30 Dalit outfits converged in Ahmedabad to protest against the Una incident

AHMEDABAD: With the Una violence incident fast assuming a political hue, the headache for BJP government is all set to increase in Gujarat. The Dalit community of the state on Sunday converged in Ahmedabad in large number in a rally to protest the Una incident and demand justice for the victims.

Jignesh Mewani, the newly emerging face of Dalit movement in Ahmedabad and one of the prime organisers of the rally went on to seek arms license for the Dalit community members and said the state “must provide us licensed firearms to protect ourselves since the government had failed to provide us security.”

Taking the pitch a notch higher, he also sought training of martial arts for the community for self-defence. As many as 30 Dalit outfits had converged in Sabarmati for the rally and had interestingly support of Muslim bodies like Jamiat-e-Ulema-e Hind.

Mewani, for the records is the convenor of ‘Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti’ (Una Dalit Fight against Atrocities Committee). On Sunday, he announced that a padayatra will be taken out from Ahmedabad to Una on August 5, which would reach Una on August 15. Interestingly, former IPS officer Rahul Sharma, who had also attended the rally has announced that he will lead the same.

The rally also saw Dalits taking a pledge that they will no more lift the carcasses. Speakers also demanded that the state government should provide alternative employment to the Dalits, who give up the job of skinning dead animals and manual scavenging as well as provide housing facilities for the Dalits in the urban areas as they still face social untouchability across the state.