Members of the Dalit community attend a protest against hardline cow ‘protectors’, at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Friday. They demanded strict action against activists who publicly flogged Dalits in Una, Gujarat on July 11. (Photo: Shripad Naik)
Members of the Dalit community attend a protest against hardline cow ‘protectors’, at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Friday. They demanded strict action against activists who publicly flogged Dalits in Una, Gujarat on July 11. (Photo: Shripad Naik)
The Rukhi community, which is traditionally engaged in skinning cattle carcasses, held protests at Azad Maidan on Friday to denounce the recent thrashing of Dalit youths at Una in Gujarat. Thousands of Dalit agitators demonstrated against the BJP and the RSS during the protests.
In Una, seven members of a Dalit family were allegedly beaten up for skinning a dead cow. The incident had sparked strong reactions in Gujarat with the Dalit community holding protests across the state.
In Mumbai too, a rally was organised at Azad Maidan to protest the incident, in which activists from CPI, CPM, Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM), Sambhaji Brigade and hundreds of conservancy workers participated.
Prakash Ambedkar, leader of BBM, alleged that Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia was behind the Una incident. “If Prime Minister Narendra Modi really wants to mete out justice to Dalit community, he should arrest Togadia,” he said.
“Just as gau rakshaks beat Dalits with lathis, the Dalits can also wield lathis in their hands,” added Mr Ambedkar.
He said it was no coincidence that in such a short time several youths had come together and started committing atrocities. “It’s part of a larger conspiracy,” he added.
CPM leader Ashok Dhavale, former IAS officer Uttam Khobragade, social activist Teesta Setalwad, Ulka Mahajan, Gujarat CPM leader Arun Mehta and Dalit Muslim Suraksha Mahasangh president Shaikh Zakir Hussain also attended the protests.
The Dalit community’s rally, which has started from Ahmedabad, will reach Una on August 15. The Rukhi community people living in Mumbai will participate in large numbers, said organisers.
