Thousands of members of the Dalit and Adivasi communities from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other states across the country came together to take a 10-tonne coin, bearing the likeness of B.R. Ambedkar, to Parliament.
Along with the coin, the group carried Rs 20 lakh in coins, amassed by collecting one coin each from around 10 lakh Dalits, which was meant to serve as the committee’s contribution to the construction of the new Parliament and act as a way for future generations of Dalits and Adivasis to stake their claim in the running of the country.
However, when the rally arrived at the border between Rajasthan and Haryana, authorities from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of the latter state stopped them, claiming that the Home Ministry had ordered the group not to proceed.
Despite being turned away, however, the group was undeterred, noting that it would return next year with a Rs 1 crore contribution. Yet, the members present did lament the fact that the country’s goal since 1947 – to abolish untouchability – will have to wait a while longer, perhaps only to come in the year 2047.
The Wire’s Yaqut Ali and Atul Howale were at the Rajasthan-Haryana border to hear what the the Dalit and Adivasi activists had to say.