Even as the slapping of sedition charges against university students, a human rights organisation, and a former lawmaker for her comments on Pakistan, has sparked public outrage and triggered debate about intolerance in the country, the latest crime data shows that cases of sedition actually fell from 2014 to 2015.
The Times of India reported today that a total of 30 sedition cases were registered in 2015, which is 17 less than what were registered in 2014, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
Out of the 30 sedition cases registered nationwide, nine were in Bihar, followed by three each in Haryana, Karnataka and Kerala.
Attacks against Dalits, another problem which has sparked furore, have also seen a dip of 4.4 percent, with 45,003 cases of crimes committed against Scheduled Castes in 2015 compared to 47,064 in 2014. These figures include assaults on Dalit women, murders, rapes and abduction.
Samajwadi Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of attacks against Dalits (8,358) followed by Bharatiya Janata Party-run Rajasthan (6,998), Janata Dal (United)-run Bihar (6,438), Congress Party-run Arunachal Pradesh (4,415), and BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh (4188).
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