Mumbai, Jun 22 (IANS): #DontSayBhangi, a petition unveiled on the social media by the team of Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer "Article 15" to urge people to stop casual usage of the word 'bhangi', has been signed by over 62,000 people.

The petition on change.org was was launched a week ago. It describes 'bhangi' as a caste, among the lowest of Dalits or untouchables in India. Along with its sub-divisions, the caste account for 70 crore population.

Ayushmann also spread a word about the petition via his Twitter page.

"Neechi jaati ke logon par jokes banakar hum kayi baar hans dete hai. Koi aap par aise hansega, toh kaisa lagega aapko? Aaiye, saath milkar iss bhedbhav par rok lagate hai. Sign the petition, #DontSayBhangi today. (We often joke about lower caste people, and laugh. How will you feel if someone laughs at you? Let's join hands to stop this discrimination.)

The film "Article 15", an investigative cop drama, is a commentary on the country's caste system. Slated for release on June 28, the film also stars Isha Talwar, Sayani Gupta, Kumud Mishra, M Nassar, Ashish Verma, Sushil Pandey, Shubrajyoti Bharat, Ronjini Chakraborty and Zeeshan Ayyub.