Palghar, Oct 11 (IANS): Over 30,000 tribals took out a protest procession to mark the 78th anniversary of the day when five Warli Adivasis were shot dead by the British rulers here during a revolt on October 10, 1945, now observed as the Martyrs Day, with a roadblock, said the organisers here on Wednesday.

The procession was led by the All India Kisan Sabha, CPI(M),CITU, AIDWA, DYFI, SFI, and AARM, the marchers blocked the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway near Dahanu town and later submitted a list of their demands to the Palghar Collector.

The demands included implementation of vesting forest rights, transferring old landlords’ lands in the names of the cultivating farmers, food security, proper electricity, education, health, improving the PDS and MGNREGA schemes, etc., within two months, said Dr. Dhawale.

The protest was called off and the highway blockade withdrawn after the Collector office issued a signed letter pledging to fulfill all the demands within two months, he added.

October 10 was also the 27thdeath anniversary of the legendary tribal leader Godavari Parulekar, who was cremated at Talasari in the district, said AIKS leader Dr. Ashok Dhawale.

The protest was later converted into a massive victory rally at the Charoti village site and top leaders like Vinod Nikole, MLA, Dr. Dhawale, Dr. Uday Narkar, Mariam Dhawale, Kiran Gahala,Radka Kalangda, Laxman Dombre, Chandu Dhangda, Bharat Walamba, Lahani Dauda, Prachi Hatiwlekar, Chandrakant Ghorkhana, Yashwant Budhar, Amrut Bhawar, Sunil Surve, Bhaskar Mhase, Rajesh Dalvi and others, addressed the gathering.

The speakers recalled the legacy of the Warli Adivasi Revolt 78 years ago against British Rule and slammed the anti-people and pro-corporates policies of the current Bharatiya Janata Party governments in the Centre and state.

The public meeting ended with a call to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Parliament and Assembly elections and to strengthen the farmers, tribals, workers movements for boosting the INDIA bloc performance in the polls.