Gujarat coin campaign to end untouchability: Dalit rights NGO begins donations drive

As part of a unique campaign to melt all the brass utensils and articles collected from across India and mint a 1111 milligram diameter coin, on which the image of Dr BR Ambedkar's famous anti-untouchability Mahad satyagraha of 1927 will be engraved, Gujarat’s top Dalit rights organisation, Navsarjan Trust, has begun a major donations drive from people willing to take part in what has been called “no rallies, no sit-ins, no slogans and no call for Bharat bandh” programme.

Talking with Counterview, Martin Macwan, founder of Navsarjan and leader of the campaign, said, the cost of minting the coin – which will be offered to all the members of India’s Parliament so that it is placed beneath the new Parliament building as a "reminder" to implement the anti-untouchability provisions of the Indian Constitution – will be “around Rs 16 lakh”, pointing out, “I have been traveling to villages and towns to pick up brass utensils, already gathered by people.”
He said, “We will have to melt all the brass utensils that we gather and convert it into a huge coin. We think it will turn into a two kg of coin. We are seeking donations from our well-wishers for Rs 1111 each for this, as we are really short of funds.”
Those wanting to send donations by cheques, he said, can sent it the following address: Navsarjan Trust, Dalit Shakti Kendra, village: Nani Devti, Sanand-Bavla road, Taluka Sanand; District Ahmedabad, 382220. As for those willing to make bank transfers, the details, he added, are as follows:

In an article, published in a Navsarjan Trust-supported blog, he said, “The coin will be donated to all the members of Parliament, to lay the same in the foundation of the new house of Parliament to be constructed of the largest democracy of the world, to remind ourselves of an unfinished promise to abolish untouchability.”

He added, “People will also contribute 1 Rupee coin as a contribution for the upcoming Parliament house. After all, Parliament is the only political and moral temple of all Indian citizens, which is mandated to protect the rights of all its citizens as enshrined in the India’s Constitution. The coin and the donation shall be presented to the members of Parliament on August 15, 2022.”
Explaining the significance of placing the coin beneath the new Parliament building, Macwan, recalling the legend of Megh Maya, an “untouchable” who agreed to King Siddhrajsinh Solanki’s demand to sacrifice his life for ending famine provided his community was freed untouchability, said, today, in memory of Magh Maya, Macwan said, “Every new house constructed is laid with a coin in the foundation, a symbol of a dream of peace and prosperity for all its dwellers.”
The Dalit rights leader added, “We need to lay a coin in the foundation of the upcoming Parliament house to ensure that it can truly build India as a democratic nation, free of untouchability. With the presence of untouchability, India cannot become undivided Nation.” The aim of the campaign to ensure that India is declared untouchability free till on 100 years of India’s Independence, August 15, 2047.

Comments

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

Search This Blog