Gujarat govt "denies" Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia to Dalits killed in Thangadh police firing, as was paid to Patel victims

Ramanlal Vora

By A Representative
The Gujarat government does not think that there any need to provide compensation to the three Dalit youths who died in the Thangadh police firing about four years ago on par with Patels, who died in police firing last year. Cabinet minister Ramanlal Vora is learnt to have rejected the demand, put up a group of Dalit activists, saying, “You cannot compare the two.”
In all, nine Patels died in the agitation, which turned violent on August 25, 2015 in Ahmedabad and other parts of the state. In less than a fortnight’s time, the state declared Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of those who had died. Forming 12 per cent of Gujarat’s population, Patels have for long formed a major voterbank for the BJP.
In charge of social justice and empowerment department, the senior minister’s response came during a meeting with a team of Dalit rights activists went to meet Vora on Monday in Gandhinagar. “We asked him why couldn’t the state government adopt the same criterion be applied in the payment of ex-gratia to Dalits”, Kirit Rathod, who led the team, told me.
Three youths – Pankaj Sumra, Mehul Rathod and Prakash Parmar – died in police firing on Dalit protest rallies, which took place on September 22-23 in Thangadh, an industry town in Surendranagar district, about 170 kilometres west of Ahmedadbad. Dalits form 6.7 per cent of Gujarat’s population, and not considered important enough in BJP votebank politics.

Protest sit-in by family members of Thangadh victims

The Dalit activists had gone to the minister with a list of demands on the Thangadh incident, drawing his attention to the plea by a former Cabinet minister, late Fakirbhai Vaghela, for CBI inquiry into the Thangadh incident. “Even the chargesheet in two of the three deaths has not been filed”, a letter, addressed to the Gujarat chief minister, a copy of which was handed over to Vora containing the demands, said.
The claims said, in a right to information (RTI) reply, the Gujarat government has said the file notings which contain Vaghela’s request for CBI inquiry has been “lost” and “cannot be found” in the state home department. “This suggests utter indifference on the part of the government towards the incident even four years later”, Rathod insisted.
“The file notings for the request to hold CBI inquiry was sent to the then minister of state for home Prafull Patel, and these are dated October 11 and 31, 2012”, the letter said, though adding, “Shockingly, the office of the current minister of state for home, Rajni Patel, has refused to part with the information under RTI saying it belongs to a previous minister.”
Meanwhile, family members of the three Dalit youths have begun a sit-in Gandhinagar, Gujarat capital, to protest against the failure of the Gujarat government to investigate the firing incident amidst facts having come to light, which suggest the police is all set to close the police firing case by characterizing it as “C summary”.
Other demands put forward by the Dalit Adhikar Manch, whose activists met the minister, include transferring the police firing case from Surendranagar to Ahmedabad sessions court, immediate appointment of a special government pleader to expedite the case, arrest of the culprits responsible for the police firing, and release of the inquiry report on the Thangadh firing authored by Sanjay Prasad, IAS official.

Comments

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Health Day ads spark row as NAPi targets Britannia campaign, criticizes celebrity endorsement

By A Representative The advocacy group Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) has raised concerns over what it describes as misleading advertising of ultra-processed food products (UPFs), particularly those high in sugar, fat and salt, calling for stricter regulations and an end to such promotions across media platforms.

Search This Blog