Una, March 13:- Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu unveiled the ‘Bhim Vichar Patra’ (Bhim Thought Paper)—published by the Himachal Pradesh State Scheduled Castes Commission—during an event held on Friday at Bangana in the Kutlehar Assembly constituency. Present on this occasion were Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri; the Commission’s Chairperson and former Minister, Kuldeep Kumar; Commission members—Advocate Vijay Dogra, Digvijay Malhotra, and Shalini; and the Commission’s Member Secretary, Varinder Sharma.
This publication has been prepared with the objective of raising awareness regarding the constitutional rights of the Scheduled Caste community. During the event, the Chief Minister also released another paper published by the Commission, which provides a comprehensive overview of the Himachal Pradesh State Scheduled Castes Commission—including its introduction and objectives—as well as detailed information on the various schemes being implemented by the state government for the welfare of the Scheduled Caste community.
Commending this laudable initiative by the Commission, the Chief Minister stated that it is of paramount importance to make the Scheduled Caste community aware of their constitutional rights. He added that the efforts being undertaken by the Commission in this direction will provide a new impetus to awareness and empowerment within society.
Kuldeep Kumar, Chairperson of the Himachal Pradesh State Scheduled Castes Commission and former Minister, explained that these publications serve to provide detailed information regarding the Commission's functions and objectives, as well as the various government schemes currently operational for the welfare of the Scheduled Caste community.
He further informed that the Commission has set a target of publishing 100 papers across ten distinct series by April 14, 2027. Through these papers, efforts will be made not only to educate the Scheduled Caste community about their constitutional rights but also to disseminate information regarding crucial issues related to social upliftment to the masses on a broad scale.
He added that these publications would also serve to convey to the younger generation information regarding the efforts undertaken for the upliftment of the Scheduled Caste community by eminent personalities—including Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru—during the freedom struggle. To this end, a comprehensive awareness campaign will be conducted utilizing audio-visual media, books, and these papers. In this connection, the Commission will also organize a special public awareness camp on March 15 at Thanakalan in the Kutlehar Assembly constituency, with the objective of disseminating information regarding constitutional rights and welfare schemes to the Scheduled Caste community.
Present on this occasion were Gagret MLA Rakesh Kalia, Kutlehar MLA Vivek Sharma, Chintpurni MLA Sudarshan Bablu, former Una MLA Satpal Singh Raizada, along with other dignitaries.