Casteist slur in college fest raised against Ambedkar; K'taka Congress raises concern, urges for action

Karnataka Congress on Saturday raised concern over the use of casteist slurs in a skit performed at a college fest in Bengaluru.

"There is a video containing abusive and objectionable content on Dr B.R. Ambedkar and the Dalit communities being exhibited in a programme organised at Jain college in Bengaluru," it stated in its social media handle.

Demanding action by the City Police Commissioner and Bengaluru police in this regard, the party said, "The police should take cognisance of the incident and initiate legal action."

The incident that took place during a college skit recently in Bengaluru has triggered a row with a police complaint being registered.

'The Delroys Boys', who performed the skit, have tendered an unconditional apology for the same. However, the debate over the issue is gaining traction.

On Thursday evening a group of students published an online petition on Jhatkaa.org bringing the incident to light. The petition stated that the college contingent from Jain University's Centre for Management Studies (CMS) staged an incredibly casteist and insensitive skit at the event.

The anonymous petitioners objected to the normalisation of caste discrimination in the pretext of humour. The skit was performed as part of 'MadAds,' a segment at the fest where the participants had to advertise imaginary products along lines of humour.

'The Delroys Boys', the theatre group from CMS, who are in the thick of controversy, in their skit, exhibited a man belonging to the lower caste attempting to date an upper caste woman. The skit turned B.R. Ambedkar to Beer Ambedkar. The phrase ""why be Dalit, when you can be D-Lit"" was said.

Akshay Bansode, State Member of the Vanchit Bahujan Yuva Aghadi has filed a police complaint in Maharashtra under provisions of the Atrocity Act and IPC. The complainant had urged the police to treat the complaint as an FIR and initiate action against the performers and the University.

Sources explain that the controversial skit was performed at other platforms. The Delroys Boys maintained that they apologise to everyone they have spoken badly about.