Slum Janandolana Karnataka, an organisation that has been working for the rights and empowerment of slum dwellers in the State, celebrated its 10th anniversary here on Monday.
Inaugurating the event by playing the Djembe and offering floral tribute to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Savitribai Phule, former IAS officer S. Sasikanth Senthil called upon citizens belonging to the Dalit communities and economically weaker sections to stand in solidarity with the minority communities. “We must stand against Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register. It is not the question of religion; it is an issue of Constitutional rights,” he said.
Earlier, a report on Slum Janandolana Karnataka’s 10-year journey was released by Y.J. Rajendra, president, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Karnataka. He remarked that after a struggle of 10 years, it was heartening that the government was now taking into consideration slum dwellers.
Narasimha Murthy, State convener of Slum Janadolana Karnataka, said that making cities slum-free was not a development parameter. “Real development is when the government provides rights to all citizens, without any discrimination or injustice,” he said.
The anniversary celebrations saw attendance from nearly 200 people from 18 different districts. According to Kaveri from Slum Janandolana Karnataka, the organisation works not just on issues of slum dwellers, but also different communities that live in slums, such as sex workers, sexual minorities and contract labourers.
