Movement for Secular Democracy
Protesters in Amreli on Tuesday / Image courtesy Indian Express
To,
The Honourable Governor,
Gujarat,
Gandhinagar.
July 14, 2016
Dear Sir,
It is a matter of pain that when the entire nation is celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Gujarat has created a precedent of atrocities on Dalits.
We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the ghastly incident of atrocities on four Dalit youth in Una of Geer Somnath district. We demand the government immediately appoint a Judicial Commission to investigate the entire matter.
We would also like to draw your attention to the fact that there has been a continuous rise in incidents of atrocities on Dalits in Gujarat. We place below the statistics of atrocities on Dalits according to a report:
|
BANASKANTHA |
1133 |
|
JUNAGADH |
830 |
|
SURENDRANAGAR |
756 |
|
AHMEDABAD |
693 |
Further, there have been 20 cases of killings of Dalits as well as 50 cases of rapes of Dalit women every year in Gujarat. These statistics are quite shocking and very serious.
Under the circumstances, we, on behalf of the Movement for Secular Democracy, demand the appointing of a Judicial Commission to investigate the incident in Una. Along with this we also demand:
-
The chief of police and the administration of those districts which are defamed for atrocities on women should be punished.
-
Police and the administration should be made free from any kind of caste discrimination, prejudices, etc.
-
Police and the administration should be sensitised towards the socially underpriviledged section of society.
Read the complete petition and list of signatories here:
