In the backdrop of massive protests by Dalits in Una, Gujarat, issues centred on Dalits have come to the fore in big media over the past week. Much like when numerous stories on crimes against women received prominent space in the aftermath of December 2012 gang rape case.

A Press Trust of India report stated today that 50 Dalit families in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh wrote to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seeking permission for euthanasia. The families, from Budhni in Sehore district (Budhni is Chouhan’s Vidhan Sabha constituency), have alleged that agricultural land given to them by the government 15 years ago has been illegally occupied by thugs employed by “influential persons”. As a result, the families have no source of income and, in desperation, wish to end their lives. The local administration, however, denied receiving any complaint and said the land dispute is the subject of a court case.

Meanwhile, ANI reported that in Maharashtra (another BJP-ruled state) two Dalit men were beaten up for overtaking a motorcycle on July 22.

ANI tweeted about the incident with images of the victims.

In the incident, which took place in Savargaon village in Beed district of Maharashtra, 25 people thrashed the victims after they saw a picture of Dr B R Ambedkar on their vehicle, according to the complainant. Although a complaint has been registered, none of the accused have been arrested so far.

In the national capital, there was news today of a 14-year old Dalit girl who succumbed to her injuries on Sunday after being sexually assaulted.

The girl was also forced to drink a corrosive substance which “destroyed her internal organs”, according to Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal.

While crimes against Dalits are routine, it is not always that the media reports them consistently. If the video of the thrashing of the Dalit men hadn’t gone viral, one wonders if this round of coverage would have happened