This 24-year-old uses protest poetry as her weapon to raise awareness

Bheema tujhya naave hyanchi hoti re kamaai re hoti re kamaaiGalli bolya phire banun dada aan bhai re dada aan bhaiHoarding chya photovar khotya natya matansathiNews chya channel var popti bhashansathiBheema tula ikal ba porane tujhya khurchichya eka padasathi re baba re bayaBhima theyre earning by using your nameThey roam around gullies being ruffiansTheyre using your photos to garner votesOn news channels they give luring speechesBhima your people have sold your soul for powerItsa song that Suvarna Salve and her elder sister Shrushti sang on December 5 2016 a day before Mahaparinirvan Divas BR Ambedkars death anniversary at Dadars Chaityabhoomi a memorial that acts as the visionarys final resting place The Salve home in Kurla is a ladies special where Suvarna lives with her mother who holds a government job with the railwaysOn August 24 it was her mother who accepted a notice from the Mumbai police seeking a surety of Rs 50 lakh from the student of Siddharth College for protesting at the Gateway of India in January after the students and staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University were attacked by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs RSS students wing Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad ABVP She was arrested and later let off on bail A total of 31 people were named in the FIR but Salve says the surety has been demanded only from her against good behaviour for a period of two years with the police classifying her as a habitual offenderSection 110 of the CrPC applies to those who have been booked in a number of unlawful activities If convicted Salve stands to be externed for a fixed time period outside of district limitsSalve 24 who is a member of Samata Kala Manch says it is her constitutional right to peacefully protest My mother was shocked to see the surety amount in the notice but she supports my work says Salve who as a lokshahir uses protest poetry as her weapon to raise awareness The administration fears us because the masses listen to us They hear us sing and they respect our opinionSalves activism journey began a decade ago when she heard about Mira Kamble a young Dalit woman who was stripped and paraded in Reay Road over an altercation over using the community water pump It left us enraged that Dalit lives are considered to be unimportant and disposable Salve says It led her to take on the role of student activist and eventually slip into the role of Mumbai coordinator for Samata Kala Manch the cultural troop associated with the Republican Panthers Caste Annihilation MovementRamesh Gaichorof Kabir Kala ManchSalve who is known for her fierce stance and fiery vocals decided to sing because she was moved when she would watch Dalit artistes incorporate sociocultural issues into their performancesDonning blue and asking the important questions in her songs and through street plays Salve uses her art to advance the anticaste struggle We have not been able to annihilate caste just yet but if we dont try how will future generations live free and equal livesDespite the pressure of dealing with the notice Salve was busy midweek working on a social media campaign in support of Punebased Kabir Kala Manch members Jyoti Jagtap Ramesh Gaichor and Sagar GorkheJagtap 33 was sent to NIA custody till September 11 in the Elgaar Parishad case which was held on December 31 2017 and is being accused of instigating people resulting in clashes between caste groups and violence in the Koregaon Bhima area in January 2018 So far 15 people have been arrestedHarshali Potdar an activist with Republican Panthers Caste Annihilation MovementSalve says This repression is not new to us Harshali Potdar has also been slapped with a notice demanding a surety sum of R10 lakh It surrounds a fabricated case about a Facebook hate post she never wroteSalve and Potdar are represented by the same lawyer Ishrat Ali Khan The women say they visited the Assistant Commissioner of Polices office along with their lawyer on September 7 but to no availShrushti who holds a job with a private firm says no notice will discourage Salve from her path They are using intimidation tactics We are committed to the cause of caste annihilation Suvarna is a resolute woman who wont back down Multiple notices have been slapped on her in an attempt to pressurise her but we can see through the strategy of the stateSalve is a final year BA history student at Siddharth College an educational institute whose foundation stone was laid by the Peoples Education Society set up by Dr BR AmbedkarSagar Gorkhe of Kabir Kala ManchI belong to the first generation of learners from my family to have reached college I want to continue to study says Salve who hopes to get a PhD in archaeologyIt was Ambedkar who famously said educate agitate organise Salve believes in it I will carry on with academics alongside my struggle because one is rendered meaningless without the otherKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide 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