Swami Agnivesh attacked in Bhopal

On Friday November 30, following the launch of a campaign dedicated to the eradication of manual scavenging in Bhopal, Swami Agnivesh (RLA 2004) was attacked by a group of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists. The attack happened after he came forward to touch the feet of an old Dalit lady. The gesture was to recognise the dignity of all humans being equal.

Swami Agnivesh says: “What happened was condemnable. VHP activists could not stand the fact that Dalit women were taking a stand against manual scavenging and refusing to clean toilets, and that I touched the feet of a Dalit woman and spoke against the caste system. As soon after the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh left the function, VHP activists attacked me in a cowardly fashion.”

The RLAF condemns this attack on Swami Agnivesh in the strongest possible terms, and calls upon the authorities to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. We extend our full solidarity to Swami Agnivesh to continue his important work in pursuit of social justice.