NEW DELHI
Dt. 19-11-03
INVITATION/ APPEAL
Dear Friend,
Greetings from National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights.
At the out set let me congratulate you for your constant
efforts for the protection and promotion of Dalit Human Rights. The life and struggle of
our great leader Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and his direction inspired many of us to fight against
oppression, exclusion and intolerance. Further these struggles helped us to articulate our
rights at different levels and forums and we could achieve visible growth and development.
As you know the public policies, subsidies, welfare schemes,
reservation policy and other constitutional guarantees gave economic means of livelihood,
some social status and confidence in millions of our brothers and sisters to extent. But
in the light of Globalisation and neo-liberal economic policies the governments are
shifting their focus from Welfare to Market oriented economy. This shift is very affecting
Dalit communities adversely and for the last one decade the lives of Dalits became
miserable. The withdrawal of the state from the responsibility of economical and social
governance as part of the structural adjustment programmes has thrown the Dalits and other
marginalized groups out of their economic activity. These policies are not only hampering
interests of Dalit community but also suppressing the hopes and chances of millions of
poor people from poorest countries around the world. The state’s withdrawal from
‘welfare’ and service sector people particularly Dalits became vulnerable. In
the new economic regime unemployment and poverty has increased enormously.
On the other hand, people across the world are getting united against
the imperialist regime of globalisation and are meeting at a common place every year under
the name of World Social Forum (WSF). As a part of WSF process Asian Social Forum (ASF)
was held in Hyderabad between2-7 January 2003. ASF Dalit sector, a forum of Dalit groups
has played a significant role in the Asian Social Forum (ASF) 2003. The programmes
organised by NCDHR and WSF Dalit sector successfully exposed the issues faced by Dalits in
the context of Globalisation and Dalit participation was draw the attention of
organisations, mass movements, activists and civil society groups participated in ASF from
all over the Asian region.
In continuation to ASF the world’s most excited event World Social
Forum-WSF 2004 is scheduled to be held in Mumbai from 16th to 21st
January 2004. Almost all the people oriented organisations including NCDHR gearing up to
organise the event successfully to expose the impact and consequences of the
Globalisation, Privatisation and Liberalisation proposed by World Bank and World Trade
Organisation. To make World Social Forum meaningful for Dalits, NCDHR is organising ‘DALIT
SWADHIKAR RALLY’, National Rally of Dalits for Assertion of Rights, from four
locations in the country. The Dalit Swadhikar Rally will start four locations on 6th
December 2003; the historical significance of the day is the Anniversary of Dalit legend
and chief architect of Indian constitution Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.
For this five-week Dalit March in the history of India
NCDHR is making all the preparations to make it effective and intensive. The Rally will
wind its way along four routes from four corners of India i.e., Kashmir, Kolkotta, Delhi
and Kanya Kumari crossing about 20 states and territories. The rally will visit about 1000
villages/towns/cities. Hall meetings, open conventions will be organised during the rally
and it critical areas where Dalit Rights are violated will be visited by the Rally. On the
way the rallies touch the places where Dalits were sacrificed their lives and offer homage
to martyrs.
The primary objective of the rally is to generate Dalit power from the
grassroots panchayats to the national and global levels in order to uphold Dalit pride and
dignity in the footsteps of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar;
To serve as a focal point for all streams of Dalit power in the nation
to merge and become a massive force of resistance against the oppressive forces and
liberation for the Dalits and for all;
To underline the economic, social and cultural rights of all other
suppressed peoples as the priority of the nation and to demand from the State and its
governance system implementation of livelihood rights on a war footing;
To forge unity with all democratic, secular and socialist forces to
combat the anti-people policies of the Indian State, the casteist and class-based dominant
sections of civil society and the global market institutions and nations;
To demand the establishment of a people-friendly governance system at
the national, state and panchayat levels, and to demand greater powers to the grassroots panchayats
wherein Dalits’ roles and functions will be fully ensured and protected in accessing
all types of resources for their welfare and progress;
To build linkages with all the peoples in South Asia and around the
world who suffer from the scourge of descent and work based discrimination similar to that
of Dalits in India;
To offer partnership with all human rights activists/organisations in
the world which continue their fight against the market, militarist, communal,
fundamentalist, casteist and patriarchal forces.
NCDHR strongly feels that the Dalit Swadhikar Rally is an occasion that
calls forth all Dalit groups in the country to stand united to combat the destructive
designs of the market, caste and communal forces. The rally focus is to enlighten Dalit
masses to assert their identity as a people against the aggression of casteist and
communal forces on Dalits’ right to life and security as citizens.
In this context I request you to kindly join the Rally and extend your
solidarity and support.
If you need further information in this regard please do not hesitate
to contact us.
Looking forward for your positive response,
Yours sincerely,
N. P. DIVAKAR
State coordinator/ DALIT SWADHIKAR RALLY NATIONAL CONVENOR, CONVENOR
Swadhikar rally route map and programme
sheet is enclosed
SWADHIKAR RALLY ROUTES
Route I: Starting in Jammu in the north the first team will march
through Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat and enters in Mumbai the venue of WSF.
Route II: The second team starts from Delhi and passes through
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra and Mumbai.
Route III. Starts in Kolkotta and passes trough entire east
coast of India from West Bengal to Andhra Pradesh covering Orissa, and finally Maharastra
State and Mumbai.
Rout IV: starts from down south in Kanya Kumari of Tamilnadu and
march through Pondicherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharastra and finally
reaches Mumbai. |
