Mumbai: An Adivasi group has said that the police have refused them written permission to conduct their annual march in Aarey, which takes place on August 9, in opposition to their customary festivities of World Indigenous Peoples Day.
Glimpses from the Adivasi Adhikar Samavesh in Puri (Odisha). pic.twitter.com/Qrl64xlpXl
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) February 3, 2019
Denied Permission and Police Treatment
“On July 22, we applied for police permission with the Aarey Police station,” the Kashtkari Shetkari Sanghatana stated in a press release. “We were called to the Aarey Police Station on Tuesday, a few days before the march, and we were treated like criminals.” We were informed that we would not be permitted to continue the march after being forced to sit for two hours. For almost 40 years, the estimated 222 Adivasis from all of Mumbai’s padas have gathered at the Goregaon Check Naka in traditional garb and marched to Aarey Dairy Cross Road.
They want to carry on with the march even in the absence of authorization. An Adivasi woman at the police station named Gita Bhatre said, “The police have refused to give us written permission.” “They say they cannot give us written permission because of the Aarey Dairy, but they are orally informing us that we can hold the march. They yell at us and force us to stand outside for hours; they do not show us any respect. But today is our day, and we’re going to march regardless.
Police Response to The Adivasi Group
The march last year, which drew about 5,000 Adivasis, was largely peaceful but ended with a little altercation with the police. Activist Sanjiv Valsan stated, “This is setting the stage for a police conflict at a march which has been peaceful for years.”
The entire region belongs to the Aarey department, which comprises all departments that have a part in Aarey. They should first get permission from them before coming to the police, stated senior inspector Jagdish Deshmukh of the Aarey police station. We shall promptly grant them written authorization if the Aarey department grants them access to certain sensitive locations. “Whenever they march, we always assist them and provide police bandobast. On August 9, the police bandobast will also be there,” stated Deshmukh.
READ: Celebrating National Handloom Day: Honoring India’s Rich…