Following his release from jail on Tuesday, Ambedkar Jan Morcha convener and Dalit rights activist Shravan Kumar Nirala announced that a march will be taken out in January to demand land for landless families from Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, and other marginalised groups in Uttar Pradesh.
A Gorakhpur court on Saturday had granted bail to Mr. Nirala, retired IPS officer S.R. Darapuri, and seven others arrested in connection with a case of alleged vandalism during a stir over the same demand outside the Gorakhpur Divisional Commissioner’s office on October 10.
“We were jailed to silence the people’s movement. Dalits and other marginalised groups face atrocities in villages as they don’t own land. In order to live with dignity, land is a must,” Mr. Nirala said.
