https://www.facebook.com/jignesh.mevani/videos/1459827724053400/

Dalit youth leader, Jignesh Mevani and Kanhaiya Kumar, formerly president of the JNU Student's Union plan to go to Mehsana, a North Gujarat town, to lead Azadi Kooch or Freedom March, on Wednesday, for which permission, given last month, was cancelled two days ago. According to an organizer of the march, which is planned to end on July 18 in Dhanera, Banaskantha district with a big rally, activists from across India would court arrest if they are stopped. Today that march has begun.

One year of una Flogging: Dalits, right activists, Patidars come together at Ahmedabad pm on July 11

The meeting in Ahmedabad on Tuesday started with a video on the flogging incident and continued for nearly five hours as one by one the speakers gave hard-hitting speeches centred around the rights of marginal communities, interspered with slogans of “hume chahiyeh azadi” and “Inqualab Zindabad”.

 “Gai ki poonch tum rakho, humey humari zameen do (keep the cow’s tail with you, give us our land)”. The slogan reverberated inside Ahmedabad’s Ambedkar Hall, where over 2,000 people led by Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM) gathered on Tuesday to mark one year of flogging of Dalit youths by alleged gau rakshaks in Una as they were skinning a cow’s carcass. The event, which started with a two-minute silence for the victims of Amarnath yatra terror attack, was attended by former JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar, brother of Junaid Khan who was lynched by a mob on a train in Faridabad recently, Raza Haider of anti-lynching campaign Notinmyname and Patidar leader Reshma Patel.

The meeting started with a video on the flogging incident and continued for nearly five hours as one by one the speakers gave hard-hitting speeches centred around the rights of marginal communities, interspered with slogans of “hume chahiyeh azadi” and “Inqualab Zindabad”.

“The Una movement has been a milestone and we will make su-re that we do not let the spirit fade. The terror of gau rakshas has increased in the last one year, but we need to come together to fight it,” said RDAM leader Jignesh Mewani as he exhorted people to join Azadi Koonch, a week-long march to mark the Una flogging anniversary, scheduled to begin from Mehsana on Wednesday. “The Mehsana authorities have withdrawn permission for the march, but we will gather here and get detained if we have to,” said Mewani.

Kanhaiya hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him “prachar mantri”. “Modi has brought acchey din only through Twitter. He said demonitisation is a surgical strike against terrorism. So how will you explain Amarnath attack… We are a secular country and things like Azadi Koonch are our way of talking about equality… Azadi Koonch is a march questioning the Gujarat model,” he said. “Let us make sure that in the 2017 Gujarat elections, we sent the lotus (BJP) back to its house. Azadi Kooch has the support of Patidars,” said Resham Patel.

The Ahmedabad programmes were held amidst a controversial transcript of a video of the incident, attached to the CBI chargesheet against the Una cow vigilantes in the flogging case, revealing that accused had tried to identify the Dalits as Muslims.

Jignesh Mevani with Kanhaiya Kumar in Saraspur 

According to the Gujarati transcript, the accused tried call one of the victims as Muslim, saying, “Tell the truth … You belong to which community? Don’t do drama here … stop crying … Beat him up. What is your name? I know you very well … Your name is Aarif … Why did you run away? Tell me will you ever run away? You slaughtered the cow.”  It adds, “Let us tie them to the vehicle and thrash them. Only then will they understand."

The chargesheet identifies mastermind of Una flogging as Sanatan Gau Seva Trust's Shantilal Monpara, who allegedly hatched a conspiracy with his aides to claim that the Dalit men had slaughtered the cow should be identified as Muslims. The Dalits were actually skinning a cow, their hereditary occupation, killed by a lion. Dalits from Gujarat strongly believe that  justice has not been delivered to the Una flogging victims. Gujarat's largest Dalit NGO Navsarjan Trust's Kantilal Parmar says, "The Gujarat government has refused to transfer case to the special atrocity court in Veraval, though one year has passed." The Sarvaiyas, who were assaulted by the cow vigilantes, were also in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. “We came here to give an application to the Collector demanding action in the flogging case. There has been no justice,” said Balu Sarvaiya, father of one of the flogging victims, adding that he will not be joining Azadi Koonch march.

Listing what has not been done to the Sarvaiya family and other Dalits in the hereditary occupation, Parmar says, the government has "not allocated agriculture land for livelihood of the surviving  family", nor has it allocation land for "burial ground in Mota Samdhiyala village to the Dalits for cremation", as the dominant caste people do not allow them use the common village cremation ground.

Pointing out that the state government has not done "proper rehabilitation of the victims' family, Parmar says, "Nor has the state government provided employment to the unemployed Dalits after many of them decided to quit their routine work of skinning dead cattle."
 
 

The post Azaadi Kooch Begins, Dalits, Patidars, Muslims March from Ahmedabad to Mehsana Despite Police Ban appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image: Bhaskar.com

Ahmedabad: Demanding justice for Ketan Patel, angry Patidar leaders submitted a memorandum to additional DGP VM Pargi on April 7. Pargi is one of the officers who has received reprimand and negative mention in the Best Bakery Judgement sessions court judgement  in the re-trial in February 2006.

Patidar leaders Dinesh Bambhaniya, Ketan Patel, Varun Patel, and others had gone to meet DGP Geeta Johri at secretariat in Gandhinagar but as she was away for some work, they met Pargi. The memorandum demanded that the deceased Patidar youth who has been ‘murdered' by cops should get justice. A criminal offence/murder case should be registered against the concerned cops so that the Patel community's trust remains with the police, it stated. Pargi said action would be taken in the case as per law.

Total bandh was observed in Mehsana on Wednesday in the wake of alleged custodial torture leading to the death of 28-year-old Ketan Patel of Balol village. While the bandh was suo motu in most parts, Patidar youths arrived at some places an enforced the shutdown even as eight paramilitary forces and over 500 cops were deployed on streets, near hospitals and in sensitive areas to avoid any untoward incident. As Mehsana is deputy CM Nitin Patel's constituency, over 100 policemen and SRP have been deployed in front of his office there. Several IPS officers have also reached Mehsana. Citing the preliminary post mortem report, Patidar leader and advocate BM Mangukia said Ketan's body bore 39 injury marks. Most of the injuries were on his neck, back, hands and legs. His toes and base of the feet had turned black, he claimed. “We demand that post mortem of the body should be conducted again as the autopsy report received now is incomplete. It does not have the details whether he died of injuries.

The stir will continue till a case of murder is lodged against the responsible cops. Police is trying to run away from its responsibility,” Mangukia said. Mehsana PAAS core committee member Narendra Patel and the kin of the deceased said they will not take Ketan's body, lying at Mehsana Civil Hospital, till a murder complaint is lodged against Bharat Barot, PI of Mehsana taluka police station and three other constables. They have demanded that cops should be suspended.

Demanding severe action against the policemen and jail staff responsible for the suspicious death of 28-year-old Patidar youth named Ketan Patel, Patidar Amanat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) had earlier called for bandh in Mehsana, a strong hold of Patidars. Majority of trader and people supported the band called by PAAS and almost 75 per cent of market throughout the area remained closed in support of the call.

However, reports of mob pelting stones at the Mehsana Municipal Corporation office have emerged. Besides, a group of people damaging vehicles outside a government office and breaking window panes have also been reported.

The post After Patel Youth Dies in Custody, Mehsana bandh in North Gujarat total, Kin seeks Autopsy again appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image: Indian Express

Dalit, OBC and Patidar (Patel) youth on one platform fighting Unemployment their collective slogan?

Youth leaders cutting across caste lines once have again joined hands on the issue of unemployment and declared Berojgar Yatra (unemployment march) from Becharaji in Mehsana to the Collector office near Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on January 6. They have asked the Gujarat government to ensure that 85 per cent jobs were given to Gujarati youths by companies investing in the state. There are also threats to disrupt or protest outside the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

 The march has been organised by OBC leader Alpesh Thakor under the banner of Thakor-Kshatriya Sena and it has been supported from Dalit youth leader Jignesh Mevani and Patidar leader Varun Patel, who is the media convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), led by Hardik Patel.

The three were joined by people from other communities on Tuesday, when Thakor addressed a press conference to announce the march from Becharaji, which is part of the Gujarat Government’s ambitious Mandal-Becharaji Special Investment Region (MB-SIR) project. Farmer leader Sagar Rabari, a couple of Muslim youth workers and some Brahmin leaders joined them in solidarity. Rabari on Monday had concluded 20-day-long farmers’ march to highlight the plight of Gujarat farmers in Gandhinagar.

Debunking the exaggerated claims around Vibrant Gujarat summits, Thakor said that unemployment was the harsh reality of Gujarat not investment. “The Gujarat government has been signing MoUs worth lakhs of crores of rupees during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. However, the reality is that 60 lakh youths are unemployed in Gujarat. So, we want the government to declare the figures of how many youths were given employment by companies who come through MoUs during the Vibrant Gujarat Summits.”

“If the government does not make sincere efforts to ensure that 85 per cent jobs in these companies are given to Gujaratis, then we are going to disrupt the Vibrant Summit… We have support from all communities,” Thakor said. According to Thakor, around 3 lakh youths would likely join the Berojgar Yatra.

Varun Patel of PAAS said that while the outfit’s priority remains the Patidar reservation agitation, it was also with the unemployed youth of Gujarat. “There are a number of agitations going on in Gujarat like the Patidar agitation, the Dalit agitation and the OBC agitation. The root of these agitations is unemployment,” he added.

Jignesh, meanwhile, said, “If we analyse the root of the Dalit agitation, the Patidar agitation or the OBC agitation, three things emerge as the main reasons — unemployment among youths, exploitation of youths and labourers in government jobs, private jobs and factories and deep rooted agrarian crisis in the state. And so, this time, cutting across caste and communal lines, we have come together on the issue of unemployment and we will oppose this year’s Vibrant Gujarat Summit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while telling him, ‘Modi, go back’.”

Events related to Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit are scheduled between January 9 and January 13. Modi will be in Gujarat on January 9 and 10.
 

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Anandiben Patel has “offered” to resign as chief minister of Gujarat triggering speculation in political circles over whether this only marks an end to her personal political career or also the beginning of the end of the BJP’s nearly two-decade long uninterrupted rule over Gujarat, a state claimed by the sangh parivar as its “successful laboratory of Hindutva”.

In her Facebook post today Patel claims to have written to the BJP high command saying it’s time for her to go as she is nearing the 75-years age limit for party leaders set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also claimed her departure will give time for the new CM to rise and shine during the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summit’ scheduled for January 2017.

Political observers however believe the outpouring of Dalit rage, the already agitated Patidar community and the Aam Admi Party’s growing footprint in the state have together forced Patel and the party high command to read the writing on the wall.     

The state has been rocked with extensive Dalit protests after four Dalit youths were brutally beaten for skinning a dead cow. Another Dalit youth committed suicide on Sunday after consuming poison to protest the Una beatings. At least 18 Dalit youth have attempted suicide in the state following the attacks. 

Hardik Patel, the Patidar leader who had earlier paralysed the state government over its demand for reservations for the Patel community, was released from jail a fortnight ago, after nine months. He has been ordered to stay out of the state for another nine months but the Patidar leader has vowed to continue his struggle to obtain OBC status for the Patel community. 

In the 2002 anti-Muslim carnage in Gujarat under the watch of then state chief minister, Narendra Modi, Dalits had been deployed as foot soldiers. But history seemed to take a U-turn on July 27 when a large number of Dalits and Muslims marched together in Naroda Patia, down the same streets which had witnessed the worst massacre of Muslims in the state in 2002. As significantly, Muslims joined thousands of Dalits at the mega-convention in Ahmedabad on Sunday to protest against the Una outrage.

Earlier this month, AAP leader and Delhi CM, Arvind Kejriwal was in Gujarat with his “one booth, 10 youth” campaign to dislodge the BJP from power.

Is Patel’s impending departure a precursor to the BJP’s humbling at the Assembly elections due next year?
 

The post Anandiben Patel’s Offer to Quit: Beginning of the End of BJP’s Nearly 20-years Old Reign in Gujarat? appeared first on SabrangIndia.