26 March,2011 08:12 AM IST | | Soma Das
Mahatma Gandhi shook the foundations of the British Empire when he set out on the Dandi March. Eighty-oneu00a0 years later, join the Mumbai Dandi March in Bandra to support the public-friendly Jan Lokpal Bill aimed to check corruption in India's highest corridors of power
On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi marched from the Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi village on Gujarat's shores. The 240-mile-walk was a non-violent protest against the salt tax and culminated on March 26. It triggered off the Civil Disobedience Movement and the rest is history.
Illustration/ Jishu Dev Malakar
On its 81st anniversary, as an inspiration to the Mahatma's movement and dismayed by the corruption in India, non-resident Indians in USA staged Dandi II, a symbolic 240 mile walk underway from San Diego to San Francisco.
To show your solidarity, join the Mumbai chapter of this walk, organised by NGOs working under the umbrella of the India Against Corruption movement initiated by individuals including Kiran Bedi. It begins from Cafe Coffee Day at Carter Road and ends at Bandra Fort, Land's End.
Nearly 25 veteran freedom fighters are expected to participate. At Bandra Fort, short speeches by a few freedom fighters, a musical performance, skits and a stand-up comedy routine on the theme of corruption will bring an end to this initiative. Participants get to take home a certificate signed by these freedom
fighters.
"One of the aims behind this march is to garner support for the Lokpal Bill, which demands reforms that check corruption in high places in the government," said Ruben Mascarenhas, a software engineer and co-ordinator of the Mumbai Dandi March.
Overall, such walks will also take place in eight countries (London-UK, Australia, Dubai-UAE, Hong Kong, Finland, Switzerland, Singapore and Canada) and across 30 Indian cities.
About the lokpal bill
In the 1960s, amidst reports of corruption in the bureaucracy, an alternative was proposed in the form of an ombudsman or Lokpal. The concept is prevalent in Sweden and the ombudsman is a person of impeccable credentials who empowers citizens to sue corrupt people within the government, including Members of Parliament and even the Prime Minister. It was passed in the Lok Sabha in 1969 but couldn't get passed in the Rajya Sabha. Subsequently, it was introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2008 but is yet to be passed. Activists working for India Against Corruption (IAC) have prepared a new draft called the Jan Lokpal Bill which has proponents such as Kiran Bedi and Anna Hazare among others.
From: 4.30 pm onwards
Call: 9820249942
Log on to: https://www.dandimarch2.org/
