BHEEM NAGRI CELEBRATIONS.....APRIL 14, 2014

AGRA TO HOST BIGGEST DALIT  EMPOWERMENT SHOW

 

Agra April 13 (IANS)

 

Despite restrictions by the Election Commission on politicising the annual Dr BR Ambedkar Jayanti, the three-day Bheem Nagri celebrations, the biggest empowerment show in the dalit capital of north India, begins Monday.

 

The chief attraction of the Bheem Nagri this year is the specially prepared stage in the form of India's parliament, to communicate the message that dalits should vote unitedly to catapult the probable prime ministerial candidate Mayawati whose Bahujan Samaj Party is hoping to win at least 30 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.

 

The 150 feet long and 50 feet wide stage will cost Rs 30 lakhs and the mile-long procession that will start Monday evening could cost crores.

 

The whole stretch of road in Bodla where the Bheem Nagri has come up has been given a new coat, new street lights have been installed and the area being spruced up to welcome over a million dalits from Agra and neighbouring districts. Kartar Singh Bharti, chairman of the organising committee said the celebrations will include speeches by dalit intellectuals, poets and followers of Dr Ambedkar. "A mass marriage programme will be a major draw and on the final day distinguished dalit personalities will be felicitated," he said.

 

Dr BR Ambedkar visited Agra's  Buddha Vihar near the power house in  March 1956 for the last time. The same year on December 6, he died leaving a legacy of unfulfilled dreams. Agra's emotional bonding with Ambedkar began with the first conversions of dalits to Buddhism at his initiative. 

 

In Agra, described often as the dalit capital of north India, the birth day celebrations of Dr BR Ambedkar  are  seen as a demonstration of dalit empowerment over the past decades. The dalits constitute more than one third of Agra's 20 lakh plus population. "The city was a favourite of both Dr Ambedkar and the  BSP founder Kanshi Ram," says  activist Narendra Varun. Agra is a major player in the shoe market because of the dalits, he adds.

 

The Bheem Nagri complex with a string of platforms for performers and politicians who will use the opportunity to consolidate their vote banks, is being facelifted.

 

Coming at a crucial phase of the elections, the celebrations are going to help the  Bahujan Samaj Party  whose local leaders  are using the opportunity to mobilise support for the party candidate from Agra Narayan Singh.

 

This will be the 19th year in a row that the Bheem Nagri celebrations are being organised.