Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on fast in prison, says mother

In this file photo, supporters of Chandrashekhar Azad raise slogans demanding his release from prison.

In this file photo, supporters of Chandrashekhar Azad raise slogans demanding his release from prison.  

Ahead of Ambedkar Jayanti on Saturday, Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad “Ravan” began a fast last Tuesday. He is currently lodged in Saharanpur jail after the U.P. government slapped the stringent National Security Act on him.

According to Kamlesh Devi, mother of Chandrashekhar (who took on the title of “Ravan” as an act of defiance), her son started the “fast unto death” to protest against the “targeting of Dalits and filing of cases against them” during the Bharat bandh on April 2.

“The way Dalits are being harassed by the Adityanath government has pained us all. Chandrashekhar has started a fast against the atrocities. I met him in jail where I got to know that he was having only water. The jail administration is pressuring him to break his fast,” she told The Hindu.