Maratha Kranti Morcha Rally in Mumbai on August 9: All You Need to Know About The Silent Protest

The Maratha Community in Maharashtra will carry out a huge protest rally in Mumbai on August 9, 2017. The protest will be carried out by the outfit Maratha Kranti Morcha

Mumbai, August 8: The Maratha Community in Maharashtra will carry out a huge protest rally in Mumbai on August 9, 2017. The protest will be carried out by the outfit Maratha Kranti Morcha that was formed in 2016 by a number of organisations from the Maratha community. Over 5 lakh people are expected to participate in the massive morcha rally on Wednesday.

The rally by Maratha community is a silent protest. The first such rally was held in July 2016. As Mumbai braces for heavy traffic on roads, here is everything you need to know how and why the morcha began:

The Maratha Kranti Morcha is a silent protest against the rape and murder of a minor school girl from Kopardi, Ahmednagar in 2016.
On July 13, 2016, a 15-year-old Maratha girl was allegedly gangraped and murdered by four Dalit youths in Kopardi.

The girl had injuries all over her body and there were reports that the flesh from all over her body, including her genitals, was torn. The victim’s hair was pulled out, hands were dislocated from the shoulders, her teeth were smashed and she was strangled to death after rape.

After the gangrape, the Maratha community in July 2016 held Maratha Kranti silent morchas in Akola, Nanded, Beed, Osmanabad, Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Jalna districts. These protests were carried out for over a month.

The Maratha Kranti Morcha has since then carried out over 50 protests in the past one year.
The Maratha Kranti Morcha has certain guidelines for protesters that include no talking while walking in the rally, no use of speakers during the protest, only banners to be held in hand, not to allow any politician to walk in front of the protest. Politicians are allowed to walk at the end of the march.

So far, the Maratha Kranti Morcha has not allowed any political leader to take part in its rallies.
Apart from the demand of punishment to culprits in Kopardi rape and murder case, other reasons the Maratha community carry out these silent protests are quotas for Marathas in state-run educational institutions and government jobs, minimum support price for farm produce, and amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Morcha in Mumbai on August 9 will start at 11 am from Byculla zoo and end at 5 pm at the Azad Maidan. At least 7,000 police personnel have been deployed on Wednesday. The Mumbai Police have also issued a traffic advisory for the same. The police will use drones, CCTV network, traffic diversions, technical surveillance and watchers to make sure that the protest doesn’t lead to any law and order problem.

Source:
http://www.india.com/news/india/maratha-kranti-morcha-rally-in-mumbai-on-august-9-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-silent-protest-2385479/