Skip to main content

Gujarat Dalits refused permission by upper caste to use cremation ground in a village off Godhra

Cremation with main gates remaining closed for Dalits 
By Our Representative
Dalits of a village in Godhra taluka of Gujarat are up in arm against a gruesome incident in which members of the dominant caste refused to allow them to cremate Nanabhai Kohyabhai Vankar, who died at the age of 75 on September 19, 2014 morning. Pointing out that this has not happened for the first time, Manubhai Rohit, who along with a group of Dalit activists represented to district collector, Panchmahals district, P Bharathi, said, “The cremation ground was constructed from the grant of Prabhatsinh Chauhan, who represented the area in the Gujarat state assembly.”
Rohit said, “The relatives of the deceased had no other option but to cremate Vankar’s body outside the closed gate of the cremation ground.” Incidents like this happen not just in the rural areas around Godhra, which are relatively a backward, but also in prosperous Central Gujarat. Social activist Ashok Rathod of Navsarjan Trust was told in an RTI reply last year that as many as 40 villages of eight talukas of Kheda district had separate cremation facility for Dalits, which is a clear official recognition the prevalence of untouchability in the rural areas.
The representation, forwarded by the Human Rights Committee, Godhra, to the district collector, followed a well-attended rally in which Dalits from village Mehlol and neigbouring rural areas participated. It said, “It is disturbing that, even decades after Independence, Dalits are subjected to untouchability even after they are dead. This is a serious violation of our basic human rights, and you are requested to take legal action against those responsible for this.”
The representation said, “When the family members of the deceased reached the cremation ground with the body, the person who manages it, Nimesh Gordhanbhai Patel, told them that they could not cremate Vankar’s body within its premises. This happened when they approached Patel for the keys of the main gates of the cremation ground, which were closed. Patel not only refused to part with the keys, he misbehaved with those who met him with a plea to open the gates. Refusal to allow last rites of the deceased should be treated as a serious offense.”
Following the incident, the Dalits approached the Vejalpur police station, under whose jurisdiction
Dalit rally in Godhra before handing over representation
the cremation ground comes, and registered a case against Patel under section 504 of the Indian penal code, seeking criminal proceedings against those who resort to “intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace”, and section 31(1)14 of the anti-atrocities Act, which provisions action against those who resort to untouchability practices.
The demands put forward in the written representation to the district collector include immediate arrest of Patel, who “insulted” members of the Dalit community by refusing to open the main doors of the cremation ground, and his personal intervention to ensure Dalits are allowed to use as equals not only the cremation ground but also other public buildings.

Comments

TRENDING

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas*  In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023. 

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Only 12% of schools RTE compliant: Whither 6% budgetary allocation for education?

By Ambarish Rai* Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech . The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure improvement in learning outcomes and overall enhancement of quality education.

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

'Ambiguous policy': India late in advocating EVs as energy storage in national grid

By Shankar Sharma*  This is regarding the points raised by the Chief Electricity Authority’s (CEA's) advocacy for usage of electrical vehicles (EVs) as energy storage technology, and few associated issues . An objective reading of what he states should reiterate the enormously growing importance of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in our need to transition to a net-zero carbon scenario for the country.

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.