Nashik: People here trooped out yesterday on the streets to welcome and offer chilled soft drinks to over 1,000 Muslims who embarked on a 300-km Gandhian march to Mumbai demanding reservations in job, an official said.
The protesters started from the sensitive power-loom town of Malegaon after the Friday prayers for Mumbai’s Azad Maidan as their destination, which they hope to cover by May 26, according to Muslim Reservation Federation (MRF) spokesperson and social activist Aleem Faizi.
“As we pass through small towns and villages, more and more Muslims are joining the ‘padyatra’ to express support for the cause of 20 percent job and other reservations for the community people,” Faizi told IANS.
The protesters are carrying the national flag, banners and placards espousing the cause and march briskly, braving the rising mercury in the hinterland from dawn to dusk.
Faizi said the MRF is an umbrella organisation of over a dozen major Muslim organisations from the state, all working towards a common goal of reservations for Muslims.
Traversing through Chandwad, Wadalibhoi, Pimpalgaon, Ojhar, Wadiwarhe, Ghoti, Igatpuri, Kasara, Shahapur, Bhiwandi, Thane and finally onto Mumbai, the march is expected to swell to over 20,000 people, Faizi said.
Besides Nashik, Muslims have joined the “long march” from districts like Pune, Nanded, Dhule, Satara, Beed and other cities in the state.
According to Faizi, the “long march” was envisaged six months ago to seek 20 percent reservations for the community across the country.
IANS
