Gujarat Dalit rally in Una warns state govt: Give us five acres land or face rail roko movement in month's time

From left: Jignesh Mevani, Kanhaiya Kumar at Una rally

By A Representative
In a strong message to the powers that be, thousands of Dalits gathered for a rally, held in Una town of Saurashtra region, pledged to begin a rail roko (stop the train) movement in case the Gujarat government fails to begin allocating, within a month, five acres of land to each rural Dalit family seeking rehabilitation from the despicable caste practice of manual scavenging and disposing of cattle carcasses.
Attended by thousands of Dalits from across Gujarat in the presence of Rohith Vemula's mother Radhika Vemula and Jawaharlal Nehru University president Kanhiya Kumar, the rally saw Jignesh Mevani, convener of the 10-day march, which began in Ahmedabad on August 5 and converted into a rally in Una on August 15, take the pledge from Dalits to gear up for the new stage of protest.
Attacking the state government for starting to implement from August 15 a land law which removed consent clauses concerning social and environmental impact assessment, Mevani said, it “undermines” land reforms, which are meant to help the marginalized communities.

Huge Muslim presence at the Una rally

Calling for a unity of Dalits, adivasis, Muslims, and people's movements from all over the country, Mevani asked the gathering whether they were ready to go to jail for their land rights, getting a resounding “yes” in reply.
Praising Muslims for helping to make the 10-day march a success, Mevani said it was a “fight for respect and dignity”, adding, those who considered cow their mother “could keep the cow's tail with them and give five acres land to each Dalit family.”
Also taking a pledge never to go down into gutters and never to dispose of carcasses, he said, “We'll fight with peasants and workers against the new land grab law”, raising the slogans “Duniya ke Dalit, duniya ki mahilayen, duniya ke mazdoor ek ho (Dalits, women, workers of the world unite).”
Radhika Vemula, who unfurled the national flag in place of a Valmiki (bhangi) girl as earlier planned, said, “I'm here to fight so that what happens to my son doesn't happen to any other child. Every Dalit child here is like mine. The country belongs to us all, not to a particular caste or religion alone.”

Radhika Vemula at Una

Held to protest the flogging of four Dalit youths in Una by cow vigilantes on July 11 for skinning a dead cow, the victims of the inhuman act were greeted by the gathering. Radhika's son Rohith was forced to commit suicide early this year under pressure from powerful sections wanting the PhD student of the Hyderabad Central University to end his protest.
Kanhaiya Kumar, JNU president, who was controversially put behind the bars on sedition charges for holding a protest for freedom from all forms of exploitation, said, JNU was “replete with instances of bringing about freedom from Brahminism, which is what the Una rally is also proposing to do.”
“There can't be any fight against Brahminism without raising the demand for land rights”, Kumar, who raised freedom slogans high in his short speech, said, adding, “When Dalits demand land, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says 'shoot me'”, even as thanking the gathering, for “exposing” the Gujarat model of development.”
The rally began with Gujarati satire rap by Jay Solanki, followed by the couple Charul and Vinay leading the gathering to sing the national anthem‬. The main slogan on the stage was “Duniya ke Dalit Ek Ho”, or “Dalits of the world unite”. It was held on the grounds of a large state-run school in Una following permissions from authorities.

Comments

Gram sabha as reformer: Mandla’s quiet challenge to the liquor economy

By Raj Kumar Sinha* This year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23–24 December 2025. The event marks the passage of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), enacted by Parliament on 24 December 1996 to establish self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. Scheduled Areas are those notified by the President of India under Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for a distinct framework of governance recognising the autonomy of tribal regions. At present, Fifth Schedule areas exist in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The PESA Act, 1996 empowers Gram Sabhas—the village assemblies—as the foundation of self-rule in these areas. Among the many powers devolved to them is the authority to take decisions on local matters, including the regulation...

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

Policy changes in rural employment scheme and the politics of nomenclature

By N.S. Venkataraman* The Government of India has introduced a revised rural employment programme by fine-tuning the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which has been in operation for nearly two decades. The MGNREGA scheme guarantees 100 days of employment annually to rural households and has primarily benefited populations in rural areas. The revised programme has been named VB-G RAM–G (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission – Gramin). The government has stated that the revised scheme incorporates several structural changes, including an increase in guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, modifications in the financing pattern, provisions to strengthen unemployment allowances, and penalties for delays in wage payments. Given the extent of these changes, the government has argued that a new name is required to distinguish the revised programme from the existing MGNREGA framework. As has been witnessed in recent years, the introdu...

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

From jobless to ‘job-loss’ growth: Experts critique gig economy and fintech risks

By A Representative Leading economists and social activists gathered in the capital on Friday to launch the third edition of the State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 , issuing a stark warning that the rapid digitalization of the Indian economy is eroding welfare systems and entrenching "digital dystopia."

Search This Blog