Dalits of 1000 Gujarat villages to switch off lights on May 1 to protest Mevani's arrest

Martin Macwan, Jignesh Mevani

By Jag Jivan
Dalit households of more than 1,000 villages across Gujarat will be putting off lights for 15 minutes on the night of May 1, which happens to Gujarat foundation day, as a mark of protest against the arrest of Jignesh Mevani, independent MLA and well-known Dalit leader.
Assam police, in coordination with Gujarat police, arrested Mevani on April 20 late night, charging him of fomenting inter-religious discord on the basis of a tweet in which he blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for refusing to speak up to stop recent incidents of communal violence.
Announcing the programme, veteran Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan said, in each of the nearly 1,000 villages, Dalit men, women and children would gather and sign a petition to the Gujarat chief minister asking him to ensure the release of not just Mevani but also take back all the cases instituted against Dalit individuals as also other marginalised sections for political reasons as part of general amnesty.
“This type of general amnesty has been announced in the past, and this includes the Patidar quota agitationists”, the draft letter, sent to the Dalit activists for signatures to these villages, said. Added Macwan, “Similarly, cases of against nearly 2,000 agitating for changing the name of Marathwada University to Ambedkar University were taken back. Cases were also withdrawn against those who took part in the Bhima Koregaon agitation.”

Mevani's arrest insult to entire Dalit community: Poster for May 1

The draft letter, calling the treatment meted out to Mewani “abusive”, said, it is highly unlikely that the Assam BJP leader’s complaint against the Gujarat Dalit leader was made without the knowledge of the BJP leadership.
Calling the arrest and the manner in which the Assam police came down to Gujarat to nab him “an insult to the Dalit identity”, the letter said, the manner in which the whole operation took place should be investigated, and those responsible for showing disrespect to Mevani should be made to apologise to him.

Comments

Anonymous said…

LONG LIVE BAHUJAN MINORITY UNITY✊🏼✊🏽✊🏻🇮🇳

April 28, 2022

Anonymous said…

Please send the petition in English.

April 29, 2022

Jiten Nandi said…

Dear friend

I am eager to know the time of switching off light program me for 15 minutes on 1st May. So that we can also join the protest.

April 29, 2022

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.

From algorithms to exploitation: New report exposes plight of India's gig workers

By Jag Jivan The recent report, "State of Finance in India Report 2024-25," released by a coalition including the Centre for Financial Accountability, Focus on the Global South, and other organizations, paints a stark picture of India's burgeoning digital economy, particularly highlighting the exploitation faced by gig workers on platform-based services.

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.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta* India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

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.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Search This Blog