Dalits to organise conference on Mahad Satyagraha

It will commemorate Mahad Satyagraha of 1927 led by Ambedkar

To commemorate the Mahad Satyagraha of 1927 led by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Karnataka State Dalit Sangharsh Samiti is going to organise a day-long conference on the event in Kalaburagi on Sunday.

Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, State Convenor of the organisation Arjun Bhadre said that progressive thinker Shivasundar will inaugurate and deliver a special lecture on the Mahad Satyagraha. And, Assistant Professor, Central University of Karnataka, Kiran Gajanur, writers R.K. Hudgi, Indumati Patil, B.R. Buddha and Mariyappa Halli will speak on the occasion.

“Mahad Satyagraha has been an important milestone in the history of the Dalit liberation movement in India. Led by Dr. Ambedkar, Dalits defied all socio-cultural restrictions imposed by the upper castes and used the water from Mahad public tank prohibited to Dalits on December 25, 1927. After the event, thousands of Dalits gathered on December 25, 1927, at a conference where Dr. Ambedkar burnt a copy of Manusmriti to register the Dalit opposition to caste-based discrimination in the name of religion. On March 19, 1940, Dr. Ambedkar held a rally and a public meeting in Mahad to recollect Mahad Satyagraha Day as Empowerment Day. We are organising a conference to commemorate the struggle against untouchability and caste-based discrimination as the issue is still relevant,” Mr. Bhadre said.

Mr. Bhadre added that senior journalist Sanatkumar Belagali and scholar Dattatreya Ikkalaki will be felicitated on the occasion for their contributions to society.

Responding to the public discourse going on in the social media on the film, The Kashmir Files, Mr. Bhadre said that there are hundreds of incidents of heinous crimes against Dalits across the country and nobody is interested in talking about them.

“Atrocities against any community are condemnable. But film-makers and social media activists are more interested in highlighting crimes against Kashmiri Pandits and not in depicting atrocities against Dalits that are being reported on a daily basis,” Mr. Bhadre said.

Dalit leaders Mahantesh Badadal, Mallikarjun Khanna, Suryakanth Azadpur and Shivakumar Koralli were present.