Jignesh Mevani, a journalist-cum-activist-turned-politician, has been fighting for the rights of the Dalits in Gujarat for the past several years. He rose to prominence during the protest against the assault on four Dalit youths in Una in 2016. Mevani, now a Congress MLA, tells DH that the cases of crimes against the Dalits in Gujarat are not being investigated properly.
The flogging of four youths in Una seven years back had brought the spotlight on atrocities on Dalits in Gujarat. But why do the crimes against the community continue unabated?
The ruling BJP in Gujarat hasn't learnt any lesson from the incident in Una. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words – “Beat me instead of beating Dalit brothers and sisters” – could not reverse the trend of rising cases of atrocities against the community in his state. It is primarily due to the casteist and feudal mindset of the people running the government. They think that the time has come to re-establish the Manusmriti. We also have a very indifferent and callous bureaucracy, which don’t take any action. There are at least six to seven recent instances of the victims informing the local Superintendents of Police and the Collectors about the threat to their lives. But no protection was given and they were eventually killed. This is what has happened in the case of the two Dalit brothers, who were recently killed in Surendranagar.
The BJP government has no interest in stopping this social menace because the Dalits constitute only seven per cent of the electorate. Sadly, the Dalit movement is fragmented, not only in the state but also across the nation and hence remains ineffective. There is a lack of political consolidation of the Dalits.
What do the continuing atrocities against Dalits say about the society in Gujarat?
The cases speak volumes of Gujarati society. The GDP growth doesn't reflect in our human development indexes. The Dalits are still being subjected to violence, and still not allowed to enter temples or to sport long moustaches or wear good attire. A survey by Navsarjan (an NGO) recorded 97-98 types of discrimination against Dalits still prevalent in Gujarat. I have been trying to raise the issue of untouchability during assembly sessions. I have been urging the government to start by freeing some selected villages from untouchability. No one is bothered about protecting the rights of Dalits. Untouchability is still rampant.
Why is the conviction rate in the cases of crimes against Dalits so low in Gujarat?
There was a survey by a veteran Dalit rights activist Valjibhai Patel. It revealed that cases were not being investigated properly. In many instances, the cases are investigated by the police sub-inspectors instead of the Deputy Superintendents of Police, because of which the court would throw out the whole case and not convict anyone. Besides, the Dalits are a marginalized community who have limited economic means to survive. If they don't compromise, their landlords will stop giving them work as farm labourers, grocery stores will not let them buy anything. There are many other ways to force them to withdraw cases against upper-caste people. The government has also not set up a special designated court.