More than a hundred Dalit families of Saharanpur villages threatened on Sunday to renounce Hinduism and embrace Buddhism to “protest the atrocities against Dalits by the Thakurs and the subsequent one sided police action against the Bhim Army.”
The Dalits living in Rupdi, Kapurpur, Ighri and Unali villages in the neighbourhood of Shabbirpur village that saw Thakur-Dalit clashes early this month warned that they would renounce Hinduism if the Yogi Adityanath government did not stop the “unfair targeting” of Dalits and the Bhim Army.
“We are taking this extreme step as a mark of protest, because first the Thakur community attacked and burnt our lifetime earnings merely because we asked them to respect Saint Ravidas and not play loud music in Shabbirpur. Then the U.P. government headed by Adityanath, who is also a Thakur, takes action against us for speaking up and protesting against Thakur atrocities. How long should we remain silent? At the time of elections you call us Hindu and after that you start treating us like slaves,” said Narendra Gautam, whose family is among 180 families that have threatened to convert.
Dalit families gathered at a local canal and floated idols of Hindu gods and goddesses into the water. The move comes weeks after Advocate Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, founder of the Bhim Army, was arrested by the Special Task Force.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Bhim Army gathered at the Jantar Mantar on Sunday, demanding Azad’s release. His mother, Kamlesh Devi, headed groups of women who extended their supported the Bhim Army. Ms. Devi said that her son was targeted for voicing his protest against the atrocities.
(With inputs from
Soumya Pillai)