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

From algorithms to exploitation: New report exposes plight of India's gig workers

By Jag Jivan The recent report, "State of Finance in India Report 2024-25," released by a coalition including the Centre for Financial Accountability, Focus on the Global South, and other organizations, paints a stark picture of India's burgeoning digital economy, particularly highlighting the exploitation faced by gig workers on platform-based services.

Countrywide protest by gig workers puts spotlight on algorithmic exploitation

By A Representative A nationwide protest led largely by women gig and platform workers was held across several states on February 3, with the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claiming the mobilisation as a success and a strong assertion of workers’ rights against what it described as widespread exploitation by digital platform companies. Demonstrations took place in Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states, covering major cities including New Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Mumbai, along with multiple districts across the country.

Over 40% of gig workers earn below ₹15,000 a month: Economic Survey

By A Representative The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, while reviewing the Economic Survey in Parliament on Tuesday, highlighted the rapid growth of gig and platform workers in India. According to the Survey, the number of gig workers has increased from 7.7 million to around 12 million, marking a growth of about 55 percent. Their share in the overall workforce is projected to rise from 2 percent to 6.7 percent, with gig workers expected to contribute approximately ₹2.35 lakh crore to the GDP by 2030. The Survey also noted that over 40 percent of gig workers earn less than ₹15,000 per month.

Budget 2026 focuses on pharma and medical tourism, overlooks public health needs: JSAI

By A Representative Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India (JSAI) has criticised the Union Budget 2026, stating that it overlooks core public health needs while prioritising the pharmaceutical industry, private healthcare, medical tourism, public-private partnerships, and exports related to AYUSH systems. In a press note issued from New Delhi, the public health network said that primary healthcare services and public health infrastructure continue to remain underfunded despite repeated policy assurances.

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.

When compassion turns lethal: Euthanasia and the fear of becoming a burden

By Deepika A 55-year-old acquaintance passed away recently after a long battle with cancer. Why so many people are dying relatively young is a question being raised in several forums, and that debate is best reserved for another day. This individual was kept on a ventilator for nearly five months, after which the doctors and the family finally decided to let go. The cost of keeping a person on life support for such extended periods is enormous. Yet families continue to spend vast sums even when the chances of survival are minimal. Life, we are told, is precious, and nature itself strives to protect and sustain it.

Death behind locked doors in East Kolkata: A fire that exposed systemic neglect

By Atanu Roy* It was Sunday at midnight. Around 30 migrant workers were in deep sleep after a hard day’s work. A devastating fire engulfed the godown where they were sleeping. There was no escape route for the workers, as the door was locked and no firefighting system was installed. Rules of the land were violated as usual. The fire continued for days, despite the sincere efforts of fire brigade personnel. The bodies were charred in the intense heat and were beyond identification, not fit for immediate forensic examination. As a result, nobody knows the exact death toll; estimates are hovering around 21 as of now.

When resistance became administrative: How I learned to stop romanticising the labour movement

By Rohit Chauhan* On my first day at a labour rights NGO, I was given a monthly sales target: sixty memberships. Not sixty workers to organise, not sixty conversations about exploitation, not sixty political discussions. Sixty conversions. I remember staring at the whiteboard, wondering whether I had mistakenly walked into a multi-level marketing office instead of a trade union. The language was corporate, the urgency managerial, and the tone unmistakably transactional. It was my formal introduction to a strange truth I would slowly learn: in contemporary India, even rebellion runs on performance metrics.

Report exposes human rights gaps in India's $36 billion garment export industry

By Jag Jivan A new report sheds light on the urgent human rights challenges within India’s vast textile and garment industry, as global regulations increasingly demand corporate accountability in supply chains. Titled “Beneath the Seams,” the study reveals that despite the sector employing over 45 million people, systemic issues of poverty wages, unfair purchasing practices, and the exclusion of workers from decision-making persist, leaving millions vulnerable.

Search This Blog