Dalit agitation leader Jignesh Mevani, student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and 15 others were detained by the police on 13 July. An FIR was registered against them for taking out an Azadi Kooch (Freedom March) on the first anniversary of the Una flogging incident without permission.
Four Dalit youths were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes in Una, Gujarat on 11 July 2016. One year later, the victims and their families are still waiting for justice.
The Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM) had planned a seven-day march from Mehsana to Dhanera to protest against government’s inaction against Dalit atrocities. District authorities in Gujarat’s Mehsana had denied permission for the march but RDAM convenor Mevani had declared that it would take place irrespective of the police’s orders.
Following this, the RDAM held a public meeting which was attended by activists like Kanhaiya Kumar and Reshma Patel. Soon after the march began, those involved were detained by the police.
RB Brahmbhatt, Inspector General of Police, told the Indian Express:
Yes, we have registered an offence since the rally was held without permission. If they will try to resume the rally, we will again register an offence against them.
“We have detained 17 persons from Fatehpura circle,” police said. Later, an FIR was registered under IPC section 143 against them for being a part of an illegal assembly. “We did not arrest them. They were let go afterwards,” an official of the Mehsana ‘A’ division police station, where the FIR has been lodged, said.
Also Read: India’s Lynch Files: Incidents of Mob Violence Since September 2015
‘Azaadi Kooch Will Go On’
The organisers of the ‘Freedom March’ – scheduled to end at Dhanera in Banaskantha district after one week – say the march is an attempt to mount pressure on the Gujarat government to allocate agricultural land to Dalits.
After the FIR was filed, Mevani said in a video:
The Gujarat government and BJP have not learnt a lesson from the Una incident and they have once again tried to crush the voice of the Dalits by stopping this Azadi Kooch.
After being released, co-convener of the manch, Kaushik Parmar, who is also named in the FIR, announced that the march will continue as they have the permission to enter Unjha, their next destination.
“We have been released by police after the FIR was registered against us. We have decided to continue our march. We are planning to reach Unjha by tonight,” Parmar told PTI.
Another Azadi Kooch march had taken place in August 2016 when thousands of Dalits marched for 350 km, from Ahmedabad to Una, for 10 days in a bid to mobilise the community against Dalit atrocities in Gujarat.
(With inputs from PTI)
(We all love to express ourselves, but how often do we do it in our mother tongue?Here's your chance! This Independence Day, khul ke bol with BOL – Love your Bhasha. Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at bol@thequint.com or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)