NAPM yatra pays tribute to India's first anti-dam campaigner

Samvidhan Samman Yatra of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), which passed through Pune and Satara, paid tribute to Senapati Bapat, the revolutionary freedom fighter and leader of the first anti-dam movement in the country. He fought against the Mulshi Dam in 1921. It recalled the struggle of the five generations of the dam displaced people who travelled with the Yatra and supported their demand for return of the land occupied by the dam operators, Tatas.
The yatra, which began on October 2 at Dandi and will reach Delhi on December 10 after travelling the whole of India, comprises of 75 people from 15 states. Speaking at a public rally in Pune, Subhash Ware, eminent constitutionalist, said that Dr Ambedkar was aware of the fact that courts or Parliament alone cannot guarantee the rule of law. There is a need to struggle to achieve justice.

Medha Patkar of NAPM, who is leading the yatra, said that every woman is asserting today with movements such as #MeToo on the internet. Sixteen women successfully managed to get a minister's resignation, something even opposition leaders were unable to do. Likewise, #NotInMyName held in Delhi gave a strong message against hate crimes.

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