The following is the statement issued by the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch on May 19.

THE Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch condemns the horrific crime committed against dalits in Dangawas village in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district where 3 dalit men were killed on May 15. They were mowed down under tractors by the Jats, who are a dominant caste in the region, over a land dispute. Many dalits were grievously injured. Dalit women were molested, severely beaten and there were repeated attempts to disrobe them.

DALIT Shoshan Mukti Manch (DSMM) is a national platform of various Dalit empowerment organisations from across the country which are working for eradication of untouchability and caste discrimination, and socio-economic development of the community. DSMM, under the guidance of CPI(M), was established on 27 November 2014 at a national conference in Delhi. The Manch will observe Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14 as ‘Dalit Rights Day’ to highlight the constitutional safeguards for Dalits in India.

THE executive committee of the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) in a statement issued on March 22, lodged its strongest protest against the pathetic conditions in which participants at the 15th National Para-Athletic Championship have been put in a camp in Ghaziabad. Over 600 athletes from different parts of the country have been lodged in some under construction buildings with even the basic facilities lacking. What they have for toilets are inaccessible mobile toilets that have been put up at the venue forcing many of the participants to defecate in the open.

AS the democratic organisations celebrate the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule, the dalits of the country face important and stiff challenges for their survival in the contemporary times. The weakening of the social welfare system has led to a social counter revolution led by the conservative rightwing forces and made dalits in particular socially and economically vulnerable. The idea that the neo-liberal State will be a limited State that does not interfere in societal affairs has strengthened social institutions that have given a new fillip to forces of social conservatism.

MOHAN Bhagwat’s statement that India is a Hindu Rashtra and that the Hindus should reclaim their own through a reconversion programme has come at a time when the reconversion debate is stalling parliament. This debate has finally lifted the mask of development which was worn by the Modi government in order to sell the corporate Hindutva dream to the nation. In order to counter this demystification, the BJP has been arguing that an anti-conversion law is needed in order to stop forced change in religion.