Ashok Parmar, joined the dalit foot march on Thursday evening to express "solidarity with the community and register protest against atrocity on suppressed people".

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat's most recognized face of the 2002 riots, Ashok Parmar, joined the dalit foot march on Thursday evening to express "solidarity with the community and register protest against atrocity on suppressed people". Parmar's controversial photograph posing with an iron rod had featured in most media publications to represent the anger of Hindus at the time of post-Godhra riots.

Interestingly, Parmar, who was a Bajrang Dal worker when he took to streets during the communal frenzy, has joined a group of Muslim youths and left for Savarkundla town to join the Dalit Asmita Yatra, which is on its way to Una.

A cobbler by profession, Parmar lives on a footpath in Shahpur area since 2001. "It is my responsibility to show solidarity with the community and register protest against the atrocity committed on them. What happened in Una cannot be tolerated. Now is a time to say enough is enough," he told TOI.

Parmar claims that his style of protest would be different. "You have to use a language the oppressors understand. Of course, this is not the time to lob bombshells, but our words will have similar impact," he said.

Besides seeking justice and calling upon dalits to give up menial jobs including skinning of carcasses, one of the aims of the Dalit Asmita Yatra is to promote dalit-Muslim unity.

Parmar is accompanied by volunteers of Insaf Foundation, which aims at promoting communal harmony. The foundation's member, Kaleem Siddiqui, said, "Divisive forces become active whenever there is a crisis for a political party in Gujarat."

"If such forces are not countered today, rioting will not end. This is the time for Muslims to support dalits. Muslims from Bapunagar and Juhapura will come to Una on August 14 and join the flag hoisting ceremony on Independence Day," said Siddiqui.

