Gujarat Dalit activists display 125 kg soap to "cleanse" UP CM's mindset amidst BJP "threat" to stop campaign

Una Dalit flogging victim Ramesh Sarvaiya

By A Representative
Gujarat Dalits under the leadership of well-known social activist Martin Macwan on Thursday displayed a 125 kg soap in Ahmedabad, which would be sent to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who late last month amidst major controversy over met Dalits in Kushanagar after they were handed over soaps and shampoos to “come clean” to meet him.
Talking with newspersons, Macwan, who returned from a public meeting in Kadi in North Gujarat, said, “We want to tell Adityanath that he has insulted Dalits. It is an insult to the memory of Gautam Buddha, too, who 2500 years ago accepted a manual scavenger, Sumit, as his follower, thus becoming the first person in India to reject untouchability. And it is an insult to Kushanagar, where the Buddha acquired Nirvana.”
Two academics, Pravin Mishra and Suman Kaur, engraved Gautam Buddha’s image on the soap as a reminder to Yogi that he needs to cleanse himself from within instead of asking Dalits to “come clean” to meet him.

Martin Macwan addresses media as

The soap is of 125 kg to coincide with the 125th birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar, who fought against untouchability all his life.
Also present on the occasion was Ramesh Sarvaiya, one of the four young Dalits who was severely flogged by hand of cow vigilantes in Una on July 11, 2016 on suspicion of cow slaughter. Currently undertaking training at Macwan-run Dalit Shakti Kendra near Sanand in Ahmedabad district, Sarvaiya displayed a small soap on which he had engraved the Buddha.
“This soap will also be sent to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. It would remind him against the untouchability practice which he adopted”, Sarvaiya proudly told newspersons. "It this type of yellow soap which we use to take our bath in our village", he added.
Heading Gujarat’s biggest Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust, under Macwan’s directions, Dalit rights activists belong to 20-odd grassroots organizations have so far held four public meetings to “remind” Dalit MLAs and MPs of Gujarat that they were essentially elected to highlight the community’s mood and aspiration, asking them why were they silent on atrocities on Dalits.

Natubhai Parmar, one of the senior
Dalit campaigners

“We have handed over representations to Rajya Sabha MP Shambhunath Tundiya and MLAs of Rajkot, Gadhada and Kadi. Gadhada MLA, Atmaram Parmar, a minister in the Gujarat Cabinet, decided not to remain present to take our demands”, said Kirit Rathod, of the top activists who is behind the campaign asking Dalit public representatives to stop selling Dr Ambedkar for political gains.
“The representations were received not without threats. In Ahmedabad, when we went to seek an appointment from Lok Sabha's BJP MP Kirit Solanki to hand him our list of demands, he threatened us of dire consequences if we did not stop our campaign. He told us that he represented 17 lakh people, he is not obliged to accept our list of demands”, said Kantilal Parmar, one of the activists.
“The soap, which is 2.5 kg high and 1.6 feet long, would be sent to Yogi after June 16 when our campaign ends”, said Macwan announced, adding, “We have decided to work out modus operandi on how to send the soap soon. But we have tied up with Uttar Pradesh Dalit groups, who would address a press conference to display the soap and hand it over to Yogi.”

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog