Reminding political class of ‘untouchability’: Dalit yatra from Ahmedabad to Delhi stopped at Haryana
After failing to get entry to Haryana from Rajasthan, the group that wanted to donate the coin for the new Parliament building, decided to return to Ahmedabad from where it started the yatra on August 1.
The group of Dalits that started a yatra from Ahmedabad to Delhi last week, carrying a specially designed a 1,000-kilogram brass coin, with a message to the political class that untouchability exists even after 75 years of independence, was stopped from entering Haryana Sunday night as they did not have permission from the Haryana and Delhi police to enter, according to an official.
After failing to get entry to Haryana from Rajasthan, the group that wanted to donate the coin for the new Parliament building, decided to return to Ahmedabad from where it started the yatra on August 1.
The yatra was launched by noted Dalit rights group, Navsarjan Trust, from its campus in Nani Devti village last week.
Speaking with The Indian Express, Martin Macwan of Navsarjan Trust said that the yatra comprised 375 people, including 104 women, from 14 states.
“After completing the Rajasthan part of our yatra, we were to enter Haryana from Sajapur border to reach Delhi last night (Sunday). However, the Haryana police had deployed huge police force with water canons and boulders at the border to stop us from entering. The traffic on the highway was also affected due to this. They showed us a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs with clear instruction to not allow us enter (Haryana and Delhi),” said Macwan.
Adding that they decided to stay on the road for 24 hours before returning to Gujarat, Macwan said, “They (Haryana police) offered us a stay in a guest house and food, but we politely refused. We spent the night on the side of the road and will leave for Gujarat tonight (Monday).”
According to Macwan, they got police permission from Rajasthan and the yatra passed from the state under police protection, while they did not get formal permission from the authorities in Haryana or Delhi.
According to Inspector General of Police, South Range, Haryana, Ravi Kiran, the group had 260 persons. “Delhi police did not give them permission to enter Delhi. Haryana government, too, did not give them permission (to carry out the yatra). And therefore, we did not allow them to enter. Due to security reasons, we did not allow them in,” said Ravi Kiran.
The coin that the group wanted to donate for the new parliament building has a message on untouchability along with pictures of Dr BR Ambedkdar and Gautam Budhha engraved on either sides. It was made from brass utensils donated by people, majority Dalits, from different parts of the country and was made by two artists from Odisha and Delhi.
The message on the coin — in Hindi and English — says, “Will the 1947 dream of untouchability-free India be a reality in 2047?”. The word untouchability has also been written in 15 Indian languages on one side of the coin.
Last month, while declaring details of the yatra, Macwan stated that they thought of the initiative to remind the political class that untouchability still exists in the country even after 75 years of independence, which he said was a collective failure of all the political parties.
The group had also collected 20 lakh coins of Re 1 from different parts of the country and wanted to donate it as a contribution from the poor people. The initiative was named Bhim Rudan (the cries of Dr BR Ambedkar).
Courtesy : TIE
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