By TCN News,
Ahmedabad: While the Dalit community is protesting strongly against the public beating of four youths in Una of Gujarat, one youth who had attempted suicide after the humiliating incident died today fuelling more anti-BJP emotion within the community.
Yogesh Sarikhada, 23, one of the 20 Dalit youth who had consumed poison on July 19 during the statewide protests against thrashing of Dalits in Una for skinning a dead cow on July 11, died during the treatment in Ahmedabad on Sunday morning.
Sarkhada had attempted suicide along with two others at Parabari village in Dhoraji taluka of Rajkot. He had consumed a mixture of acid and pesticide with two after which he was taken to Rajkot Civil Hospital. Few days later he was shifted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where he took his last breath today.
“We brought him from Rajkot to Ahmedabad because his condition deteriorated there. Here he was declared dead in the morning,” said his relative who informed media about his death.
Four Dalits were thrashed inhumanly on July 11 by a cow protection vigilante group, a video clip of which gone viral and attracted nationwide condemnation.
Dalits have been protesting against this humiliating incident in the country. A large congregation the ‘Dalit Mahasammelan’ was organized by Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti (UDALS) at Acher Depot in Sabarmati today to send a message to the state government. During the gathering, the community exhibited a major show of strength here and exhorted for an end to social discrimination, oppression and political apathy. Thousands of Dalits mainly from north Gujarat and Saurashtra participated in the gathering.
Determined to ensure that no breach of peace occurs, the city police had planned heavy deployment of personnel at the meeting organized near GSRTC depot. The mass gathering of Dalits concluded peacefully today afternoon which was described as “non-political” by organizers; however it was full of anti-BJP government speeches in parts.
The gathering was organized by various NGOs that are into Dalit activism. Nearly 10,000 people attended this gathering. Former IPS Rahul Sharma addressed the congregation and said he would lead a yatra from Ahmedabad to Una between 5-15 August. He also told the gathering that he would hoist national tricolor in Una on 15 August.
Mahendra Solanki, a member of Dalit community from Rajkot, said during a protest that Sarikhada belonged to Moti Parabadi village of Rajkot district and compared his death with suicide of Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula.
“Another Rohit Vemula has died protesting against atrocities on Dalits,” he said.
One of key organizers Jignesh Mevani said culprits in Una atrocity case must not be freed in future or they would harass the victim family. They should be sent back to prison under PASA.
“To give a strong message to the Government, I urge all Dalits to discontinue the work of disposing dead animals. I also want you to take a pledge of discontinuing the work of cleaning sewer lines. We no longer wish to do this work and want Government to allot agriculture land to us, so that we can live a respectable life,” said Mevani.
“If atrocities on Dalits do not stop, Dalits will show their strength in the 2017 Assembly polls,” he asserted, targeting the BJP Government in the State.
He demanded special courts to deal with atrocity cases. Mevani, a young boy who was the face of congregation has been associated with Aam Aadmi Party(AAP). Mevani who is also a lawyer was lastly in news when he defended an advertisement by Human Development and Research Center (HDRC), an NGO run by St Xavier’s Non-Formal Education Society, seeking toilet cleaners from general category castes.
Talking about growing support for the protest, Mevani told IANS, “You might feel the number of people is much less, but this should be understood from the point of view that it is for the first time there has been such a Dalit uprising in Gujarat, and that too without support of any political party.”Even the support from the Muslims has been on their own volition.
“They came and expressed their solidarity,” he said. Mevani added that Dalits and Muslims are “travelling in the same boat” in Gujarat