New Delhi: Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Raavan’, who has been lodged in the Saharanpur district jail for the last three months, has written a strongly-worded letter from the confines of prison in which he has slammed the UP government as ‘Kaale Angrez’ (Black Englishmen) and vowed to fight for his “sister” Gauri Lankesh, the Bengaluru-based journalist, who was shot down on Tuesday. Azad even alleged that there was pressure on him from the state government to not apply for bail.
“Saharanpur district jail in Uttar Pradesh is currently my home. I have learnt that the dictatorial government of Black Englishmen and their puppet district administration do not want me to apply for bail. They say that if I apply for bail, they will book me under the National Security Act (NSA). Firstly, let me make it clear that this country is ours. The 85% Dalits, backward classes, Muslims and minorities will no longer be slaves in their own country,” Chandrashekhar said in his open letter, written in Hindi.
He expressed sadness over the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh and said, “I am saddened by the murder of my Ambedkarite elder sister Gauri Lankesh, but I salute her spirit. Her martyrdom will not go in vain. I am happy that she never bowed in her life. I want to tell you all that even if I die tomorrow, you should not back down from our collective struggle. It is because of your struggle that our future generations will be the rulers of this country.”
Ravi Kumar Gautam, the Bhim Army Youth Wing chief, said, “Bhai Chandrashekhar has referred to the Yogi Government as ‘Kaale Angrez’ because of their dictatorial attitude. In many ways, they are worse than the British. This government does not see us as equal citizens and we will fight them.”
He added, “Gauri Lankesh was and will always be our sister. This murder shows that not even journalists in the country are free. The reason she was murdered was because she spoke out against the ideology of the Sangh.”
Caste riots had broken out in Western UP’s Saharanpur district in May this year. According to police, a total of 25 FIRs were registered in connection with the May 9 Saharanpur caste-based clashes and Chandrashekhar was named as one of the main accused. Chandrashekhar, who had been on the run for a month, had been hopping from one state to the next before finally being arrested in Himachal Pradesh. A source said, he had spent time in Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
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