Young and educated voices from the Ambedkarite community attribute this to the churning taking place in the community
A call by a prominent Dalit Leader Prakash Ambedkar rallied thousands of Ambedkarite followers to come on streets, protest and hold the city to ransom. Prakash Ambedkar, Grandson of Dalit icon Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, is a highly revered name in the Dalit community and politics. However, his party Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh has limited presence in pockets of Maharashtra. He has successively lost Loksabha polls from Akola constituency in Maharashtra. Yet thousands of Dalits actively responded to his Bandh call and made it successful.
Young and educated voices from the Ambedkarite community attribute this to the churning taking place in the community. Dr Revat Kaninde, doctor and activist, attributes this to increased awareness in the community due to education, increased economic prosperity and access to social media, said: “You cannot differentiate dalit rights from human rights of the non- Dalits in the country. Furthermore, our rights are violated more frequently these days.”
Kaninde asserts that hence it is the united feeling of distress that brings the community together more than the individual standing of any Dalit leader. “Dalits are divided politically but united on issues. So, when Prakash Ambedkar called a strike they buried their differences and came together.”
The city also saw a lot of miscreants spreading misinformation through social media videos and posts. Kaninde adds that they have shared these videos to the police and have requested prompt action.
Dalit youth used various social media tools to make the Bandh successful. Whatsapp, FB and Twitter were extensively used. Hashtags around Bheema Koregaon were created and actively circulated. Facebook live was used to rally for action. Videos were also uploaded to raise awareness.
Vaibhav Chaya, social media professional and Dalit activist, said, “Our youth required a spark to get itself organized. Someone needed to speak and Ambedkar did that. This is beyond politics.”
Social media was used actively to inform and coordinate with the Dalit brethren spread across the city and the state.
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