Rahul Gandhi to accept Dalits' "largest" national flag, "refused" by Gujarat chief minister as he didn't have space

The national flag spread in DSK premises

By A Representative
In a major embarrassment to the BJP, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will be “accepting” one of the largest national flags of India, prepared by Dalits at a technical institute off Sanand, Gujarat’s new industrial hub, which houses some of the most “prestigious” industrial units, including Tata Nano and Ford.
Taken by Dalits in a rally from to village Nani Devti, where the technical institute, Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK), is situated, to Gandhinagar about four months back in a 50-km vehicles rally, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani’s emissary refused to accept the flag saying the state government did not have “adequate space to keep it safe”.
On insistence, Rupani’s emissary gave it in writing that once facility for preserving the large sized national is created, “we would approach you and take the national flag”. Rupani personally “did not have the time” to receive the national flag, hence he directed the district collector, Gandhinagar, to meet Dalit activists. The National Flag was brought in a tractor.
The rally was organized as part of the Abhadchhed Mukt Bharat Andolan (Untouchability Free India Movement): Mission 2047, launched by Gujarat’s well-known Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan. Macwan also heads DSK, where mainly Dalit girls and boys are trained into different types of technical skills that would enable them to get a respectable job, even as empowering them to fight discrimination.

The national flag in Gandhinagar

A communique issued by Mission 2017 has called upon Dalits to reach DSK, situated on the Sanand-Bavla road, in large numbers on November 24. Gandhi, said the communique, would arrive at DSK at 12 noon. Earlier, the Congress leadership had offered Mission 2047 activists to hand over the flag at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Gujarat’s Congress office in Ahmedabad.
Refusing to accept the “offer”, Macwan told the Congress leaders that the national flag, which a symbol of Dalits’ national mission to fight untouchability, would be handed over to Gandhi “provided he reached out to us”.
The communique said, by refusing to accept the national flag, the Gujarat government has “insulted the national flag”, adding, “On August 11, we took the national flag, which we prepared, to highlight our mission. Hundreds of Dalits, who were part of the 50-km long national flag rally, were visibly angry after they received the message that the Gujarat chief minister wouldn’t meet them.”
A 125 x 83.3 feet national flag, the communique said, would finally be accepted by Gandhi with “due respect” on November 24. The length of the national flag represents the 125th anniversary of top Dalit icon and father of the country’s constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar.

Gujarat CM emissary scribbled:"We
don't have space for national flag"

The National Flag, which was brought back to DSK, was prepared by Dalit 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 DsK students, mainly girls, with the help of teachers.
Interpreting the national flag, Macwan said, the Ashok Chakra symbolizes social equality, which 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.”
Along with the national flag, the Gujarat chief minister was asked to accept a large-sized supda (winnowing basket), which carried a one-line memorandum, asking him to name one Gujarat village untouchability free on the Independence day, August 15. While the supda and the memorandum was accepted, the chief minister hasn’t yet named a village untouchability free.

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Advocacy group decries 'hyper-centralization' as States’ share of health funds plummets

By A Representative In a major pre-budget mobilization, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), India’s leading public health advocacy network, has issued a sharp critique of the Union government’s health spending and demanded a doubling of the health budget for the upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year.

Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar’s views on religion as Tagore’s saw them

By Harasankar Adhikari Religion has become a visible subject in India’s public discourse, particularly where it intersects with political debate. Recent events, including a mass Gita chanting programme in Kolkata and other incidents involving public expressions of faith, have drawn attention to how religion features in everyday life. These developments have raised questions about the relationship between modern technological progress and traditional religious practice.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb: Akbar to Shivaji -- the cross-cultural alliances that built India

By Ram Puniyani What is Indian culture? Is it purely Hindu, or a blend of many influences? Today, Hindu right-wing advocates of Hindutva claim that Indian culture is synonymous with Hindu culture, which supposedly resisted "Muslim invaders" for centuries. This debate resurfaced recently in Kolkata at a seminar titled "The Need to Protect Hinduism from Hindutva."

Drowning or conspiracy? Singapore findings deepen questions over Zubeen Garg’s death

By Nava Thakuria* For millions of fans of Zubeen Garg, who died under unexplained circumstances in Singapore on 19 September last year, disturbing news has emerged from the island nation. Its police authorities have stated that the iconic Assamese singer died while intoxicated and swimming in the sea without a mandatory life jacket.

Search This Blog