‘We are ready to shed blood for Ambedkar memorial’

While the observations made by the Bombay high courtfor the state government’s inaction against ‘encroachers’ at Indu Mills left the government representatives speechless, on the other side, the ‘encroachers’ are in no mood to remain silent.

“You can use your force and remove activists from the mill compound. But are you going to do the same for the busts of Gautam Buddha andBabasaheb Ambedkar?” asked Ramesh Jadhav, Mumbai chief of Republican Sena, while talking with DNA.

The question sounds simple, but could become a headache for the authorities, considering the emotions attached to the name of Ambedkar.

“We are the followers of Ambedkar, and are not only Dalits. When we barged into the compound, people from all castes and religions joined us. When we say we have captured the mill, it does not mean we will live inside, but there will be an Ambedkar memorial made in it. If the government wants to try to vacate it, they can. But they will have to face the consequences,” he said, adding that activists are ready to shed their blood if force is being used by the authorities.

The 12.5 acres of land of Indu Mill has been under debate since its capture by the Republican Sena activits on December 6. The Bombay high court in its observations had even linked the December 6 incident to the Babri Masjid demolition.

“The link made by the court is completely unnecessary and unjustifiable. These people are not committing any crime and increasing communal tension was never on the agenda. It is a legitimate demand, which the government was not ready to fulfill,” said Ramesh Shinde, a scholar in the Ambedkarite movement.

Maintaining respect for the judiciary of the country, Shinde pointed out that our society is not ready to accept Ambedkar as a national leader, and politicians want to use his memory for their political motives. “None of the political parties have opposed the demand of 12.5 acres land. But the government is yet to make an official announcement. Do they want to see blood on the streets, and then accept this demand?” he asked.