Ahmedabad NGOs mull yatra on Ambedkar Jayanti

NGOs from across the city and state are planning to take out a Shobha Yatra to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. A meeting was held to discuss this yatra and how to best make use of it to highlight the values and thoughts that the Father of Indian Constitution stood for.

Speaking at the meet, Martin Mcwan, an activist, said that they did not want Ambedkar Jayanti to be just another day and be limited to garlanding Ambedkar’s statue. “We are mulling to take out a Shobha Yatra across the city. It can also have tableaus highlighting various issues including the recent dalit killings in Thangadh,” said Mcwan. He also proposed that the rally should have children dressed up as Gandhi, Ambedkar and other such inspiring figures. “We are also in talks with people from other communities as well as we don’t want it to be restricted to one caste or religion,” said Mcwan.

Some of the inputs for the Yatra included taking up dalit-related issues and forcing political parties to do something for it. “We should not let it be just another Yatra. In fact it should be such that forces political parties to take up issues related to dalits. Merely taking out such yatras will not work,” said Valjibhai Patel, a senior dalit activist.