Mon Apr 14 19:20:59 UTC 2025: ## Tamil Nadu Governor Highlights Rise in Crimes Against Dalits, Educational Inequality
**Chennai, April 15, 2025** – Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi has voiced serious concerns over the rising number of crimes against Scheduled Castes (Dalits) in the state, alongside alarming statistics on educational disparity affecting Dalit children. In a speech commemorating B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, Governor Ravi cited a 50% increase in crimes against Dalits between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,174 cases to over 14,000. He also highlighted the disproportionately low conviction rate for such crimes in Tamil Nadu compared to the national average.
Governor Ravi emphasized that these were factual observations, not political statements, and expressed distress over the continued discrimination against Dalits in the state, citing incidents such as human excreta being found in a water tank. He further pointed to the disproportionate impact of tragedies like the Kallakurichi illicit liquor deaths, where a majority of the 66 fatalities were Dalits.
The Governor also drew attention to the critical issue of educational inequality, stating that over half of Dalit high school students in government schools lack basic literacy and numeracy skills, despite receiving 100% pass results and college admission. He criticized the stark contrast between the success of private schools and the underperformance of government schools in Tamil Nadu, arguing that this system condemns Dalit children to a cycle of poverty and unemployment.
Governor Ravi concluded by framing the issue not as a political matter, but as a critical human rights and social justice concern, underscoring the need to address the systemic inequalities that deny Dalit children their constitutional right to a life of dignity.
First Piper 