Hyderabad: The National Dalit Summit began at The Plaza Hotel here on Saturday, with over 350 delegates from more than 100 organisations from across the country.
Over 15 present cabinet Ministers, MLAs, former Ministers, MPs and other public representatives are participated in the proceedings.
The summit assumes significance because it is being organised at a time when atrocities against Dalits are rising on an unprecedented scale, apart from efforts to dilute the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The coming of BJP to power has done no good to the the socio-economic and political situation of the Dalit community as it has only worsened since 2014, the organizers said.
The summit brought together diverse organisations working for rights of the oppressed under one platform and galvanised the collective strength of the people’s movement by starting the process of ensuring a common agenda for Dalits before the 2024 General Elections, they said.
Introducing the agenda of the convention, Mallepalli Laxmaiah, chairperson, Centre for Dalit Studies, laid focus on the importance of struggles of Dalits and the space they have opened democracy for all fighting communities.
Former IAS officer Kaki Madhav Rao, Rajshekhar Vundru, Prof R Limbadri, chairman, Higher Education Council, Telangana and others also spoke.
A draft of the proposed common action plan for rectification of the abysmal situation of the Dalit community was also presented, discussions on which will be taking place in multiple sessions. Delegates will deliberate on the draft and a common agenda for 2024 will be charted out and presented to the country by the end of second day’s session on Sunday.