in JNU.   "Bandaru Dattaterya in his letter had called Rohith a castiest and an anti-national. Where in the world can you see a HRD minister writing five letters in any case," he said. While attacking BJP and RSS,  Scindia also raised the issue of FTII, IIT Madras and JNU and said, "the government was trying to muzzle the voice of the youth." He alleged that the government was angry with JNU because it stood against "saffron terrorism", Dadri lynching, RSS and the suicide of Rohith Vemula in the Hyderabad University. From BJP side, Anurag Thakur raised the nationalist pitch over the JNU issue and attacked Congress, saying for the party, "it is 'family first', 'party next' and 'nation last'. For us, it is 'nation first', 'party next' and 'family last'." He alleged that Rahul Gandhi went to the university to support such outfits which were named by the previous UPA government as "frontal organisations" for Maoists.     "I want to ask Sonia ji, why your young leader was standing with those who stand with Afzal Guru," Thakur said addressing the Congress President who was present there. TMC MP and former Harvard professor Sugata Bose accused the government of being "heartless" in dealing with the students and said the situation in the JNU should have been handled with sensitivity.  He said   BJP’s definition of nationalism was "narrow, selfish and arrogant" and even warned them for raising this pitch while qoting Tagore, Netaji and Aurobindo. He was heard with rapt attention. After his speech even Sonia and Rahul went to congratulate him. BJD member Tathagata Satpathy described Azfal Guru as a "scoundrel" and said the system gave the dreaded man full chance to defend himself. But he added, the government should have handled the JNU episode with care and the Home Ministry should not have made a statement on the basis of tweets. CPM MP M B Rajesh said the BJP was branding JNU as a centre of anti-national activities. Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge said nobody should politicise the issues of Hyderabad central University and JNU.     "You have 80,000 constables and you are not able to catch 8-10 students and instead you are defaming all the people," Kharge said and asked whether it was Congress' fault. Sparks fly in Houses over JNU row, Rohith Vemula's suicide - The Asian Sparks fly in Houses over JNU row, Rohith Vemula’s suicide Feb 25, 2016 |  Age Correspondent   |  New Delhi   Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi talks to media at Parliament House in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI) Govt bid to muzzle youth: Jyotiraditya The raging Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) controversy rocked Lok Sabha proceedings on Wednesday with an emotionally charged human resources development minister Smriti Irani saying the university’s student union president, Kanhaiya Kumar, and other students were found indulging in anti-national activities by the varsity authorities themselves. She also made an emotional pitch on Hyderabad Central University student Rohith Vemula’s suicide, saying that her ministry had no role in his death and that the deceased himself had said in his suicide note that nobody should be held responsible for his action. Replying to a discussion on the JNU row and Vemula suicide incident, Union home minister Rajnath Singh assured the Lok Sabha that no innocent student would be harassed and said the issue of the sedition charge slapped on some students should be left to the courts to decide. The home minister also told the House that those found guilty of attacks on the media in the Patiala House courts would not be spared. Sparks flew as soon as the House started a discussion on the JNU row and Hyderabad Central University student Rohith Vemula’s suicide, with both the Treasury benches and the Opposition playing a game of one-upmanship to present their credentials as “nationalists”. Initiating the debate, Congress chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia alleged “undue interference” by Union HRD minister Smriti Irani and labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya in Vemula’s case. “Bandaru Dattatreya in his letter had called Rohith a castiest and an anti-national. Where in the world can you see a HRD minister writing five letters in any case,” Mr Scindia said. The Congress MP from Guna also raised the issue of FTII, IIT Madras and JNU and said “the government was trying to muzzle the voice of the youth”. Lambasting the government, Mr Scindia attacked external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, tribal affairs minister Jual Oram and Ms Irani for emphasising that Vemula was not a dalit. Criticising the role of the Hyderabad University administration, he said protests and fights are the part of academic institutions but in this case the vice-chancellor should have tackled this issue in a better way. However, he instead suspended the dalit students and compelled them to stay in an open tent because of the “politics of the RSS and BJP”, the Congress legislator said. “The Prime Minister speaks of demographic dividend of the youth. But what do we see in the country? In Madhya Pradesh, we see Vyapam in Madhya Pradesh, the problem of drugs in Punjab, the way the voice of students in FTII was muzzled. The government machinery is being misused and is trying to crush the voice of the dissident and those having a contrary view,” he said. He also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “He tweets on every other thing, but it took five days for him to speak on this matter, only after a worldwide uproar. There is no reference in Mann Ki Baat.” Later the home minister in his reply to the debate also told the House that those found guilty of attacks on the media in the Patiala House courts would not be spared. The home minister also answered criticism for making a remark that LeT founder Hafiz Sayeed had expressed support to the JNU students, saying he never makes any comment which is “baseless or not backed by any direct or indirect evidence”. He, however, refrained from going into details citing confidentiality. Replying to a day-long debate on the JNU issue, he said the government had no hand in the action taken against the students and that the police was taking action with regard to allegations that anti-India slogans were chanted there. “If slapping of sedition charge was right, the court will uphold it, if it was wrong, the court will quash it. But let the court take a view on it,” he said, adding, “Under no circumstances will any innocent student be allowed to be harassed.” HRD minister Smriti Irani came out all guns blazing while replying to the charged day-long debate. She said she was being targeted by the Congress for contesting against Mr Rahul Gandhi in Amethi parliamentary constituency. “I will not seek forgiveness for doing my duty... You (Congress members) never wanted to listen to my reply,” she said aloud as the Congress members, Left parties and Trinamul Congress staged a walkout as she was speaking. During the last 20 months as minister, Ms Irani said, she had tried to do justice to students by trying to address their complaints without asking for their “caste or religion”. Rejecting the charge of saffronising education, she said she would quit politics if it was established she had made any attempt to do so. Most of the vice-chancellors are Congress appointees, Ms Irani said, adding she had asked them to listen to students who come from different backgrounds and address their issues. Citing documents, she said a report by JNU’s security people observed that some students were indulging in anti-national sloganeering even though the students had sought permission to hold a “poetry” event. Those involved in the programme, including Umar Khalid, Kanhaiya Kumar and others, she said, were suspended by the JNU authorities though they were allowed to stay on the campus till completion of the inquiry. Sugata Bose of the Trinamul Congress accused the government of being “heartless” in dealing with the students and said the situation in JNU should have been handled with sensitivity. Observing that similar problems were witnessed at Jadavpur University, he said the West Bengal government did not over-react but tried to defuse the situation. He said people could disagree with students, but it would be incorrect to brand them anti-national and slap sedition charges on them. “They too have the right to make a mistake,” he added. Nobody, Mr Bose said, should claim a monopoly on nationalism and the government should respect the right of everyone, including that of students, to freedom of speech and expression. Quoting his grand-uncle, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, he said it would be wrong to pursue nationalism which is “narrow, selfish and arrogant”. He suggested that laws dealing with sedition should be repealed as they were enacted by colonial rulers to subserve their ends.

State cannot define what is nationalism: IIT-Bombay faculty - Indian Express

State cannot define what is nationalism: IIT-Bombay faculty

Meanwhile, faculty members of other IITs have also issued a joint statement “condemning” the arrest of JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

A student shouts slogans even as JNU teachers and students form a human chain inside the campus in protest against arrest of JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar on Sunday. Express photo by Oinam Anand. 14 February 2016

FORTY-TWO faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) have come out in support of JNU students, saying that the “state cannot define who is an Indian and what is nationalism”. They have also condemned state intervention in various educational institutions, terming it as “attempts to stifle dissent and suppress differences”.

Meanwhile, faculty members of other IITs have also issued a joint statement “condemning” the arrest of JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

“We, the faculty of IIT-B, are deeply concerned with the recent events that have undermined the autonomy of institutions of higher education in this country. We believe that these institutions are spaces of critical thinking and expression. Matters of contention that might arise in the conduct of intellectual and social engagements need to be addressed democratically and rationally. These methods in turn should be within the purview of institutional procedures that are responsible and accountable,” said the IIT-B faculty members in a letter released on Thursday.

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• Arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar: No student will depose before proctorial panel, says JNUSU
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• Campus heads, IIT to IIMs, reaction to JNU row is: Caution, silence
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“The state cannot dictate on the many meanings of what it is to be ‘Indian’ or mandate the meaning of ‘nationalism’. Rather, the state should be the one that makes sure that multiple ways of imagining one’s relationship with the nation are allowed to flourish, especially when it might contradict dominant ways of thinking,” they said.

Among those who have signed the letter are: D Parthasarathy, professor and head of department, humanities and social sciences; V S Borkar, professor, department of electrical engineering; Aftab Alam, professor, department of physics; A Sanyal, professor, department of computer science and engineering; A Chatterjee, professor, department of aerospace engineering; Anil Kottantharayil, professor, department of electrical engineering; Dibyendu Das, professor, department of physics; Kushal Deb, professor, department of humanities and social sciences; Madhu N Belur, professor, department of electrical engineering; N C Narayanan, professor, Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA); Purushottam Kulkarni, professor, department of computer science and engineering; Raja Mohanty, professor, Industrial Design Centre (IDC); Ravi N Banavar, professor, systems and control engineering; Supratik Chakraborty, professor, department of computer science and engineering; Aliasgar Q Contractor, professor (retired), department of chemistry; M S Raghunathan, distinguished guest professor, department of mathematics; Shrikrishna G Dani, distinguished guest professor, department of mathematics; Douglas Allen, professor of philosophy, University of Maine, USA, and visiting chair professor in Gandhian philosophy, IIT-B.

The faculty members, however, clarified that their letter reflects their stand and not that of the institution.

“A few professors at IIT-B have been discussing the increasing interference of the government as well as the drastic cuts introduced in funding for higher education including IITs. Both Rohith Vemula’s suicide and what happened at JNU is against all democratic norms and we have put out our support in the form of this statement,” said a senior IIT-B faculty member who did not want to be named.

“On February 15, the police stood by as mute spectators as a group of lawyers and hooligans attacked students and faculty of JNU… Isn’t this a ploy to silence all voices raised against this dictatorship. Hence we call upon students, faculty and staff of all higher education institutions to unite to fight intolerance against dissent and ensure that the right to freedom of expression, especially in academic institutions, is not undermined,” said another professor from CTARA.

Meanwhile, some faculty members of Pan-India IITs also issued a joint statement on Thursday. “We, the scholars and faculty of departments of humanities and social sciences of IITs across the country, condemn the police action in JNU and the arrest of the JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar on the charge of sedition. We also denounce the repeated acts of violence unleashed by some lawyers and others at the Patiala House Courts against faculty, students and the media, as well as police inaction regarding the same. We also criticise the general atmosphere of fear and intimidation that is being created to target the entire university,” they said.

“We see the attack on JNU as one of a series of attacks on academic autonomy and the liberal ethos of learning. The attempt to ban the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle at IIT-Madras, questionable appointments at various institutions of higher education, and the recent attack on the Ambedkar Students’ Association at the University of Hyderabad leading to the death of research scholar Rohith Vemula, must be seen as a part of a very disturbing trend,” said the statement.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/state-cannot-define-what-is-nationalism-iit-bombay-faculty/#sthash.uyhcIuDA.dpuf

Campus Row: IIT-Madras circular bars all ‘political activities’ - Indian Express

Campus Row: IIT-Madras circular bars all ‘political activities’

Director calls it a ‘mistake’, says no intention to impose such rules; students slam move, link it to Rohith Vemula protests

Written by Arun Janardhanan , Dipti Nagpaul D'souza | Chennai | Published:February 10, 2016 2:05 am

IIT-Madras

LESS THAN a year after IIT-Madras banned a Dalit students’ movement, and then revoked the decision following nationwide protests, the authorities, it has emerged, have issued another circular, this time with an aim to bar all kinds of “political activity” because that is “against the apolitical nature of the institute”.

Another clause in the circular — an undertaking to be signed by students, scholars, project associates and others – says, “I shall not indulge in any activity that will adversely affect the image of the university”.

Taking objection, students and students’ group representatives said these were vague clauses that will be open to interpretation, and can be used against any student at any point to drive him/her out of the hostel, which is the last point in the undertaking. In fact, as one student pointed out, something not very dissimilar had been done with Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar from Hyderabad Central University, who was suspended, leading to his suicide that sparked nationwide protests.

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Official response of IIT-Madras varied from initial denial to lack of knowledge to admission of mistake “if such a circular went out”. The Indian Express has accessed the document being circulated in hostels.

Earlier, students were required to submit three affidavits – two anti-ragging undertakings from students and parents, and an “honour code”, or a set of rules or ethical principles for the academic community.

Specifying that he was not aware of any such new rule being implemented, Sivakumar Srinivasan, Dean of Students, said, “May be (it was) a mistake if such clauses are added in the list…or it may be something done by the hostel authorities.”

Srinivasan was blamed for the decision to ban Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle (APSC) in May 2015 based on an anonymous complaint forwarded by the Union HRD ministry. It alleged that APSC members were inducing “hatred” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu community.

K Sethupathi, Chairman, Council of Wardens, initially said no such rules were circulated. When told specifically about the clauses and cited with instances of students being served the document for the last two weeks, Sethupathi said he had never “intended” doing so. “(It) may be a mistake,” he said. “If students have a problem, I will send them a clarification mail to not follow any such rule. (A) similar form uploaded on the website has no such clauses.”

IIT-M Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi also initially claimed ignorance but later told The Indian Express that it could have been a “mistake” by his colleagues. Asked how such clauses could be added by mistake, he said a similar rule was implemented in July last year, and revoked following students’ objection. “Officials must have used those papers again. Anyway, I have no intention to impose such rules,” Ramamurthi said.

A senior APSC leader said: “What do they mean by ‘indulging in political activity within the campus…’? It is a very vague rule that can be used against students in different contexts. When the authorities turn indifferent to APSC and other independent student groups, right-wing student groups propagating political ideology of the RSS and inviting their leaders are being treated like official bodies. Groups such as Vivekananda Study Circle or Vande Mataram are allowed to take students on campus buses for temple visits, and they have a permanent room when others have no such privileges.”

Condemning the document, Chinta Bar, an independent students’ movement in IIT-M, said in a statement that it may not be a coincidence that this document comes into circulation soon after student uprisings on campuses across the country following Rohith Vemula’s suicide. “Even in the absence of such undertaking, student activities are under constant surveillance. This undertaking would help administration take action against any student for anything under the tag of “tarnishing the image of IITM”…. This is to silence dissenting voices and crucify independent student bodies,” the statement said.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/dalit-banned-rohith-vemula-campus-row-iit-madras-circular-bars-all-political-activities/#sthash.iE7zrUWq.dpuf

Rohith Vemula suicide: An ugly show of power-political nexus in India - Newsgram

Rohith Vemula suicide: An ugly show of power-political nexus in India

By NewsGram News Desk -February 4, 2016

By Arnab Mitra

New Delhi: A student committed suicide in the wee hours of January 17 sparking a nationwide protest against political interference in the educational institutions. Rohith was a PhD student at the University of Hyderabad and he was expelled on the charges of assaulting an ABVP student in the University Campus.

This incident has its roots to a chain of events that spurted in August last year. Ambedkar Students Association (ASA), along with Ambedkar Reading Group, University of Delhi, Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle, IIT Madras, ASA (TISS) in Mumbai and some concerned students from IIT Bombay had issued a joint statement condemning an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) attack on screening of ‘Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hain’ and death sentence awarded to Yakub Menon. Later, ASA’s University of Hyderabad chapter organised a protest demonstration and according to a report they had assaulted ABVP leader Susheel Kumar.

But the University authorities became pro-active only after the involvement of Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and HRD minister Smriti Irani in this case and which led to a decision against five Dalit students including Rohith Vemula. The authorities asked the students to vacate their accommodation and their living spaces were also blocked.

As the incidence has flared up, questions have been raised regarding the involvement of Union ministers in the internal matter of the University. And it was quite shameful when the BJP spokesperson in a leading TV show said, “As Bandaru Dattatreya is the MP from Hyderabad, so he has every right to interfere in the University matter”. Supporting the statement a RSS leader said, “These students are anti-national and for that reason they were against the death sentence of Yakub Menon”.

Almost all the political parties tried to capitalize on Rohith Vemula’s suicide, including remote regional parties like AAP who have no presence in Hyderabad. They played politics on a young death, making it a Dalit issue. Unfortunately, politics will continue over Vemula and more so in the states like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh since assembly elections are due.

Two issue emerge here: One, political interference in campus life. Second, as the  experience from the past tells, incidents of campus violence often become political in nature. “But do we need political interference in the educational institution, and are educational institutions for study or for doing politics?”, asks Dr. Santwam Sarkar, professor of International Relation, Jadavpur University.

Dr. Akansha Ganguly, a columnist of a reputed English daily says, “It is too shameful to understand that a student committed suicide on the force of a democratic union and its ministers and now everyone is doing politics on ‘Vemula’ and it will be a good object for some political parties to win the upcoming assembly election in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh”.