It was a fantastic culmination of our 10 days humanise India march. A big gathering of people from different places in Fatehpur, India made our day. The biggest satisfaction of my life was to respect and honor those women who had left manual scavenging during our campaign in past three years. They all came in large number. Some of them have started learning sewing, stitching and even working in MNERGA. A life of honor for them. It was an impressive show. We sang popular songs that celebrate humanism. Many said that it is the fire which will ultimately make the way elsewhere where the community itself will rise up against the inhuman practice of manual scavenging. It was great when people saw young boys and girls speaking in confidence. This yatra gave us new hope on our youth and in the belief that only a humanist way of life would provide justice and opportunity to all those who have been denied it through religions. It is time for new ideas and this yatra has given us plenty. It has given us hope. More than us, it has given people a reason to believe that a movement with good intent is bound to succeed even if it look small.
Humanise India Initiative began with a call to introspect our social cultural norms. The yatra (Walk) began from the memorial of late Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi who sacrificed his life for the cause of communal amity in India. A large number of people gathered and started our day. In the morning, we shared our vision with the students of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Inter college. The interaction with students and later various communities in different villages that came on our way was encouraging. We sincerely hope that this small efforts of ours will pave the way for an enlightened India. The day ended with an interaction at Khaga where we all are having our night stay at the Nagar Panchayat Bhavan.
By: VB Rawat
Director of Social Development Foundation, India SDF is IHEYO’s member organization.