The Delhi Government will soon issue a notification to replace the word 'Harijan' with 'Dr Ambedkar' in the names of streets and colonies in the national capital.
This development has come after the Central Government's guideline advising against the usage of the word 'Harijan.' Delhi Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam announced this on Thursday. The total number of so-called Harijan Bastis in the city, they roughly estimate it to be anything between 400 and 500..“The Delhi Government has taken up this issue on a priority basis and thus Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam also chaired a meeting with high-ranking officials from the concerned departments to act on the matter and issue a notification on the same,” said an official.
Gautam said that the city Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal strives to uplift the SC, ST, OBC communities living in the national capital.
“We have taken immediate cognisance of the need for renaming of all 'Harijan' colonies, bastis, mohallas and streets. We have proposed that all these colonies, bastis, mohallas and streets be named after Babasaheb Ambedkar instead,” said Gautam.
The Seemapuri MLA Gautam on Thursday chaired multiple meetings to resolve issues being faced in the constituency.
He also met DUSIB officials for development of vacant DUSIB land in Seemapuri, MCD and PWD officials to discuss removal of encroachment from Seemapuri and Delhi Jal Board Officials to take up the issue of UGR maintenance and short supply in Seemapuri. Over the years, some of the Harijan Bastis have seen migration from other castes in the National Capital. Harijan Bastis in Deoli, Lodhi Road and Vikaspuri have people living from all backgrounds and castes.“Renaming Harijan Bastis hardly change the lives of the residents,” said Umesh Kumar, 64, a resident of South Delhi’s Ambedkar Nagar area that has several Dalit- dominated clusters.
Harijan Basti is a generic term that thousands of Dalit-dominated localities across India still use though many Dalits now condemn the word, made popular by Mahatma Gandhi, that was termed “abusive” by the Supreme Court in 2017.