'Withdraw political cases, apologise': Gujarat Dalits put off lights May 1 in 1100 villages

By Our Representative
In a symbolic protest, Dalit households of as many as 1,100 villages across Gujarat switched off lights on the state’s foundation day, May 1, for 15 minutes at 9:00 pm to demand that all the political cases against not only top Dalit rights leader Jignesh Mevani, who happens to be a Gujarat MLA, but also against Dalit, Adivasi and minority individuals be withdrawn as part of general amnesty.
Originally planned to express anger against the manner of arrest of Mevani, who was taken away by Assam police with the active support of Gujarat police on the basis of an FIR filed against a tweet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the protest was converted into the demand to end atrocities against Dalits and other marginalised communities.

A memorandum, addressed to Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, demanded that the “political party responsible for the abusive treatment meted out to the Hon'ble MLA of Gujarat, Jigneshbhai Mevani, should apologize to the Dalit voters of Gujarat and India.”
Veteran Dalit leader Martin Macwan, the main brain behind the programme, told Counterview, “Apart from the demand to take back politically motivated cases against marginalised communities in the same way as cases were withdrawn against those allegedly involved in the 2015 Patidar agitation in Ahmedabad, we demanded, end of untouchability in the state.”

Even as taking strong exception to the “insulting” and “anti-Dalit” behaviour against Mevani, which allegedly could not have happened without the consent of the party in power, the memorandum said, it was shameful that even 22 years after Gujarat became a separate state, untouchabililty continues to exist the state’s social fabric, with those in power doing next to nothing to end caste discrimination.
Macwan, who took present during the unique protest move in Asamali village, about 65 kilometres south of Ahmedabad, said, the memorandum was submitted to the lowest level official, talati, in each of the 1,100 villages, or to the panchayat chief, to be forwarded to the chief minister. “There were cases when talatis refused to accept the memorandum, hence it was handed over to the panchayat chiefs”, he said.

Before submitting the memorandum, Dalits, who gathered in groups in each of the 1,100 villages with Dr BR Ambedkar’s photos in hands after they switched off the lights in their houses, pledging to defend the Constitution of India, which insisted on social equality and ushering in a society free of untouchability and caste discrimination.

Comments

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha* The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza* An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000.

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas* Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco* Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

'Pro-corporate agenda': Odisha crackdown on tribal slum dwellers fighting for land rights

By Our Representative The civil rights network Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), even as condemning what it calls “brutal repression” on the Adivasi slum dwellers of Salia Sahi in Bhubaneshwar by the Odisha police, has said that the crackdown was against the tribals struggling for land rights in order to “stop the attempts at land-grab by the government.”

Deplorable, influential sections 'still believe' burning coal is essential indefinitely

By Shankar Sharma* Some of the recent developments in the power sector, as some recent news items show, should be of massive relevance/ interest to our policy makers in India. Assuming that our authorities are officially mandated/ committed to maintain a holistic approach to the overall welfare of all sections of our society, including the flora, fauna and general environment, these developments/ experiences from different parts of the globe should be clear pointers to the sustainable energy pathways for our people.

Hazrat Aisha’s age was 16, not 6: 'Weak' Hadith responsible for controversy

Sacred chamber where Prophet and Aisha used to live By Dr Mike Ghouse* Muslims must take the responsibility to end the age-old controversy about Hazrat Aisha’s age at the time of her marriage to the Prophet (pbuh) – it was 16, not 6 (minimum was 16, Max 23 per different calculations). The Hadiths published were in good faith, but no one ever checked their authenticity, and they kept passing on from scholar to scholar and book to book. Thanks to 9/11, Muslims have started questioning and correcting the Hadiths, Seerah, and mistranslations of the Quran. Now, the Ulema have to issue an opinion, also known as Fatwa, to end it and remove those Hadith entries. Mustafa Akyol, a scholar of Islam, implores Muslims to stop deifying “the received traditions” and critically study their religious past, shedding rigid legalism and close-mindedness. Someone else used the phrase “copycat Muslims” to identify scholars who copied what was given to them and passed it on without researching or questioni

Search This Blog