Rahul Gandhi launches platform to map protests

Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched Satyagraha, a digital platform intended to map protests across India and connect people facing similar issues. The Congress leader invited people to submit accounts of their protests, saying he would try to support them through Parliament, public action or letters. The reports describe his stated aims but do not establish how many people have used the platform or whether submissions have received assistance. Gandhi said the platform would bring protest accounts together on a map so people could see who else was campaigning on related concerns. He named students, farmers, Adivasis, Dalits and women among those whose struggles could be represented. In a video message, he also referred to protests involving land, women’s and Dalit rights, OBC rights, education and exams, and encouraged organizers to register their movements through the website. He presented the initiative as a way to help people who he said were often left to fight alone. Gandhi said he would try to stand with people whose accounts were submitted, including through his work in Parliament, on the streets or by writing letters.