Independent India's longest Satyagraha is 20 yrs old

Mumbai: Living on Gandhi's word and living in the shadows -- that has been 76-year-old Mohan Jha's life for more than two decades.

In this time, he has come to the Deonar Abattoir - one of Mumbai's biggest slaughter houses - everyday to protest against cattle slaughter according to Gandhian principles.

"We have struggled like this for 26 years and people from across the country have supported us. Earlier there used to be many more cattle coming in. That number has gone down," says Jha.

Adds another Satyagrahi, Jhinau Pal, "Was independence gained in one day? No, there was a long struggle. We too, will keep on fighting."

This non-violent protest has been going on every single day since January 11, 1982, when Vinoba Bhave asked fellow Gandhians to protest against cattle slaughter.

Everyday, when a van comes filled with cattle comes, the Satyagrahis protest, argue with the police, but everything non-violently.

Quite like the original Satyagraha, this one too is about undying hope and these Satyagrahis believe that while nothing has changed in over two decades, one day, they will be able to persuade the Government to shut down slaughter houses.

Says Assistant Police Inspector, Deonar Police Station, Srikant Desai, "There is no question of arresting these people. In fact, we help them from time to time."

The police also say that the number of cattle coming to the Abattoir has gone down from around 3,000 a few years ago to just about 1,000 today, though it's not clear if it is due to the protest.

And so the old men live in hope -- some would say futile -- but at least they are standing firm for their beliefs.

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)

#Gandhi #satyagraha #slaughter houses #Mumbai #cattle slaughter