Several Dalit organisations and Left-backed agriculture workers’ unions have joined hands and announced a joint rally to protest atrocities against Dalits in the country.

Talking to reporters here on Friday, the leaders of these organisations said the assaults on Dalits have increased ever since the BJP came to power. People whose livelihoods are based on natural resources, workers in the unorganised and organised sectors, minorities and students are at the receiving end, they added. “In the recent period, cow vigilante gangs of Hindutva groups are attacking Dalits frequently and torturing them in the name of gau raksha ,” they said.

Under the banner of Dalit Swabhiman Sangharsh (DSS), various Dalit organisations and workers associations will march to Parliament House on September 16. “The DSS has decided to take on the RSS on the issue of cultural nationalism and also on the issue of caste and religion. The intention of the DSS is to build an ideology based on the Constitution. The DSS believes the RSS is against the Constitution as it wants to propagate Manuvaad and hence they are employing all instruments to terrorise and marginalise the Schedule Castes so that they can be caged and a new kind of slavery be enforced on them,” said Dalit activist Prakash Ambedkar.

He said apart from Dalit organisations, Left and socialist groups will join the rally on September 16.

“Currently, we are in the process to set the socio-cultural-religious agenda which will be spelt out in the meeting,” Ambedkar said and added that the move will coordinate the Dalit agitations and also engage with sociocultural issues to build a new society.

The organisers added that no-RSS affiliated Dalit leaders will be invited to the programme.

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