india

Updated: Sep 14, 2016 01:29 IST

Claiming that carcasses of cattle that are not being cleared by authorities in Gujarat are stinking because of rotting, the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch intensified its ongoing protest against the Una flogging incident by mailing thousands of postcards to actor Amitabh Bachchan under their new campaign called “Badbu Gujarat Ki (Stench of Gujarat)” on Tuesday.

It is a counter-campaign to the tourism department’s “Khushboo Gujarat Ki (Scent of Gujarat)” initiative, promoted as brand ambassador, by actor Amitabh Bachchan. Under the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch led by Jignesh Mevani, Dalits kick-started the campaign from Kalol near Ahmedabad. The postcard addressed to Bachchan’s Mumbai residence in Juhu read in Hindi: “On Modi’s insistence you experienced ‘Khushboo Gujarat Ki’. Now we have stopped disposing dead cattle, so now spend a few days in Gujarat and feel Badbu Gujarat Ki.”

They also plan to send invites to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the same. “The campaign will be continued from various parts of Gujarat,’’ said Mevani.

In a reaction to the thrashing of four men from Una by self-styled cow protectors, the Dalits in Saurashtra region in July had thrown dead cows at the doorsteps of public offices, announcing that “it’s your mother, you take care’’. Thousands of Dalits pledged to not to pick up dead cows.

An image of the postcard sent to Amitabh Bachchan by Dalit protesters. (HT Photo)

The protest first gathered momentum after BSP chief Mayawati raised the flogging and other atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat in the parliament on July 18. Subsequent visits by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to Una further intensified the debate.

“Through the postcard campaign we have been trying to underline the fact that Narendra Modi had marketed a false image of Gujarat to the world. Here the Dalit’s voice has been suppressed and subjected to the atrocities’’, said Mevani.

When asked to list the sites in cities, villages or towns from where cases of rotting carcasses are being reported, the group was unclear. “They are rotting at many places. We will give you the list,’’ said a member of the Dalit Adhikar Manch.