Dandi March in US against corruption in India

Washington: A group of NRIs, inspired by the historic Dandi March led by Mahatma Gandhi in India’s fight for freedom from foreign rule, have organised a 240-mile walk in the US against corruption in India.

Starting at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, San Diego, California March 12, ‘Dandi March II’ goes through Los Angeles and ends March 26 at Gandhi Statue, San Francisco. The dates coincide with the dates Gandhi did his historic march in 1930.

Every major city in USA, 10 major cities in India and 8 other countries globally join the movement by organizing supporting events March 26, the organisers said.

Conceived to fight those who seek to plunder and enslave their own country are to push the government to enact Jan Lokpal bill and ratify UNCAC which are designed to free India from the clutches of corruption, and to bring back the hidden money from foreign banks, they said.

“The recent scams involving unimaginably big amounts of money, such as the 2G scam, are well known. It is estimated that more than trillion dollars are stashed away in foreign havens, while 80 per cent of Indians earn less than 2$ per day and every second child is malnourished,” the organisers said.

“While this rampant corruption is a cause for serious concern, the good news is that movements against it have arisen all over the country. Dandi March II is the attempt by NRIs to bring together and escalate these movements into a powerful force.”

This effort now has support from the stalwarts in anti-corruption movement and other progressive groups in India such as Lok Satta Party, India Against Corruption, The 5th Pillar (Chennai), Youth For Better India (Hyderabad) Saaku (Bangalore) and Save India From Corruption, the organisers said.

In picture: ‘Public Notice 2’ which recalls Gandhiji’s speech on the eve of Salt March to Dandi in protest against the salt tax imposed by the British, at the press preview of Maximum India festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington

Responses