Under Modi's Gujarat, 85 social boycott, force migration incidents involving Dalits took place; total 112 since 1989

Macwan introducing "Gujarat Vikas Samachar"

By A Representative
Out of 112 cases of social boycott and forced migration of Dalits across Gujarat over the last 28 years, ever since the anti-atrocities Act came into force in 1989, as many as 85 of them took place during a little more than 14 years when Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat, from October 2001 to May 2014 (click HERE for detailed table).
This is one of the 126 stories printed in what was originally supposed to be one-time “newspaper” in Gujarati called “Gujarat Vikas Samachar”, published by well-known Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust founder Martin Macwan. Encouraged by early response, he said, “We plan to bring out similar newspaper having people’s stories once a month.”
Analysing number of cases of social migration and forced migration, the story shows that in 1989-90, when Congress ruled, there was just one incident of social boycott and forced migration of Dalits. Then, for six months in 1990, when then Janata Dal (Gujarat) leader Chimanbhai Patel led a coalition government with the BJP, there was no such incident.
Thereafter, between October 1990 and 1995, when Patel merged his Janata Dal into the Congress and formed the government, followed by the chief ministership of Chhabilbhai Mehta, six incidents took place, three each in Mehsana and Bhavnagar districts.
Under the chief minister of Keshubhai Patel and then Suresh Mehta (both BJP) in 1995-96, there was no incident of social boycott or forced migration. Followed by this, for less than two years, in 1996-97, the Rashtriya Janata Party government, under the breakaway group of Shankarsinh Vaghela, came to power with Congress support. During this period, six incidents took place.
In 1998, Keshubhai Patel returned to power as BJP chief minister, and under him, till 2001, five incidents of social boycott and forced migration took place.
After Modi left to Delhi in May 2014, and Anandiben Patel became Gujarat chief minister between 2014 and 2016. Under her, as many as 10 incidents of social boycott and force migration of Dalits took place. Since August 2016, when Vijay Rupani became chief minister, five more incidents took place.

The story gives district-wise breakup of the number of such incidents – the highest being in Bhavnagar district (14), followed by Amreli and Banaskantha districts (12 each). Then, in Porbandar, Ahmedabad and Mehsana districts, seven incidents each took place.
Releasing “Gujarat Vikas Samachar”, to be distributed in thousands across Gujarat, Macwan told media, the purpose of bringing it out is to suggest how the most deprived sections society have remained unaffected by “development”, as claimed by the powers-that-be, under successive governments.
Macwan said, stories of landless workers, saltpan workers, vegetable vendors, majority of whom belong to the Dalit and other deprived sections., do not find reflected in the mainstream media. “Our effort is to bring these stories to light, and send them across Gujarat ahead of the state assembly elections, so that people can ask those who come seeking vote as to what they had done for them”, he said.
“The stories include that of a 12 year old tribal boy who got killed as he met with an accident on being forced to drive a tractor on a rich Patel’s farm. The landlord offered just Rs 5,000 as compensation. Worse, there is a board in the village which says that those who pay wages more than Rs 100 would be fined Rs 5,000”, he said.
Giving a graphic picture of where is Gujarat placed in malnutrition – “just one ahead of Chhattisgarh”, to quote from the “newspaper” – it carries stories by Niruben Chaurasia of Bhavnagar, whose survey shows that only those who give bribe are offered jobs; and by Manjula Makwana of Jasdan, who looks into how widows in five villages with a monthly pension of Rs 1000 have to make do their living.
Then, it has a story by Narendra Parmar of Patan, who gives a graphic picture of forced migratin in the district and how they were refused rehabilitation; and by Kalpesh Asuria of Banaskantha, who points toward the high malnutrition rate among young girls in the district and how Dalits were deprived during one of the worst floods which affected the district this year.

Comments

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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).

Beyond Lata: How Asha Bhosle redefined the female voice with her underrated versatility

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The news of iconic Asha Bhosle’s ‘untimely’ demise has shocked music lovers across the country. Asha Tai was 92 years young. Normally, people celebrate a passing at this age, but Asha Bhosle—much like another legend, Dev Anand—never made us feel she was growing old. She was perhaps the most versatile artist in Bombay cinema. Hailing from a family devoted to music, Asha’s journey to success and fame was not easy. Her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, had already become the voice of women in cinema, and most contemporaries like Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, and Noor Jehan had slowly faded into oblivion. Frankly, there was no second or third to Lata Mangeshkar; she became the first—and perhaps the only—choice for music directors and all those who mattered in filmmaking. Asha started her musical journey at age 10 with a Marathi film, but her first break in Hindustani cinema came with the film "Chunariya" (1948). Though she was not the first choice of ...

50 years of the Port of Spain miracle: The chase that redefined Indian cricket

By Harsh Thakor* Fifty years ago, India turned the tide to rewrite cricket history, rising from the depths of despair to a moment of enduring glory. Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad, is celebrated among cricket grounds for its poetic beauty. For India, it became a theatre of historic triumph. In 1976, it showed the cricketing world what it was made of.

Search This Blog