Skip to main content

Gujarat Dalits to begin anti-untouchability brass coin yatra to Parliament on Aug 1

By Our Representative 

Gujarat’s top Dalit rights leader, Martin Macwan, is all set to carry a unique 2047 mm diametre brass coin, with the question: “Will the 1947 dream of untouchability-free India be a reality in 2047?” engraved on it, to Parliament in the first week of August, along with hundreds of his supporters.
Said Macwan, “A special letter will be sent to the President of India, the speaker of the Lok Sabha and the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha to collectively accept the brass coin and to place it in the new house of Parliament as a reminder to abolish untouchability.”
Minted from donations received mainly from Dalits from various states of India, consisting of brass and copper utensils, the coin has the image of Dr BR Ambedkar, on one side, and Lord Buddha in his bhumisparsh mundra, on the other.
In a media communique, Macwan said, the purpose of the coin is to raise an uncomfortable and painful question before the Indian Parliament: “Why as a nation we have failed to abolish untouchability de facto?” He added, “The programme raises the question before Parliament, since it is the collective failure to abolish untouchability of all Indian political parties.”
Apart from brass utensils, said Macwan, “People have also contributed Re 1 per member per family as a donation to the Indian Parliament. This donation is not towards the construction of the new house but to strengthen its resolve to abolish untouchability. Thus far, about 25,00,000 such coins have been collected, and more keep on pouring in from different parts of India.”
Navsarjan Trust, the NGO founded by Macwan, is navigating the initiative, said Macwan, adding, “The entire campaign has been funded by the community.”
According to Macwan, “The coin brings together the 12th century story of Veer Megh Mahya, the Dalit who sacrificed his life to remove untouchability, and the 1947 promise of independent India to itself to become a nation free of untouchability.”
The seven-day long March with the coin and the donations from the citizens of India, he said, will begin on August 1, 2022 at 8 am from the Dalit Shakti Kendra, an ITI-type institute founded by Macwan in Ahmedabad district’s Nani Devti village with the aim of empowering Dalits, and will reach Delhi on the evening of August 7, 2022.
At the same time, said Macwan, “A copper replica of the coin, weighing 72 grams and a diametre of 60 mm will be sent to all the members of Parliament, along with the letter asking them to support the demand for untouchability-free India.”
He added, “We will also personally take a brass coin replica to all the chief ministers of India in the next few weeks before the march.”
Giving details of the programme, Macwan said, “There will be 312 people joining the march in six buses. We are having six night halts on the route holding several meetings in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. The food and the night stay is taken care of by the rural communities, and in Delhi by a Gurudwara.”
“All the people joining the march are contributing Rs 1,100 and some who can afford to pay the full cost of their travel (Rs 3,250 per person)", he said, adding, “We will be in Delhi for 24 hours. If the coin and the donations from the community in the nature of Re 1 coins (about 25 lakh) is not accepted, we will return to Gujarat.”

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

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.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk  A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.