AISA-RYA Stands In Solidarity with Bhim Army’s Bahujan Hunkaar Rally

Unite Against the Saffron Regime’s Attack on the Marginalised! Unite Against All Attempts to Kill Contitutional Principles!

Defeat the Regime of Terror and Hate against Minorities!

Implement 50% Reservation for SC/ST/OBCs!

Defeat All Casteist Ploys against 200 Point Roster System!

Implement Reservation in Private Sector!

Stop Diluting Forest Rights Act!

Resist Eviction of Tribals from Forests!

Release all Dalit Protesters Arrested in 2^nd April Bharat Bandh! Drop All False Charges!

In the last five years of Modi regime, we have witnessed an intensified increase in hate speech and violence against Dalits and Muslims. Communal mob lynchings and its triumphant celebrations have become the “new normal”- bloodthirsty crowds can be seen to revel in humiliation, beatings, killings, video recording and circulating them with no fear of law. The trajectory of all these gruesome assaults and killings is also painfully similar. Essentially, people in positions of power – elected BJP MLAs and MPs and police officials – clearly indicate that they support the mob and the lynchings.

There has been a spate of policy assault on the rights of the marginalized. From attempts to kill reservation, eviction of tribals to introduction of the communally motivated Citizenship amendment Bill- the Modi Raj is a Raj of Manuvad.

• In 2016, Dalits were tied and flogged in full public view in Una. This was a part of the Sangh Parivar led terror campaign in the name of protecting cows. Dalits in Gujarat responded by taking oath that they will not skin or clean carcass of animals, an occupation that is imposed by the vicious caste system of Dalits.

• In 2017, after Yogi Adityanath was elected as the CM of UP, Dalit Village in Shabbirpur situated in Saharanpur was burnt down on Maharana Pratap Jayanti. Instead of taking action against the perpetrators of this casteist violence, the Yogi government of UP unleashed a crackdown on Bhim Army instead. Bhim Army leader Chandrashekhar Azad was arrested and NSA was charged against him.

• On 1^st January, 2018, the Saffron gang unleashed attack on Dalits in Bhima Korgaon who gathered there to commemorate victory of Bahujans against Brahminical Peshwai rule. Goons with saffron flag on hands were seen to attack Dalits. The masterminds of the Bhima Koregao anti-dalit attack Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote are well known acquaintances of the RSS-BJP. While they roam free, there is a targeted witch-hunt of human rights activists and vilification of Bhima Koregaon celebration by Dalits.

• On the other hand, the Modi Government has launched a multipronged all-out attack on provisions of social justice and on all the rights of the marginalized. The SC/ST Act – a strong structural and legal protection against discrimination – was diluted. It was only after massive protests that the government was forced to take some steps to reverse this dilution. We have seen massive oppression against Dalits who participated in the Bharat Bandh. Protesters were arrested, beaten up and targeted in different parts of the country. Several Dalits are still bearing the brunt of false charges on them since 2^nd April.

• Reservations in faculty recruitments were scuttled by making departments (13 point roaster) rather than the entire institution (200 point roaster) as the basis of reservation roster system. The country has seen massive and consistent protests for more than a year demanding the government to bring a law undoing the casteist 13 point roster. The BJP government continued to shift the blame to court and did not pass any law restoring 200 point roster till the last parliament session of this government. When the forces of social justice called for Bharat Bandh on the 5^th of March, the BJP made a pre-election cabinet decision of ordiananc restoring the old roster system. We need to be vigilant and ensure that the ordinance does not remain a pre-election posturing by the BJP and 50% reservation for SC/ST/OBCs are effectively implemented.

• Very recently, in a shocking order, the Supreme Court ordered eviction of all those families whose claims under the Forest Rights Act had been rejected by the authorities. As a result of which some nearly 20 lakh Adivasi households countrywide face eviction. It is the Modi Government’ silence in court that allowed this shocking crime to get judicial sanction. Recent newspaper reports also expose that the Environmental Ministry had issued a circular diluting the role of Gram Sabhas in allowing any project in the village before the government filed petition on eviction order of tribals. This effectively means the government is all for diluting the Forest Rights Act and is facilitating eviction of tribals through different means. Just like the roster fiasco, in this case as well, the BJP wants us to believe that they have no role to play and the court is solely taking the decisions to evict tribals.

• While the Prime Minister orchestrates the drama of washing feet of sanitation workers, survey shows one sanitation worker dies in gutter every third day in the country. Crores of rupees have been spent on propaganda of Swach Bharat, but not a single paisa has been spent for rehabilitation of Sanitation Workers forced in Manual Scavenging.

In these times of all – out attacks against the most marginalized sections of the country, we must unitedly fight back! Bhim Army will start a Yatra from Saharanpur on 11^th March which will culminate into Bahujan Hunkaar Rally on 15^th March, Jantar Mantar, Delhi. On behalf of AISA, and RYA we appeal the students and citizens of Delhi to participate in the protest march in large numbers to strengthen the voice of social justice against the anti-Dalit, anti-minority Modi Government.

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