by Saman Husain
Having marched to the Capital from different states, thousands of people gathered at the Jantar Mantar on Monday to push for Dalit rights and social justice.
The protesters, who had joined hands under various banners, demanded abolition of bonded labour acts; distribution of land to the landless; ensuring Dalit access to pattas that were distributed earlier; stringent punishment for those guilty of assaulting Dalit women and girls; and alternate work for manual scavengers, among others.
With posters, flags and signatures to support a Charter of Demands in hand, the participants had plans to march to Parliament Street but were stopped by authorities.
Besides several leaders of organisations working for Dalit rights, the gathering was addressed by John Brittas and Sivadasan, Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Communist Party of India (Marxist); Binoy Viswam, Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala; and Manoj Jha, Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), among others.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here .