New Delhi: The two sides and their chants — Jai Shri Ram vs Jai Bhim — filled the air as the Delhi Police stood like a wall between them. As the nation rose in preparation for Ram Temple consecration, a growing protest in a Delhi corner has largely gone unnoticed. It was the 148th day of a former Dalit DU professor’s fight against the Daulat Ram College principal. Holding the Constitution and filled with the spirit of Ambedkar, Phule, and Savitri Bai, Ritu Singh is fighting a battle that now appears bigger than her own cause — she alleges the university cancelled her appointment in 2020 because she was a Dalit.
From Bhim Army’s Azad to Punjab farmers, to a manual labourer from a Delhi shanty, and DU students and small children accompanied with their parents, Ritu Singh’s protest has resonated with allies, comrades and even a section of politicians, including Congress leader Srinivas, former Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam and former MP Udit Raj and BSP MP Girish Chandra.
“Dr. Ritu Singh is today’s Eklavya. Like Eklavya, her thumb is being cut off,” Singh’s lawyer representing her in the Delhi high court Mehmood Pracha had said during the protest at Jantar Mantar, two years ago.
“We were lathicharged, blue flags were removed… Why are we being treated like this? Why is exploitation happening? In democracy, janta (people) and sadak (streets) are the strongest. The most powerful voice is that of the public,” said Singh referring to the Delhi police action in which the cops tried to end the protest on 10 January. The police put up a poster stating the imposition of section 144. Singh’s supporters, however, said no such order was passed when hundreds of people gathered in an ABVP event celebrating Ayodhya on 22 January.
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A Bhim Army moment
An ad-hoc Psychology professor, Singh joined the Daulatram College in 2019 but was removed within a year and her contract was not renewed. “The VC of the university is not suspending Savita Roy (the principal) even after the charge sheet has been filed in Delhi High Court. We are fighting for her suspension and we will not step back even an inch,” told ThePrint wearing a black muffler – a symbol of protest. Her slogan being naukri nahi nyay chahiye (I am not fighting for my job, I demand justice).
28-year-old Singh, resident of Tarn Taran district of Punjab, has a PhD in Psychology from Delhi University.
On 10 August 2020, when Singh went to join Daulatram College, she was not given the joining letter. Savita Roy wanted to expel me because I talked about Ambedkar and Dalits, Singh claims.
After Ritu Singh took the matter of her termination to the Delhi High Court, Savita Roy presented a letter in her defense, which was signed by 35 students expressing their dissatisfaction with Singh’s teaching methods.
Between accusations of poor teaching standards and caste discrimination, Ritu Singh’s case has reached the high court, and has fuelled the nascent Bhim Army student federation of DU. This is their first big protest, as many as 50 people sat on dharna outside gate no 4 of the DU Arts Faculty on 22 January. It is their first mobilisation in a campus dominated by AISA, ABVP, and NSUI. It is the new kid on the block. The protest is also giving Azad the much-needed propeller moment. The Dalit student movement in DU – Bhim Army Student Federation (BASF) — has been active since 2019.
Placing blue flags of Jai Bhim on the trees and pots near the protest site, Ashutosh Bouddh, President of BASF at Delhi University, said, this is not an ordinary fight. “This is the first time that a Dalit professor at Delhi University is demanding justice for herself and that too in such a fearless manner. Her fight is the fight of the entire society.”
And Singh is too making sure this battle is not just about her own rights. She sees a larger theme in her tragedy and has taken it upon herself to educate and equip others — she has converted the protest site into a university classroom with blue flags marking its boundary. And there are refreshments — peanuts and namakpaare — for the visitors/supporters. She conducts Constitution classes here every day and reads out the Preamble to the people who come to support her. And the supporters sitting on the ground, ranging from the elderly to the young, repeat after her.
Her tutorials are engaging, with people often asking her to repeat an argument when they don’t understand. Once when she finished reading the Preamble, one of the protestors asked her to repeat the line because she spoke too quickly. Unlike JNU professors Nivedita Menon and Ayesha Kidwai who conducted open Q&A sessions with students on campus, Singh’s approach appears more direct and engaging. And those not paying attention are in for a scolding — “don’t look here and there. Look at your sister who is talking about the Constitution. You all are children of Ambedkar.” In between, she also lashes out at Delhi Police.
Every day people reach the Arts Faculty in support of Ritu Singh. Holding posters that read ‘naukri nahi nyay chahiye’. People raise slogans of Jai Bhim and demand justice for Ritu, sitting on blankets spread on the ground and return to their homes at 10 pm. The demonstration continues for about 6 hours every day.
Outside the Vishwavidyalaya metro station, Singh tells the students about the incident that happened to her and gives them posters of her protest.
Ambedkar, Phule, Savitri Bai and the Constitution are mentioned repeatedly in Singh’s speeches. “We got our rights because of Ambedkar. Is it a crime to talk about our rights? Is this a rebellion? If this is a rebellion, then I will do it again and again,” she said.
Thirty-year-old Jamwant lives in Ashok Nagar in Delhi working as a daily wage labourer. On 22 January, when he came to the Arts Faculty to support Singh, he was carrying books on Ambedkar, which he had bought from Jantar Mantar. Like Jamwant, dozens of young and old people had gathered, demanding justice for Ritu. Although most of them were men.
“This is the fight of our community (Dalit). The administration has done wrong to our sister. They have fired her, it is our responsibility to support her. That’s why I came here,” said Jamwant, sitting under a tree near the protest site.
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Police, University watching
The local police and the university are constantly monitoring her protest. “We have removed them several times but they come again. These people are protesting without permission. Because of them, security has to be maintained here,” said Bijendra Chillar, SHO of Maurice Nagar police station.
“Even when she taught here, she was quite vocal and expressed her views without any fear,” said a professor about Ritu Singh
Teachers at Daulat Ram College agree Singh has been vocal about social issues. “Even when she taught here, she was quite vocal and expressed her views without any fear. The battle she is fighting is justified. It is everyone’s right to demand their rights,” said a professor, on the condition of anonymity.
Her fight with Daulat Ram College isn’t the first in her feather. Singh has been vocal about social issues and has taken part in many protests in the past at Jantar Mantar. She has also protested against the three farm laws of the Modi government. On 31 January, she participated in the EVM hatao rally at Jantar Mantar.
“She has been protesting for more than 140 days, this is spoiling the atmosphere of the university,” said DU Proctor Rajni Abbi.
Even in religious politics, Singh vocally challenges the existing Modi government. “The state should keep itself separate from religion. But what is the situation happening today? State-sponsored politics and riots are happening. As long as Ambedkarite people are alive in India, we will not allow the Constitution of India to be destroyed,” she said, holding the Constitution in her hands.
The University administration is keeping a constant eye on this protest and the police gives information about the protest to the VC every day. “She has been protesting for more than 140 days, this is spoiling the atmosphere of the university,” said DU Proctor Rajni Abbi.
The university is not giving any statement on the issue, citing the matter as sub-judice. Abbi, who has previously been mayor of Delhi from BJP, said “The university will accept the decision given by the court. We are bound by the court order. The matter is still sub-judice, so it would not be right to say anything more.”
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The online reach
The agitation has also garnered online support with ‘Justice for Ritu’ trending on X on several occasions in the past few months.
On Facebook, Singh has added ‘The Activist’ before her name along with an image of her addressing a rally as the cover photo.
With 1.46 lakh followers on Facebook and over 43,000 on X, Singh is a popular figure online. On Instagram, she has around one lakh followers and her bio reads ‘activist, thinker, scholar and Ambedkarite.’ Singh posts regular updates about her protest videos that includes going live. “You will see a thousand difficulties but the scene will be very beautiful when the struggle will make noise” read one of her recent WhatsApp statuses.
Highlighting the Dalit identity is a big part of her online presence. “We are continuously hearing the propaganda of hatred and division. Therefore, it is my responsibility to convey the words of Ambedkar,” she said at the DU protest site on 22 January.
Her protest site is also attracting small-town YouTubers who are impressed by Singh’s oratory skill and personality. They click selfies with Singh and post them on their social media accounts. Singh too enjoys these fan moments. She is getting somewhat of a star status among protestors, with her oratory and grit, fast becoming a poster child of Ambedkar’s fight against the ongoing churn at Delhi University.
But amid all this, she remains focussed on her fight for justice.
Singh said that it is because of Ambedkar that she is standing here. “I will run a university on the street because a criminal did not allow me to teach in the college,” she declares.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)
If she swears by the constitution, has she not appealed to the judiciary instead of trying to resolve the issue on road?