Anti-Fascist Rally and Convention: Democracy Will Win
Kolkata, January 2024
As part of the Financial Accountability Network India, we participated in the anti-fascist rally and convention in Kolkata on the 22nd and 23rd January 2024. Thousands gathered from across the country and marched the streets of Kolkata on the day of consecration of temple at Ayodhya. They marched in protest against the communal fascists who had demolished the mosque that once stood at the same site. They marched against the attempt to blur the boundaries between the state and religion. The march was also an occasion for the democratic forces to yet again resolve to stand by the values of the constitution – equality, fraternity and secularism. Organized by more than 200 democratic organizations, the march was a resounding rebuttal of the saffron agenda of the government and was an effort to foreground that the majority of the people in Bengal and also in the country still do not subscribe to the divisive politics of hate and hindutva. Hawkers and street vendors from across the country in their hundreds participated in the March under the banner of the National Hawkers Federation demanding an end to divisive politics. The rally ended with the likes of Harsh Mander, Nadeem Khan, Teesta Setalvad, Dipankar Bhattacharya, Shaktiman Ghosh and others addressing the massive gathering at the Netaji indoor stadium where the joint march had culminated.
Read and Download the Report here: How Inequality and Majoritarian Fascism feed each other?