Rajendra Pal Gautam

Ambedkarite Groups Slam Attempts to ‘Villainise’ AAP Leader Rajendra Pal Gautam

Gautam had to resign from the Delhi cabinet after there was a backlash for reciting 22 vows that were written by Dr B.R. Ambedkar for those who want to embrace Buddhism.

New Delhi: Several international Ambedkarite organisations have have expressed solidarity with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Rajendra Pal Gautam, slamming efforts to “villainise” him for participating in an event in which thousands of people embraced Buddhism.

Gautam had to resign from the Delhi cabinet after there was a backlash for reciting 22 vows that were written by Dr B.R. Ambedkar when he and lakhs of others converted to Buddhism. Among the vows that neo-Buddhists take is one to disown Hindu deities.

Also Read: Attack on AAP Leader Shows That BJP Will Embrace Dalits, but Only as a Cog in the Hindutva Wheel

In a statement, several Ambedkarites from the US, Canada, UK and other countries said reciting the 22 vows is a common practice in all ceremonies in which people embrace Buddhism. “These vows are nothing but a guide to an individual to stay away from superstition, not to believe in caste system and treat everyone with dignity and respect. There is nothing disrespectful to any community in the 22 vows. We condemn the attempts made by mainstream media to spread negative propaganda against the 22 vows,” the statement said.

“We condemn the manner in which mainstream Indian media villainised Mr Gautam, tried to defame him by taking some vows out of context, mischaracterising them and attempting to divide the society,” they added.

The full statement and the list of organisations which endorsed it are reproduced below.

In solidarity with Rajendra Pal Gautam

Strong condemnation of Delhi and central government

NRI Ambedkarites from USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Nederland, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Belgium, Hungary, Australia, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Malaysia condemn the manner in which Delhi’s Social Welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam had to resign from his post due to his presence at an event embracing Buddhism in Delhi on Wednesday October 5th 2022. Rajendra Pal Gautam attended the Ashoka Vijaya Dashami celebrations at Ambedkar Bhawan in Jhandewalan, where over 10,000 people from various religions embraced Buddhism. We condemn the manner in which mainstream Indian media villainized Mr Gautam, tried to defame him by taking some vows out of context, mischaracterizing them and attempting to divide the society.
The gathering, an annual affair held every October, was a peaceful event organized by a local social groups called the Buddhist Society of India and Mission Jai Bheem. Dozens of such events take place every year all over India where thousands of people embraced peacefully to Buddhism. This event in Delhi was no different. These events commemorate the 1956 mass embracing Buddhism held at Nagpur on October 14, 1956 known as Ashok Vijaya Dashmi, where Dr. BR Ambedkar led lakhs of people in adopting Buddhism by taking the famous 22 vows. The same 22 vows were also recited peacefully at the event in Delhi, where Mr. Gautam was present. Reciting the 22 vows is a common practice in all embracing Buddhism ceremonies. These vows are nothing but a guide to an individual to stay away from superstition, not to believe in caste system and treat everyone with dignity and respect. There is nothing disrespectful to any community in the 22 vows. We condemn the attempts made by mainstream media to spread negative propaganda against the 22 vows.
During this distressing time, the NRI Ambedkarites are seething with pain, sadness and are appalled at the turn of events. We offer solidarity to Mr. Gautam in this difficult time. We trust that the government will fulfill its constitutional obligation and prevent attempts by media and anti-social elements to divide the society. The world is watching.

आज महर्षि वाल्मीकि जी का प्रकटोत्सव दिवस है एवं दूसरी ओर मान्यवर कांशीराम साहेब की पुण्यतिथि भी है। ऐसे संयोग में आज मैं कई बंधनों से मुक्त हुआ और आज मेरा नया जन्म हुआ है। अब मैं और अधिक मज़बूती से समाज पर होने वाले अत्याचारों व अधिकारों की लड़ाई को बिना किसी बंधन के जारी रखूँगा pic.twitter.com/buwnHYVgG8

— Rajendra Pal Gautam (@AdvRajendraPal) October 9, 2022

List of endorsing organizations

List of endorsing organizations
Buddhist Council of America (BCA)
Dhamma Waves,Canada
Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA)
Ambedkar Buddhist association of Texas (ABAT)
Ambedkar International Mission, USA (AIM)
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar International Mission Center, Houston Texas
Ambedkar International Mission, Japan (AIM)
Ambedkar International Mission, UAE (AIM)
Ambedkar International Center (AIC)
Boston Study Group (BSG)
Coalition of Seattle Indian American’s (CSIA)
Dr Ambedkar Buddhist Society ,New York
International Bahujan Organization, New York
International Boddhisatva Guru Ravidas Organization, New York
Ambedkar Mission, Toronto, Canada
Ambedkarites International Mission Society-Canada (AIMS)
Ambedkar King Study Circle, USA (AKSC)
Periyar International USA
Samata Sainik Dal HQ Deekshabhumi Nagpur (SSD)
South Asian Dalit Adivasi Network Canada (SADAN)
Dr Ambedkar Buddhist organisation Birmingham UK
Dr Ambedkar Mission Society Glasgow Scotland
Dr Ambedkar Mission Society Europe
Indian Association of Minorities New Zealand.(IAM)
Mulnivasi Nayak
International SSD, California,USA
Bhim Patrika Media
Ambedkar Nama
Dalit Dastak
Ambedkar Times
Blue Morning Weekly
Lokmanya Samiti, Maharashtra, India
Ambedkar Chetna Parishad, Jharkhand
Bodhimaggo Mahavihara
Human Metta Foundation

Two Faces of the Contemporary Indian State: The Benign and the Vengeful

The recent episodes of AAP leader Rajendra Pal Gautam and BJP MP Parvesh Verma serve as examples to understand how state power is exercised in today’s India in a discriminatory manner.

Rajendra Pal Gautam was, until he resigned a week or so ago, a minister in the Delhi Cabinet. He follows the Buddhist faith.

He was present at a recent oath-taking ceremony where thousands of citizens decided to enter the Buddhist religion by reciting the 22-point vow necessary for initiation into Buddhism. That vow includes renouncing the worship of the pantheon of gods held sacred by Sanatan Hindus.

Also read: Attack on AAP Leader Shows That BJP Will Embrace Dalits, but Only as a Cog in the Hindutva Wheel

The theological and social reasons as to why such an oath is taken by those wishing to enter the Buddhist faith are elaborately set out in a book by Kancha Ilaiah, titled Why I am Not a Hindu: A Sudra Critique of Hindutva Philosophy, Cultue, and Political Economy (1996).

B.R. Ambedkar, chairman of the drafting committee of the constitution, had taken the same vow when he chose to leave the Hindu fold in the last year of his life, 1956, along with some 6,00,000 fellow Indians.

But of course, we hear that a case under stern sections of the law has been registered against Gautam for “dishonouring Hindu gods and hurting Hindu sentiments”.

That the constitution of India guarantees the citizen the freedom to “profess, practice, and propagate” her religious faith is entirely lost sight of in this new assault on the covenant which Narendra Modi once called his “only holy book”

Brahminical Hinduism passes off the Buddha as yet another avatar of the god, Vishnu, who forms one of the three of the triumvirate Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, even as the ruling BJP has always remained very sympathetic to the Tibetans and the Dalai Lama who call themselves Buddhist.

Historically, however, Buddhists recall the atrocities committed on them by Brahmins, one reason why Buddhism born in India, had to take residence in neighbouring countries.

AAP leader Rajendra Pal Gautam at the religious conversion event by the Buddhist Society of India in Delhi on Saturday, October 8. Photo: Twitter/@AdvRajendraPal.

Such, however, is India’s current zeitgeist that not only has Gautam resigned from the cabinet as a political necessity, keeping the forthcoming assembly elections in mind, but his boss, the chief minister of the Union territory of Delhi, has felt obliged to make the loudest protestations yet of his being a devoted Hanuman bhakt – indeed, a sort of avatar of Lord Krishna also to boot because he was born, he says on the auspicious day the god Krishna was born, noting that he would slay the contemporary version of the god’s evil uncle, Kans, as the god had done.

This is a troubling instance of how politics in India has taken on the shape of religious crusades.

He further went on to cap his speech with full-throated invocations of the slogan “Jai Shri Ram”– a sort of political hallmark of the Hindutva right wing.

There has been no protest yet by the AAP party in regard to the case lodged against the poor erstwhile minister for simply expressing his constitutional right.

On the very same day, another mass gathering was addressed by an MP of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Parvesh Verma.

Also read: Delhi Police Probe Alleged Hate Speeches by Hindutva Groups, Including BJP MP

In that address, he can be heard saying that the only way to fix “them” (euphemism for Muslims) was to boycott the community in toto – not to transact business with them by buying from their shops/vendors, and to deny all avenues of labour to their members seeking work.

Such a call may remind some students of the history of how Jews were ostracised in Nazi Germany.

West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma of the BJP speaking at the meeting of Hindu groups at Delhi’s Dilshan Garden. Photo: Screengrab via video/Twitter/@drshamamohd.

However, for once, the government in charge of policing and prosecution in the Union territory of Delhi (namely, the Modi government) thought it fit to institute a case against the gathering for unauthorised assembly under the innocuous Section 188 of CrPC.

The honourable member of parliament who has sworn by the constitution of India never to discriminate between citizens/communities on the basis of caste, creed, religion, ethnicity, gender, language, etc., has not been arraigned under any provision of the law.

In other words, the politician who merely followed his constitutional right finds himself an accused under severe provisions of a misapplied law, and the other who incited a mass gathering to sectarian hate and bigotry finds himself a free man, at least till the time of writing.

We may recall how, in the wake of the riots in northeast Delhi, another scion of the right-wing, a minister to boot, had incited a crowd to yell “shoot the traitors” but remains scot-free to this day.

The instances cited in this piece are of course merely two or three among a plethora of similarly discriminatory exercises of state power, but perhaps underscore the appropriation of India’s institutional mechanisms more starkly than many.

India is now alas a Manichaean state: there are the good, and there are the evil ones; the good are those who offer allegiance to the right wing in any shape or form, as satraps of any one of the hydra-headed governmental or non-governmental organisations. The evil ones are those who hold views and beliefs different from or are critical of the right wing.

The state exists to protect and not-too-subtly patronise the first, and to hound and “fix” the latter.

A substantial “rising” middle-class opinion thinks this arrangement is most suited to the glory of the realm. What else is there to say?

Badri Raina taught at Delhi University.

Attack on AAP Leader Shows That BJP Will Embrace Dalits, but Only as a Cog in the Hindutva Wheel

The BJP’s campaign against Rajendra Pal Gautam for being part of a Buddhist conversion programme is nothing less than a frontal attack on Dr B.R. Ambedkar, his life and his values.

New Delhi: That a majority of political parties, especially in north India, have willingly ceded space to Hindutva can’t be better understood than the recent episode in which a Delhi government minister from the Dalit community had to step down from his position.

Rajendra Pal Gautam, a trained advocate and a two-time Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Seemapuri in north-east Delhi, swore by his Ambedkarite credentials. His public life as a leader from the Dalit community has been the highlight of his political career. As the founder of the organisation “Mission Jai Bhim”, Gautam has been instrumental in making education and vocational training accessible to scores of children from Dalit communities. He has also been involved in de-addiction programmes for youth from poor backgrounds. His stature among Dalits and anti-caste groups earned him multiple ministries in the Arvind Kejriwal cabinet since 2017.

All of that came to naught when he was forced to resign from the cabinet for jointly organising an event with the Buddhist Society of India on October 5, 2022. Around 10,000 Dalits espoused Buddhism on the day and pledged to free India from casteism and untouchability. AAP buckled under the pressure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s shrill campaign against Gautam’s presence on the stage when Dalits were administered those 22 vows that Dr B.R. Ambedkar wrote for his followers who want to embrace Buddhism.

AAP leader Rajendra Pal Gautam at the religious conversion event by the Buddhist Society of India in Delhi on Saturday, October 8. Photo: Twitter/@AdvRajendraPal.

Among the vows that neo-Buddhists take to chart the path of Buddhist Dhamma is one to disown Hindu deities. Ambedkar himself had coined these vows when he oversaw the conversion of over six lakh followers to Buddhism on October 14, 1956 at the famous Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur. The vows were a reflection of his lifelong protest against exploitative caste discrimination in Hindu society, where Dalits were placed at the lowest rung of the social ladder. For him, the Hindu deities represented the Brahmanical hegemony in the ritualistic practices of Hinduism, as seen in a vow that says “I shall not allow any ceremonies to be performed by Brahmins”.

But more than that, boycotting Hindu deities was an act of resistance against both orthodox Brahmins and upper caste status quoists who enabled discriminatory practices in the Hindu faith. Leaving the fold of Hinduism and embracing Buddhism wasn’t so much a religious act as it was a way to claim dignity and equality for Dalits.

In that vein, Ambedkar’s vows showed Dalits a way forward. Along with disowning Hindu deities, neo-Buddhists also have to pledge the following.

I shall believe in the equality of man;
I shall endeavour to establish equality.
I shall have compassion and loving kindness for all living beings and protect them.
I shall not steal.
I shall not tell lies.
I shall not commit carnal sins.
I shall not take intoxicants like liquor, drugs etc.

Since 1956, scores of Dalits across India have embraced Buddhism in similar ceremonies, among whom many of them are also in the BJP. In fact, most Ambedkarite parties with which the BJP has had an alliance have neo-Buddhists in the majority. Many organisations representing Dalits have depended on such conversion ceremonies to establish and advance themselves politically in various states of India.

Against such a historical backdrop, the BJP’s campaign against Gautam is nothing less than a frontal attack on Ambedkar, his life and his values. The saffron party has launched several campaigns against religious conversions, notwithstanding that voluntary conversion is not illegal. However, the BJP and the larger Sangh parivar have turned their campaigns into a political weapon to target Muslims and Christians in India. Until now, it had largely remained silent on Buddhist conversion ceremonies – knowing fully well that such conversions have a memory of resistance among Dalit communities that it has been trying to win over across India.

Dr B.R. Ambedkar delivering a speech during the mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism in Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, October 14, 1956. Photo: Unknown author, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Attack marks a change

The attack on Gautam, however, marks a change. Despite making concerted overtures towards Dalit communities and taking care to represent leaders from these groups in various positions ever since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, singling out Gautam as a target may not be a well-thought-out experiment.

After all, the Republican Party of India’s chief Ramdas Athawale, also a neo-Buddhist who would have pledged the same vows, is a Union minister in Modi’s cabinet. Moreover, the BJP has also been on overdrive to celebrate Ambedkar and his life, in the process cleverly burying his ideals that challenged the very crux of the Hindu order: caste. There hasn’t been a moment when the prime minister and senior BJP leaders haven’t appropriately invoked Ambedkar in functions, public meetings, social media and elsewhere as part of its outreach towards Dalits.

But given its history of opposing conversions, such a move only appears to be instinctive for the BJP. The upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat, where AAP has mounted an energetic challenge to the saffron party made such an attack on Gautam even more timely. Modi’s home state has been an experimental ground for Hindutva for the last three decades. The assumption is that an attack on the fledgling AAP on the ground that one of its leaders advocated religious conversions and heaped insults on Hindu deities could help consolidate the electorate in favour of the BJP. Perhaps it is not off the mark. But what is conspicuous is that such a below-the-belt targeting of an opposition party has come at a time when the prime minister has been on a spree to inaugurate industrial projects in his election-bound state.

While the Modi-led BJP has strived hard to portray itself as a development-oriented party, it has never really relied on it for electoral gains. Elections after elections, the saffron party has directly or indirectly depended on Hindutva and its potential to polarise the electorate along religious lines. The attack on Gautam and the subsequent police action, preceded by the circulation of Kejriwal’s posters with a skull cap, has Hindutva written all over it.

Also Read: With its Govt Facing Numerous Agitations, Gujarat BJP’s Show Hinges Only on Narendra Modi

Reluctance of opposition parties

The AAP’s response to the episode can only be likened to genuflection. By forcing Gautam to resign, it has helped propagate the idea that Hindutva is the dominating ideology in the country currently. AAP has also shown that nothing that it claims as its own – be it its attempts to reform the education and health sector or the ideal of corruption-free governance – is enough to sideline it. Kejriwal, quite unlike his personality, has only advanced the very cynicism in Indian politics that he set out to discard. Congress and other parties of north India have increasingly become shy of confronting Hindutva head-on. AAP is well ahead of other opposition parties on that front but the latest episode reaffirms that trajectory yet again.

The reluctance of opposition parties to battle Hindutva gives the BJP a decisive edge in the current context, as the saffron ideology is equated with an idea of social transformation among a great majority of Hindus. Other parties have attempted to pivot such a social agenda by deflecting attention towards the economic concerns of people but haven’t advanced any social alternative to Hindutva with passion, something that reflects both the poor imagination of opposition parties and meek surrender to the notion that people aren’t ready to accept any new political agenda.

Such a weak response has not only made Hindutva the default electoral strategy of north India but also strengthened it further. Dalits constitute only 7% of Gujarat’s population and are influential in only around 15 of the 182 assembly seats in the state. The saffron party’s attack on Gautam at this moment is a risk that may not eventually cause much damage in the upcoming elections. However, it has also indicated clearly that consolidating the Hindus of the state is the only game that it is sure of – and that it can embrace Dalits so long as they remain an integral part of its larger goal of a Hindu rashtra, even if that may mean perpetuating the caste order.

Delhi Police Summons AAP’s Rajendra Pal Gautam Amid Row Over Religious Conversion Event

Gautam’s presence at the event organised by the Buddhist Society of India in Delhi triggered a massive political row, with the BJP accusing AAP as “anti-Hindu”.

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Rajendra Pal Gautam, who is at the centre of controversy over his presence at a religious conversion event, has been summoned by the Delhi police for questioning on Tuesday, October 11, NDTV reported.

He took part in the event organised by the Buddhist Society of India in Delhi on Saturday, October 8, where a number of Dalits converted to Buddhism. He along with others was seen taking an oath, saying, “I shall have no faith in Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara, nor shall I worship them.”

Gautam’s presence at the event triggered a massive political row, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing AAP as “anti-Hindu”. He stepped down as Delhi’s social welfare minister on Sunday, October 9, stating that he had attended the event in his personal capacity and it had nothing to do with his party. He clarified that he wasn’t asked by anyone to resign, but he did so not to cause any trouble to his party.

Gautam clarified that it was a “social and religious event”, and the same oath had been administered year after year since 1956 for those who wanted to accept Buddhism. The oath was made of customary 22 pledges given by B.R. Ambedkar, he added.

The issue has become troublesome for the AAP, which is pitting itself as the main contender against the ruling BJP in Gujarat, where elections are around the corner. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, posters came up in Gujarat’s Vadodara, slamming Gautam and dubbing AAP as “anti-Hindu”.

Delhi Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam Quits After Controversy Over Religious Conversion Event

The BJP had attacked him and the Aam Aadmi Party after a video went viral showing him attending an event where hundreds took a pledge to convert to Buddhism and not consider Hindu deities as gods.

New Delhi: Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Sunday, October 9 resigned from his post, amid a controversy over his presence at a religious conversion event where Hindu deities were allegedly denounced.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had attacked him and the Aam Aadmi Party after a video went viral showing him attending the event on October 5 where hundreds took a pledge to convert to Buddhism and not consider Hindu deities as gods.

He had accused the BJP of spreading “rumours” against him and had apologised to “anyone who has been hurt due to such propaganda”.

In a letter shared on Twitter, he said that he has resigned.

“I do not want my leader Shri Arvind Kejriwal or the party to be in any trouble because of me. I am a true solider of the party and I will follow the ideals shown by Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Gautam Buddh throughout my entire life,” he said.

(PTI)

Will AAP’s Young Faces Secure Any Cabinet Ranks?

With four prominent youth leaders having won their seats along with all seven incumbent ministers, the party faces its first dilemma.

New Delhi: With all of its ministers and youth leaders having won elections, a problem of plenty now stares the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as it sits down to formulate its next cabinet. The party bagged 53.57% of the votes and won 62 out of 70 seats in the Delhi assembly elections.

The problem of accommodating dynamic young leaders when senior leaders, already occupying high positions in the government, stake another strong claim is not new to Delhi. This longstanding problem arises because under Article 239AA of the Indian constitution, the number of ministers cannot exceed 10% of seats in the Delhi assembly. Hence, there can be no more than seven ministers in the Delhi government.

All seven ministers retain their seats

This time around, all the seven sitting ministers have won their seats. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal won the New Delhi constituency for the third successive time while deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, after trailing the BJP candidate for hours, sharply recovered his lead to retain Patparganj.

Health and home minister Satyendra Jain from Shakur Basti and labour and development minister Gopal Rai from Babarpur are two other senior government functionaries who won their seats.

Dalit Protest Over Temple Demolition Turns Violent, Cops Resort to ‘Mild Lathi Charge’

Dalit outfit Bhim Army claimed its chief Chandrashekhar Azad had been detained.

New Delhi: Tension prevailed in the Tughlakabad area in south Delhi after a protest by Dalits against the demolition of a Ravidas temple turned violent on Wednesday, prompting police to resort to “mild lathi charge” and use tear gas to disperse the crowd, an official said.

According to the police, the protesters set fire to two motorcycles and vandalised a police vehicle, causing injuries to a few policemen.

“Police lobbed tear gas shells and used mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd. We have detained a few persons,” the senior official said.

The protesters reportedly turned violent during their march to the site of the temple demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on August 10 on the orders of the Supreme Court.

Dalit outfit Bhim Army claimed its chief Chandrashekhar Azad had been detained.

Earlier today, the stretch between Jhandewalan and Ramlila Maidan in central Delhi turned into a sea of blue as thousands of Dalits from various parts of the country hit the streets of the city on Wednesday to protest the recent demolition of a Ravidas Mandir in the national capital.

Wearing blue caps and carrying flags, protesters of all age groups marched from Ambedkar Bhawan in Jhandewalan to the Ramlila Maidan. Traffic movement was affected in some parts of the city.

Cries of ‘Jai Bhim’ rend the air as the protesters, who arrived from Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other states, demanded that the government hand over the plot of land to the community and rebuild the temple.

The protest in Delhi came a week after a similar protest of Dalits in Punjab on August 13 over the issue.

The issue has taken a political hue with various parties demanding that the temple be reconstructed either at the same spot in Tughlakabad forest area or at an alternative location.

The gathering in the national capital also saw the presence of Delhi’s social justice minister Rajendra Pal Gautam.

Gautam said their fight is against the injustice meted out to the community and not against the Supreme Court order.

“I am here as a representative of the community and not as a Delhi minister or politician. We respect the Supreme Court order, but the government should answer why only temples of the Dalit community and statues of B.R. Ambedkar are being demolished across the country?” he asked.

Also read: Punjab: Normal Life Hit as Dalit Groups Observe Bandh Against Demolition of Ravidas Temple

Gathered under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Sant Shiromani Guru Ravidas Mandir Sanyukta Sanrakhshan Samiti, an umbrella body of Dalit groups formed for this temple movement, the protesters resolved to continue the fight till their demands were met.

Some even proceeded on an indefinite hunger strike at the Ramilia Maidan.

Hansraj Raj, 42, who travelled to Delhi from Punjab’s Jalandhar, asked, “How is our demand different from that for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya? If that is so important for a particular community, this is important for us.”

V.P. Singh, 60, from Ghaziabad said thousands of religious structures have come up on government and forest land. “Why only a temple of Sant Ravidas was razed? The government should answer”.

Sonu, 30, said, “They are asking us to construct the temple at an alternative place. Why don’t they shift the Ram Mandir to some other place? Everything happened in the blink of an eye. We didn’t even get to know of the SC order. Are we not citizens of India?”

Another protester alleged that the apex court diluted provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, “without considering the views of Dalits”.

Shrishti Devi who came from Punjab’s Pathankot said she voted for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections but the party-led government hurt their religious sentiments.

Dhail Singh, 83, said being a Dalit himself, president Ram Nath Kovind should have intervened in the issue.

“The temple was around 500 years old. Many governments have come and gone, but no one touched it. It is the anti-Dalit BJP that has hurt the sentiments of crores of people in the country,” he alleged.

BJP leader and former Union minister Vijay Goel criticised the Aam Aadmi Party for allegedly politicising the issue.

Goel said that he held a meeting with community leaders recently and offered them a solution, but the AAP wanted to score brownie points.

“I have proposed that the temple be built at an alternative place after the approval of the Supreme Court. If they agree, we will take the matter up with the DDA,” he said.

Delhi Government Committee on Manual Scavenging Meets for the First Time

If people cleaning sewers and septic tanks die on the job, their employers will booked for culpable homicide rather than death by negligence, the Delhi government has said.

New Delhi: At the first meeting of a state-level monitoring committee to end manual scavenging, Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government on Monday said that if people cleaning sewers and septic tanks die on the job, their employers will booked for culpable homicide.

“In case of death of an individual entering a sewer line or septic tank, the person in-charge of the cleaning work will face charges under IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and not 304A (causing death by negligence),” Times of India quoted Delhi social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam as saying.

While imprisonment under Section 304A is for a maximum of two years, a person can be jailed for up to ten years if found guilty under Section 304.

Committees of the kind that met in Delhi on Monday are mandated to meet once every six months under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act. Kejriwal expressed his displeasure that though the current committee was formed in December 2017, it met for the first time only on Monday. During the meeting, the chief minister asked Gautam – the chair of the committee – to investigate why meetings had not been held so far and submit a report in one week.

Recently, six manual scavengers have died in two separate instances in the national capital.

The chief minister also instructed all district magistrates to finish surveys to identify manual scavengers soon and take to rehabilitate them and provide them with employment in civil defence, Hindustan Times quoted Gautam as saying. So far, surveys undertaken by district magistrates have said there are 45 manual scavengers in Delhi, spread across Shahdara, East and North East districts.

“Other districts reported zero figures. But deaths have been taking place. So the district magistrates have been instructed to undertake surveys again. For any death, they will be held responsible,” Indian Express quoted Gautam as saying.

#Grit is an initiative of The Wire dedicated to the coverage of manual scavenging and sanitation and their linkages with caste, gender, policy and apathy. The Manual Scavenging Project is the first in a series of deep dive editorial projects.

Delhi Government Holds Skill Development Programme for Manual Scavengers

The identified manual scavengers will be trained in housekeeping over a period of three months.

New Delhi: A skill development programme for identified manual scavengers was organised by the office of the district magistrate (Shahdara) on Friday (August 24). It seeks to skill 28 people involved in manual scavenging for the last 5-15 years who had been identified in the district. Those identified for the programme fall in the large age range of 18 years to 60 years.

Shatrughan Sinha and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Credit: Twitter/@dilipkpandey

The manual scavengers who had been identified and would be imparted training came from different educational backgrounds. While most of them were completely illiterate, two were matriculates, three had passed their Class 12 examinations, and one had graduated with a BCom (Honours).

A few days prior to the event, during an interaction with the media, the only graduate among the identified manual scavengers, Sandeep Kumar, had spoken about how his “mind rebelled” against doing manual scavenging. But with two children and a family to support, he did the job for seven months before starting a small grocery business.

Another beneficiary of the scheme had spoken about how he felt liberated now since he had detested performing the role of a manual scavenger in the absence of other employment opportunities.

A great deal of disparity was also found in the salaries of the identified manual scavengers, which ranged from Rs 2,000 per month to Rs 8,000 per month.

The gathering was informed that the training programme had been initiated by the district magistrate (Shahdara) of the Delhi government to “provide an alternative means of livelihood, honour and dignity to manual scavengers”.

The manual scavengers were identified in February 2018 by a committee headed by K. Mahesh, DM (Shahdara). This district level survey committee was formed under Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

The identified manual scavengers will be trained in housekeeping over a period of three months. These trainees will also be paid a stipend of Rs 1,000 per month with other facilities and assured of a job in the housekeeping sector with minimum wages.

Speaking on the occasion, BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha lauded the initiative of the Shahdara district and exhorted other districts in the country to replicate the programme in their jurisdiction. He also lauded the work done by Sisodia is ushering in educational reforms in Delhi.

Credit: Twitter/AAPExpress

Sisodia spoke about the potential of the training programme to raise the living standard of the manual scavengers. “We are here to provide a solution to manual scavengers. It’s a pilot project which has been started in Shahdara District, and in near future, it will be implemented by every district,” he declared.

Delhi social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam spoke about how while earlier there were no state monitoring committees, vigilance committees have now been constituted in every district. Noting that there have been 12 deaths during the cleaning of sewers, he also stressed the need for getting the job done through machines only. Pandey, who is also a member of Sahitya Kala Parishad, insisted that in the future Delhi will not face any problems related to manual scavenging.

After Fatalities, Delhi Government to Fully Mechanise Sewer Cleaning

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal and attended by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and other top officials.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Credit: PTI

New Delhi: After ten deaths, authorities in Delhi today decided to fully mechanise cleaning sewers and made it clear that any violation would attract punishment up to life imprisonment.

Water minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said the Delhi Jal Board CEO, municipal commissioners and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) chairman had been asked to prepare a report within 15 days on the procurement of mechanical cleaners.

The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by lieutenant governor (LG) Anil Baijal and attended by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and top officials of all concerned agencies, including civic bodies and the DJB.

“Directions issued for 100% migration to mechanisation for sewers/drains cleaning. Strict regime to be prepared within seven days. Intensive publicity of laid down norms for observance by contractors. Police to take stringent action against defaulters,” the LG said in a series of tweets.

The LG described deaths caused while cleaning sewers as “unacceptable”.

In todays meeting, Baijal directed the DJB CEO to prepare standard operating procedures for cases requiring emergency manual intervention as per the law within a weeks time.

Baijal also directed the Delhi police to take stringent and deterrent action against contractors violating the law.

Briefing reporters separately, Gautam said no one would be allowed to enter sewers for manual cleaning in the national capital.

The authorities will press for stringent action and may recommend punishment under Section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against agencies or private contractors behind any violation, Gautam said.

Hoardings will be put up across the city announcing the prohibitions and also displaying helplines for authorised cleaning of sewers and septic tanks so that people would not engage workers privately, he said.

“The deaths are painful and should shame us. There are instances of manual cleaning at malls, farm houses. But we do not have a proper list as of now,” he said.

Kejriwal has called a meeting with executive engineers and senior officials of the DJB tomorrow on the same issue.

Yesterday, a 45-year-old sanitation worker died and three others were taken ill allegedly while cleaning a sewer at the government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital in central Delhi.

In three separate incidents over a month, nine people died in similar circumstances.

(PTI)