http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Dalit-and-Muslim-help-Anna-end-fast/articleshow/9777887.cms
Dalit and Muslim help Anna end fast
Indrani Basu, TNN | Aug 29, 2011, 07.13AM IST
The move is significant as the 74-year-old Gandhian had drawn
criticism from Dalits, with some even dubbing his movement as an
upper-caste endeavour. Similarly, Muslim leaders had also advised
community members to stay away from the movement.
NEW DELHI: For 12 days Anna Hazare became the rallying point for
millions of Indians. And on the 13th day when he broke his fast, it
was a moment of victory. History was made with its epitome of
inclusiveness. Two children - a Dalit and a Muslim - together held a
glass of coconut water and honey to Anna's lips.
The move is significant as the 74-year-old Gandhian had drawn
criticism from Dalits, with some even dubbing his movement as an
upper-caste endeavour. Similarly, Muslim leaders had also advised
community members to stay away from the movement.
But when eight-year-old Ikrah and five-year-old Simran helped Anna
break his fast, religious and caste lines were blurred. The moment
will remain immortalized in public memory with the young girls sat
patiently besides Anna since morning and conversing with him. "Get
well soon," said a concerned Ikrah to Anna, promising to pray for his
health.
The eight-year-old is the youngest of nine children living near the
LNJP colony. Her poor father, Shahbuddin Mewati, who has lost vision
in one eye, had courted arrest twice at Chhatrasal Stadium during this
movement. "We kept roza every day and also joined the protests. Twice
we opened roza at Parliament Street and Tughlaq Road police stations
and once at the Chhatrasaal. We are committed to the fight against
corruption because we face it every day. It is a people's fight and
everyone, including Muslims, must come forward. We are his sipahis,"
said Ikrah's uncle Mohd. Ahmed Saifi.
Coming from a modest background, this is the first time Ikrah joined a
public forum. "I want to be like Kiran Bedi," she told Anna. "She
helps people and so will I," she reportedly said. Later, she told the
media that Anna had asked her to study well and work for the country.
The other, Simran, hails from a Dalit family. Living in a jhuggi
cluster at Sunder Nagri, the five-year-old studies in Class I at a
private school. Dalits from the area have been visiting the Maidan
every day in small groups.
"For the past five days, I would go with different groups of women
from our village to join the protest. I feel proud that my daughter
has helped him end his fast. We got a call last night to bring her to
the ground. The government doesn't do anything and officials keep
demanding bribe from us because we are vulnerable. The NGOs helped us
a lot over the past 5-6 years," said Rekha, Simran's mother.
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