Gujarat chief minister "declines" to accept Dalits' largest-ever National Flag, emissary says: "We don't have facility"

The tractor carrying the National Flag

By Rajiv Shah
Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani has declined to accept the largest-ever National Flag, prepared by Dalit students and teachers of the Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), the Dalit empowerment centre, founded by top rights activist Martin Macwan in 1999 to train girls and boys from marginalized communities in technical skills.
A Rupani emissary, who met Dalit rights activists from 26 Gujarat districts on behalf of the chief minister in Gandhinagar, gave in writing that the state government “does not have the requisite facility” to keep a 125 feet long, 83.3 feet wide National Flag all the way from DSK, about 50 km away.
“Once such a facility is created, we would approach you and take the National Flag”, the hand-written letter, a copy of which has been forwarded to Counterview, said. The length of the National Flag represents the 125th anniversary of top Dalit icon and father of the country’s constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar.

The large-sized supda, in which one-line
memorandum to CM was placed

Sources in the state government said, since Rupani “did not have the time to receive the National Flag, he directed the district collector, Gandhinagar, to meet the Dalit activists.” The activists had come in a vehicles rally from DSK, situated off Sanand town in Ahmedabad district. The National Flag was brought in a tractor.
When contacted, Macwan told Counterview, “First we were conveyed that only five persons would be allowed to meet the district collector, deputed by the chief minister. When we insisted that the official should come down to us, as it was a question of giving respect the National Flag, they agreed with our suggestion to allow us to carry the National Flag in tractor to the district collector’s office and meet one representative each from 26 districts.”
He added, “When the 26 Dalit representatives met the collector, they were told that they did not have the facility to keep such a big National Flag. When they insisted to give this in writing, a district collectorate official, mamlatdar, Gandhinagar, gave us in writing that, once they had the necessary facility, they approach us.”

The big National Flag, created at DSK

Angry Dalit representatives, who had come from Gujarat’s rural areas, reacted sharply, wondering how it could be that the state government does not have the facility to keep India’s largest national flag, when they could spend Rs 3,000 crore to build the world’s tallest 182 metre high statue of Sardar Patel at Narmada dam. “The argument is specious”, said one.
The National Flag, which has been brought back to DSK, was prepared by Dalits students and teachers after spending 25 days. It is made of khadi, which is generally woven by the Vankar sub-caste of Dalits. Its designing, colouring and sewing was done by students, mainly girls, with the help of teachers.

Govt reply on left side

The Ashok Chakra is interpreted by Macwan as symbolizing social equality. Equality is one of the 12 basic principles of Lord Buddha, and the spokes in the Ashok Chakra represent exactly that. “By offering the National Flag to the chief minister, we wanted to remind him about his constitutional duty to annihilate caste”, he said.
Even as declining to accept he National Flag, the chief minister’s emissary accepted from the Dalit activists a large-sized supda (winnowing basket), which carried a one-line memorandum, asking Rupani to name one Gujarat village untouchability free on the Independence day, August 15. “We will hand it over to the chief minister”, the Dalits were told.

Comments

Gagan Sethi, chair, Janvikas said…

I am aghast that the Government of Gujarat does not have space for preserving the National Flag. I am ready to rent at a space in any of my institutions at the nominal rate of 25 paisa per month for safeguarding the National Flag and maintaining its dignity. Any political party willing to accept the offer is welcome to accept the flag.

August 16, 2017

Mystery around Gujarat PSU 'transfer' of Rs 250 crore to Canadian firm Karnalyte

By AK Luke, IAS (Retd)*
While returning from a Board meeting of the Oil India Limited (OIL) in Ahmedabad some time in 2012, two officers of the Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (GSFC), Nanavaty and Patel, saw me off at the airport. They said they were proceeding to Canada in connection with a project GSFC had entered into with a company there. As we were running late, I hastily wished them the best.

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative
One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Indians have made 119 nations their ‘karma bhumi’: US-based Hindu NGO tells Rupani

Counterview Desk
In a stinging letter to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, the US-based Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), referring to the report citing his justification for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) – that “while Muslims can choose any one of the 150 Islamic countries in the world (for residence), India is the only country for Hindus" – has said, he should remember, Hindus have made several countries, including USA, their home.

J&K continues to be haunted, as parts of India 'degenerate' into quasi-Kashmir situation

By Rajendran Narayanan*, Sandeep Pandey**
“Jab har saans mein bandook dikhe toh baccha kaise bekhauf rahe?” (How can a child be fearless when she sees a gun in every breath?) remarked Anwar, a gardener from Srinagar, when asked about the situation in Kashmir. On November 30, 2019, a walk through an iron gate in a quiet neighbourhood of Srinagar took us inside a public school. It was 11 am when typically every school is abuzz with activity. Not here though.

Tata Mundra's possible closure? Power ministry's 'pressure tactic' on consumer states

By Bharat Patel*
Tata power has announced to the Union Ministry of Power that Tata Power may be forced to stop operating its imported coal-based Mundra Ultra-Mega Power Project (UMPP) after February, 2020. It is not only unfortunate but also criminal that irreversible damage has been caused to the fragile ecosystem of Mundra coast for a project that will have a running life of only seven years.

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam*
RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

Population control? 10% Indian couples want to delay next pregnancy, but fail

Counterview Desk
Shireen Jejeebhoy, director at Aksha Centre for Equity and Wellbeing, previously senior associate at the Population Council, India, argues that the debate on the country's population was fuelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address to the nation, where he drew attention to “concern” about the challenges posed by this ‘exploding’ population growth, needs to centre around the promotion of rights and education, instead of the language of explosion and the threat of coercion that this term implies.

Savarkar 'opposed' Bhagat Singh's, Netaji's dream of India, supported British war efforts

By Shamsul Islam*
In a shocking development, the student wing of the RSS put the busts of martyrs Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose with Savarkar's on one pedestal at the University of Delhi late in the night on August 20, 2019. Bhagat Singh sacrificed his life for a socialist-democratic-secular republic and Netaji raised Azad Hind Fauj (INA) consisting of people of all religions and regions for armed liberation of India.

Kerala governor turned History Congress into political arena, 'insulted' Prof Irfan Habib

Counterview Desk
In a signed statement, office bearers of the Aligarh Society of History and Archaeology (ASHA), Prof Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi (president), Prof Jabir Raza (vice-president), Prof Manvendra Kumar Pundhir (secretary) and Prof Farhat Hasan (joint secretary), have said that Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan had sought to insult veteran historian Prof Irfan Habib, 88, at the 80th session of the Indian History Congress, even as turning it into his “political arena”.

Counterview

Search This Blog