Skip to main content

It's an unequal fight: They have resources, we have resilience; they are merchants of death, we carry with us dreams of oppressed

Counterview Desk
Gujarat’s Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani has made an “urgent appeal” for funds through Crowdnewsing (click HERE) to support his campaign against the BJP ahead of the Gujarat elections. Text of the appeal:
Dear friends and well-wishers, ever since the horrific videos of Una flogging surfaced, some of us got together to relentlessly work against the fascist communal and brahmanical Gujarat government led by RSS-BJP. The Una flogging brought to the fore the largely invisible yet deeply entrenched casteist character of BJP led ruling class of Gujarat.
In no time, a massive consolidation of the Dalit masses took place in Gujarat. Dalits are just 7% in Gujarat and the mainstream media hardly highlighted their plight and suffering before. However, after one and half year of our continuous struggle under the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, the mainstream media is forced to write about atrocities and marginalisation of Dalits in Gujarat. RDAM’s continuous struggle has been able to ensure actual possession of land to the Dalits, that had remained only on paper for the past many years.
This has instilled confidence and courage among the Dalit population, especially the youth. There is immense passion among the Dalit youth now to fight back the saffron hoodlums and their dangerous, anti-democratic and violent politics.
We uphold Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision and dream and for that we need to give these fascist goons the biggest jolt on their home turf in Gujarat. Does that mean we are supporting any political party? No we are not. Our sole focus of campaign and consolidation is against these communal, casteist, patriarchal and fascist forces of RSS. Nothing more, but not nothing less.
But then we are a non-funded organization. We are one and half year old Dalit rights group which has never received funds from any political party, corporates, NGOs or funding agencies. Our organisation namely Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch works and survives with people's contributions, the motto being - 'Janta ki ladayee, janta ke paiso se'.
On the other hand the enemy camp in power has immense backing not just from Indian corporations but global capital as well. These fascists are destroying not just Gujarat but the entire country, our secular fabric and our constitutional values. We have decided to fight back against these murderous gang. We have decided to stand up and speak truth to power, look the fascists in the eye and fight them back.
We do not have the big industrialists or global capitalists backing us. But we have you. Your support and contribution matter to us. We are confident that we can fight this immensely unequal battle if people stand by us. If the progressive, democratic people who stand by the dreams of Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb Ambedkar, of Birsa Munda, Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule; if the struggles of the oppressed majority of the country stand by us, then we are confident we can fight back. And any jolt in Gujarat can snowball into a larger defeat of these fascist forces countrywide.
Let us fight back, unitedly and resolutely.
During and just before the upcoming Gujarat elections our plans are the following:
In next 3 weeks, we want to have 12 public meetings (jan sabhas) in various parts of Gujarat, each costing around 50-60 thousand rupees for stage, mike and other set up along with its publicity material. For this we are launching a Vehicle March from 26th November to 6th December using 4 buses, traveling cost of each would cost 10 thousand rupees per day.
Then food and accommodation of about 200 people every day, which will cost 25 thousand per day which amounts to 2,50,000 for 11 days.
At the end of the March we are planning a huge gathering of more than 50 thousand people at Ahmedabad, this particular event will cost nothing less than 2 lakh.
The total cost will therefore come around 20 lakh. This is nothing compared to the crores of rupees that the political parties launder during elections. We are putting our entire expenses open so that people can support us.
In all these rallies we are going to take the BJP-RSS head on, expose each and every of their anti-democratic moves in the past twenty two years and lay bare their thoroughly anti-people policies.
No. This is an unequal fight. They have the resources, we have the resilience. They are the merchants of death and destruction, we carry with us the dreams and struggles of the oppressed people for justice and democracy. We are not going to give up, but fight back. Fight back with us!
Seeking your support and solidarity…

Comments

TRENDING

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee  Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar*  Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

EVMs: Govt must prove beyond reasonable doubt it's upholding mandate for free, fair polls

By Jerald D’souza  With the growth of India’s population, concerns about electoral fraud associated with ballot papers, also began to escalate. In 1989, the People’s Representation Act was amended to enable EVMs to prevent electoral fraud. In 1998, EVMs made their debut during legislative assembly elections and for the first time for general elections in 2004. However, criticisms against the EVMs and questions about their integrity have been raised by political parties, civil society and the general population. On 2 February 2024, there was a noteworthy demonstration of dissent where numerous individuals, including Ambedkarite advocates, legal professionals, and other members of civil society  convened at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the prohibition of EVMs. In 2024, the Supreme court had slapped down a petition to return to paper ballots on the basis that machines give “absolutely accurate results” unless human bias maligns them. The court stated that it was open to testi...

This Indian British Marxist blamed USSR's collapse in 1991 on Khrushchev's 'revisionism'

By Harsh Thakor*  Harpal Singh Brar, British Indian Marxist scholar and communist leader, has passed away in Chandigarh. He was 85. He was a lifelong supporter of socialism, Marxism, and the working class. He will be remembered among British Communists.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler*  In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). 

Chalapathi's death in encounter suggests Maoists' inability to establish broader mass support

By Harsh Thakor* The Maoist movement experienced a significant loss during the Ramagudem encounter on January 21, with the death of Chalapathi (Pratap), a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist). His death, along with 15 others, marks a major setback for the movement. Reports suggest that his location was revealed to security forces through a selfie with his wife.

Why do we mostly resist and refrain from communicating on sanitation topic?

By Nikhil Kumar, Mansee Bal Bhargava* According to UN SDG Progress report (2022), at the present moment no targets for SDG 6 are expected to be met by 2030. In 2022, 2.2 billion people had no access to safe drinking water and 3.5 million lacked safe sanitation. Approximately 50% of the world’s population was reported to have been under resourced in enough water for part of the year and a quarter of that population was living under “extremely high” water stress. Add to it, droughts have affected over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021.

CCG raises concerns over Indian State of Forest Report 2023 in open letter to environment minister

By A Representative  The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former civil servants, has expressed serious concerns over the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 in an open letter to the Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change. The group has criticized the report's delayed release, flawed methodology, and misleading claims regarding the state of India's forests.

Govt of India asked to work for release of 217 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistan since 2021

By A Representative  Members of the fishing communities from Gujarat and Diu, Union Territory, held a press conference in Ahmedabad, urging the Union Government to take proactive measures to secure the release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Pakistan. Presently, 217 Indian fishermen, mostly from Gujarat and Diu, are held in Pakistan’s Malir Jail. Of these, 53 have been incarcerated since 2021 and 130 since 2022.

Operation Kagar represents Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism: Resistance continues

By Harsh Thakor Operation Kagar represents the Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism, which claims to embody the struggles and aspirations of Adivasis. Criminalized by the state, the Maoists have been portrayed as a threat, with Operation Kagar deploying strategies that jeopardize their activities. This operation weaves together economic, cultural, and political motives, allegedly with drone attacks on Adivasi homes.