'We will consider RSS request for route march in Chittapur': Karnataka govt tells HC
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Friday informed the High Court that it will positively consider the proposal submitted by the Kalaburagi convenor of RSS to hold a route march in Chittapur town.
The submission came after the High Court's earlier direction on October 30, asking RSS convenor Ashok Patil to meet district authorities on November 5 at the Advocate General's office to discuss the modalities of conducting the event.
Senior advocate Aruna Shyam, representing the petitioner, and Advocate General (AG) Shashi Kiran Shetty were also directed to participate in the meeting to ensure smooth coordination.
During the hearing before Justice M G S Kamal, Aruna Shyam informed the court that the meeting held on November 5 "went very well" under the leadership of the Advocate General, with all parties actively participating. "We have made a representation, and the discussions were constructive," he submitted.
The advocate general told the court that there were 11 pending applications for similar processions across the state.
He said the authorities would consider all of them and grant permission as a one-time measure with certain conditions. "We will grant permission to everybody as a one-time measure, not to be seen as a precedent," the AG assured, seeking a week's time to finalize the permissions.
Recording the submissions, the High Court noted that the November 5 meeting was "fruitful and positive." It further stated that the petitioner's proposed dates--November 13 and 16--were being considered favourably and that the state would communicate its decision soon.a
The case will next be heard on November 13. The meeting on November 5 was the second such meeting convened following the court's earlier direction on October 24, when it asked the state to hold a peace-committee meeting with the organisers, after reports of tension in Chittapur regarding the proposed march.
The "peace meeting" held by the district administration in Kalaburagi on October 28 in connection with permission for RSS route march and similar rallies for nine other organisations in Chittapur had failed to reach any consensus.
The issue began when authorities in Chittapur, the home constituency of Minister Priyank Kharge, denied permission for the RSS route march on October 19, citing the possibility of disruption of peace and law and order.
The Tahsildar of Chittapur, had cited that the Bhim Army and other organisations have also informed, through a letter, that they too are willing to conduct a route march on the same route on the same day.
However, hearing the petition filed by one Ashok Patil on behalf of RSS on October 19, the High Court asked them to file a fresh application seeking permission to hold its route march in Chittapur. It further asked the authorities to consider the application and submit the report to the court.
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Jai Bhim: Slogan that energised Dalits was first given at this central Maharashtra village
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): 'Jai Bhim': These two words have come to symbolise the awakening and empowerment of the Dalit community in independent India, but not many people know how it originated.
The slogan, which also encapsulates the immense reverence in which Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is held, was first raised at the Makranpur Parishad, a conference organised at Makranpur village in Kannad teshil of today's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra.
Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution, died on December 6, 1956.
Bhausaheb More, the first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation of Marathwada, organised the first Makranpur Parishad on December 30, 1938.
Dr Ambedkar spoke at the conference and asked the people not to support the princely state of Hyderabad under which much of central Maharashtra then fell, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Pravin More, Bhausaheb's son.
"When Bhausaheb stood up to speak, he said every community has its own deity and they greet each other using the name of that deity. Dr Ambedkar showed us the path of progress, and he is like God to us. So henceforth, we should say 'Jai Bhim' while meeting each other. The people responded enthusiastically. A resolution accepting 'Jai Bhim' as the community's slogan was also passed," More told PTI.
"My father came in contact with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his early years. Bhausaheb was aware of the atrocities the Nizam state committed on Dalits. He told Ambedkar about these atrocities, including the pressure to convert. Dr Ambedkar was strongly against these atrocities, and he decided to attend the 1938 conference," he said.
As Ambedkar was against the princely states, he was banned from giving speeches in the Hyderabad state but was allowed to travel through its territories. The Shivna river formed the border between Hyderabad and British India. Makranpur was chosen as the venue for the first conference because it was on the banks of Shivna but lay in the British territory, ACP More said.
The stage made of bricks, from where Dr Ambedkar addressed the conference, still stands. The conference is organised on December 30 every year to carry forward Ambedkar's thought, and the tradition was not discontinued even in 1972 when Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in it history.
"My grandmother pledged her jewellery for the conference expenses. People from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada attended it. Despite a ban imposed by the Nizam's police, Ambedkar's followers crossed the river to attend the event," said ACP More.
"This is the 87th year of Makranpur Parishad. We have deliberately retained the venue as it helps spread Ambedkar's thought in rural areas," he added.
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