On the 126th birth anniversary of the Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar, Congress today launched a website 'Quest for Equity', that hosts Babasaheb's work and provides a platform for data, research and legislation on issues related to SC/STs.
The website launched by the party's scheduled caste cell hopes to encourage critical analyses of contemporary socio- economic and political issues.
"This occasion is an opportunity for us to further Babasaheb's dream of making the promise of India more accessible to all. In this quest, AICC's SC Dept has launched http://www.Questforequity.Org, which hosts Babasaheb's work and data and reports on equity issues," the party said in tweet.
It is designed to serve as the definitive platform for data, research and legislation on issues related to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
"Congress is proud to launch today a platform designed to deepen our understanding of Babsaheb's thoughts," Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi tweeted,
By "undoing the baneful hierarchies of the past, and the unequal starting points they have constructed", the Congress consistently strived to guarantee and deliver those conditions that would actualise fullness of life, especially for those who have hitherto been excluded from society, the party's SC department head K Raju said.
"Unfortunately because of the continued prevalence of regressive societal norms, this goal eludes India," he said, adding it is therefore imperative that we continuously study why and how marginalised groups are discriminated against or excluded.
"It is only then that scholars, activists and policy makers can re-order India's social justice paradigm to uplift and empower. It is hoped that 'Quest for Equity' will prove to be a vital resource in furthering this objective," he said.
The website contains over 300 archival pictures of Dr Ambedkar, 97 scans of his correspondences, a copy of the original Constitution of India and the full transcripts of the Constituent Assembly debates.
In addition, it hosts the most comprehensive and longitudinal data set, broadly categorised in different sections on access of SCs and STs in public services, health, education and other fields.
It also contains over 200 papers and reports of diverse scholars and organizations working on issues of inequality, discrimination, poverty etc.
"This website therefore aims to be the definitive platform for data, research and legislation on issues related to SC/ST, and eventually minority communities," Raju said.
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