Dalit student death: Govt sought action report 4 times

January 20, 2016

New Delhi, Jan 20: The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had sent at least four reminders to University of Hyderabad, seeking action taken report on Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya’s complaint that the campus had become a “den of anti-national politics”.

Officials concerned, however, defended the Ministry’s action, maintaining that the university was not directed to take action against any student. The defence came a day after they described the forwarding of Dattatreya’s letter to the Central university as a “routine affair”.

“The Ministry only followed the rules. According to central secretariat manual of office procedures, communications received from Members of Parliament have to be acknowledged within 15 days of their receipt, followed by reply within next 15 days,” HRD Ministry spokesperson Ghanshyam Goel said, refuting the charge that the varsity expelled five Dalit students under pressure from Union Minister Smriti Irani.

The explanations came after official letters of the HRD Ministry, written to University of Hyderabad seeking action taken report on Union Minister of State (MoS) for Labour and Employment Dattatreya’s complaint, began circulating in media circles and later went viral on social media on Tuesday.

“Hyderabad University in the recent past has become den of casteist, extremist and anti-national politics. I earnestly hope under your dynamic leadership things would change in this campus for the better,” Dattatreya stated in his letter to Irani on August 17, 2015.

The Minister sought Irani’s intervention on the request of a local BJP leader Nandanam Diwakar, who complained that N Susheel Kumar, a PhD student and leader of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, was assaulted by Ambedkar Students’ Association members on the campus after the former protested against a prayer meeting organised by them (Ambedkar association), for Parliament attack convict Yakub Memon.

“He was abused, interrogated, manhandled, tortured and humiliated for his facebook status—‘ASA goons are talking about hooliganism—feeling funny’. Attack on him is the consequence of unchallenged growth of violent tendency on university campus aided by the failings of university,“ Diwakar stated in his three-page letter to Dattatreya on August 10.

The BJP leader urged the Union Minister to take up the matter with “Home Minister, intelligence agencies and HRD Minister”, saying any further delay “in addressing the problems” will not only harm Kumar but also other students in the future.

Thereafter, at least four reminders were sent to the University seeking action taken report, on September 24, October 6, October 20 and November 19, 2015. “The comments/facts have not been received so far. It is requested that same may kindly be expedited to enable the Ministry to reply to MoS,” HRD Ministry’s under secretary wrote to the university registrar on November 19.

Comments

He looks very smart but the caste system buried his intelligence. When will V wake up to the oppression of the people who think they are superior.....
But I remember Prophet Muhammad pbuh teachings who said:
There is no God but ALLAH, Worship him Alone & dont associate partners with him.
He also said : All humans are from Adam & Eve, An arab is not superior than Non arab Nor A non arab superior than an arab, A white is not superior than Black, Nor a black superior than white.. EXCEPT by Piety & Good Deeds...
Man Made Caste system is digging the graves of others - If we dont realise the reality of Worship - We will be doomed like this smart youth.

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Average age of school children picking up drugs, smoking habit in 10 Indian cities around 13 years!

News Network

December 13,2025

New Delhi: School-going children are picking up drug and smoking habits and engaging in consumption of alcohol, with the average age of introduction to such harmful substances found to be around 13 years, suggesting a need for earlier interventions as early as primary school, a multi-city survey by AIIMS-Delhi said.

The findings also showed substance use increased in higher grades, with grade XI/XII students two times more likely to report use of substances when compared with grade VIII students. This emphasised the importance of continued prevention and intervention through middle and high school.

The study led by Dr Anju Dhawan of AIIMS's National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, published in the National Medical Journal of India this month, looks at adolescent substance use across diverse regions.

The survey included 5,920 students from classes 8, 9, 11 and 12 in urban government, private and rural schools across 10 cities -- Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Ranchi. The data were collected between May 2018 and June 2019.

The average age of initiation for any substance was 12.9 (2.8) years. It was lowest for inhalants (11.3 years) followed by heroin (12.3 years) and opioid pharmaceuticals (without prescription; 12.5 years).

Overall, 15.1 per cent of participants reported lifetime use, 10.3 per cent reported past year use, and 7.2 per cent reported use in the past month of any substance, the study found.

The most common substances used in the past year, after tobacco (4 per cent) and alcohol (3.8 per cent), were opioids (2.8 per cent), followed by cannabis (2 per cent) and inhalants (1.9 per cent). Use of non-prescribed pharmaceutical opioids was most common among opioid users (90.2 per cent).

On being asked, 'Do you think this substance is easily available for a person of your age' separately for each substance category, nearly half the students (46.3 per cent) endorsed that tobacco products and more than one-third of the students (36.5 per cent) agreed that a person of their age can easily procure alcohol products.

Similarly, for Bhang (21.9 per cent), ganja/charas (16.1 per cent), inhalants (15.2 per cent), sedatives (13.7 per cent), opium and heroin (10 per cent each), the students endorsed that these can be easily procured.

About 95 per cent of the children, irrespective of their grade, agreed with the statement that 'drug use is harmful'.

The rates of substance use (any) among boys were significantly higher than those of girls for substance use (ever), use in the past year and use in the past 30 days. Compared to grade VIII students, grade IX students were more likely, and grade XI/XII students were twice as likely to have used any substance (ever).

The likelihood of past-year use of any substance was also higher for grade IX students and for grade XI/XII students as compared to grade VIII students.

About 40 per cent of students mentioned that they had a family member who used tobacco or alcohol each. The use of cannabis (any product) and opioid (any product) by a family member was reported by 8.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent of students, respectively, while the use of other substances, such as inhalants/sedatives by family was 2-3 per cent, the study found.

A relatively smaller percentage of students reported use of tobacco or alcohol among peers as compared to among family members, while a higher percentage reported inhalants, sedatives, cannabis or opioid use among peers.

Children using substances (past year) compared to non-users reported significantly higher any substance use by their family members and peers.

There were 25.7 per cent students who replied 'yes' to the question 'conflicts/fights often occur in your family'. Most students also replied affirmatively to 'family members are aware of how their time is being spent' and 'damily members are aware of with whom they spend their time'.

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