Intelligence officials seek details of Dalit padyatra, as organizers object to being termed "red revolutionaries"

Dalit rally in Botad town

By A Representative
Intelligence officials, attached with the Gujarat government's home department as also the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, have begun a frantic attempt to find out the “antecedents” of those leading the Ahmedabad-Una padyatra (foot march), seeking oath from Dalit community leaders to take a pledge not to ever lift dead cattle, a caste-based occupation.
The protest padyatra is in response to cow vigilantes violently bashing up four Dalit boys on July 11 in Una, a small town in Saurashtra region of Gujarat. The boys were “punished” skinning dead cattle. Begun on August 5, the padyatra will have covered 350 kilometres on reaching Una on August 15.
These officials, it is learned, are seeking find out “sources” of support to the leaders of the padyatra, especially if they are “red revolutionaries”. A few of the officials have frequentes some NGO offices, too, to make queries. Sources say, it is highly unlikely that these inquiries are being made without instructions from the top.
Amidst intelligence queries, one of the top organizers of the padyatra has accused what he terms a “group of keyboard warriors” for running “a campaign against the Una movement” in a desperate attempts to paint it as “one that has been 'corrupted' by the presence of certain people who have been branded as 'red revolutionaries' and the claim is that these 'red revolutionaries' are here to grab credit for the movement.”
Without naming “keyboard warriors”, Pratik Sinha, a young human rights campaigner from Ahmedabad, has said a social media post has said, “This bunch of keyboard warriors specifically have an issue about me clicking pictures”, wondering, why don't they take the next flight, get their camera, and document the struggle instead of “whining away” at the keyboards.
Referring the to the padyatris “2000-3000 strong meeting in Botad”, a town about 150 kilometres from Ahmedabad, Sinha says those who spoke there included a local leader who is part of the Botad Dalit Samaj, but just because references to Mayawati, he “seemed to be associated” her Bahujan Samaj Party.
The second speaker was Martin Macwan, founder of Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust with “a long history as a Dalit leader.”
Then there was Jignesh Mevani, “the face of the movement”, a “young Dalit leader and lawyer, fighting land cases for Dalits”. Sinha adds, “He is the main convener of Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti. Every single main stream media organization has recognized him as the face and profiled him.”
Others who spoke included Subodh Parmar, co-convener of Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti; Bhavna Chawda, a women's dalit leader whose influence is from Barwala to Botad region, the area that the padyatris had already traveled; and Manisha Mashaal, women's Dalit leader from Haryana.
Among prominent participants was Rahul Sharma, former IPS officer, “who saved 400 kids in a madrasa in Bhavnagar in 2002 riots, and was the one who collected the phone numbers in a CD, an evidence which was largely responsible for the conviction of Maya Kodnani.”
Also present was Nirjhari Sinha, Pratik Sinha's mother with him. According to Sinha, both are “members of Jan Sangharsh Manch, are accompanying the entire 10 day rally”, adding, “My mother has a lot of organizational experience having been part of various struggles since 1979. She lends her experience to this movement since a lot of the leaders are rather young and are part of such a movement for the first time in their life.”

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

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.

Is U.S. fast losing its financial and technological edge under Trump’s second tenure?

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra* The United States, along with its Western European allies, once promoted globalization as a democratic force that would deliver shared prosperity and balanced growth. That promise has unraveled. Globalization, instead of building an even world, has produced one defined by inequality, asymmetry of power, and new vulnerabilities. For decades, Washington successfully turned this system to its advantage. Today, however, under Trump’s second administration, America is attempting to exploit the weaknesses of others without acknowledging how exposed it has become itself.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

On Teachers’ Day, remembering Mother Teresa as the teacher of compassion

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ It is Teachers’ Day once again! Significantly, the day also marks the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta (still lovingly called Mother Teresa). In 2012, the United Nations, as a fitting tribute to her, declared this day the International Day of Charity. A day pregnant with meaning—one that we must celebrate as meaningfully as possible.

Gujarat minority rights group seeks suspension of Botad police officials for brutal assault on minor

By A Representative A human rights group, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat, has written to the Director General of Police (DGP), Gandhinagar, demanding the immediate suspension and criminal action against police personnel of Botad police station for allegedly brutally assaulting a minor boy from the Muslim community.

Counterview

Search This Blog