Thousands attend 127th Birth Anniversary Meet of Ambedkar, Demand Withdrawal of SC decision and Cases

On April 2 upper caste chauvinist character of government machinery was in full display when demonstrators were lathi-charged and tear gassed, fired upon and killed, arrested and tortured in custody. But no action has been taken against these illegal acts of the officials. The government is terrorising people who dare to protest caste atrocities and their perpetrators. These were stated on the birth anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar, in Ghoorpur, near Allahabad. A report, for Different Truths.

Thousands of poor, farmers and agricultural workers rallied today at the public meeting organised by CPI (ML) New Democracy in Ghoorpur to protest the repression unleashed on participants of All-India Bandh on April 2, 2018 and the Supreme Court judgement on SC/ST Act which was labelled as casteist and an insult to the safeguards for depressed classes in the Constitution of India. The meeting was organised on the occasion of the 127th birth anniversary of Dr. Bheem Rao Ambedkar, according to a media release of AIKMS.

Bold banners were displayed to demand “annulment of the SC judgement on SC/ST Act”, “impeachment proceedings against the judges”, “Dismissal of the Union Law Minister and Attorney General” and “unconditional release of all those arrested along with punishment to police persons responsible for torture of protestors”, it was informed.

AIKMS Allahabad president, Com Ram Kailash said that the conviction rate under SC/ST Act is only 1.4% in case of SCs and 0.8% in case of STs, much lower than other cases, still, there is hue and cry about the misuse of SC/ST Act. On April 2 upper caste chauvinist character of government machinery was in full display when demonstrators were lathi-charged and tear gassed, fired upon and killed, arrested and tortured in custody. But no action has been taken against these illegal acts of the officials. The government is terrorising people who dare to protest caste atrocities and their perpetrators.

Com Heeralal said thousands of people face police brutalities, are languishing in jails due to misuse and manipulation of the law, but the Supreme Court never bothers about them, because they are poor. In the name of the country’s defense AFSPA is being misused to save those who kill innocents and raped our women. Under TADA several false implications are made and for years charge sheets are not filed. But no police person or judge is ever punished. He said the SC judgement promotes caste hatred and atrocities. The government’s review petition is an eyewash as it had itself pleaded that the Act is being widely misused, stressed the release.

Addressing them UP secretary of the party, Com Ashish Mital, stated that Dalits continue to face discrimination, harassment, oppression, violence, rapes, and murders and most complaints are suppressed. Despite this, the state power, police and judiciary remain biased against all the poor particularly the Dalits, women, and Muslims. They are trying to enforce upper caste chauvinism in the name of Hindutwa.

Recalling Dr. Ambedkar’s contributions he said his struggle was not only the right of Dalits to be educated and get govt. jobs and the special safeguard of reservation for that, he recalled Dr. Ambedkar’s campaign for distribution of land to the Dalits, saying the land was not just a means of livelihood, it gave social status. That is why the former Rajas, Nawabs, and Landlords, who he said continue to remain in power even after 1947 did not want nationalization of education, land, and industry. In 1954 he questioned the government in a parliamentary speech asking, “Does the government have the willpower to acquire land of the Landlords?” He demanded a ceiling on land and distribution of the surplus to the poor.”

Drawing a parallel of the attitude of upper castes and the police from the 1950s, Dr. Mital quoted Dr. Ambedkar’s resignation letter as Law Minister on October 10, 1951, “The same old tyranny, oppression, discrimination, which existed before, exists now, and perhaps in the worst form. I can refer to hundreds of cases where Scheduled Castes’ woes against caste Hindus and against the police, who refuse to register their complaints.”

The meeting ended with a pledge to struggle against caste oppression of Dalits and Backwards and for stone quarrying rights of Adivasi, sand mining rights of Nishads and land distribution to the poor. Retd Dy. SP Radhe Shyam Kol, Vijay Chorizo, Ramjeet Ratnakar, Adv. Saheblal Nishad also addressed the meeting, the media release stated.