Skip to main content

Gujarat elections: Dalits in state were perceptibly unhappy over failure of successive BJP govts to address issues of untouchability

Jignesh Mevani
By Gagan Sethi*
Notwithstanding the BJP’s victory in the Gujarat assembly elections, the results show a massive shift against the saffron party, and one of the contributing factors for this is Dalits and other marginalised sections voting against the party, which has failed to address their plight in the last 22 years. This is evident in the victory of Gujarat’s Dalit face Jignesh Mevani, who fought as independent supported by the Congress, by nearly 19,000 votes.
A major reason for this was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi going all out in support of Dalits. Gandhi not only addressed a rally at Vadgam, from where Mevani was fighting, but sent out a clear message to the Dalits by reaching the Dalit Shakti Kendra (DSK) on November 24 to accept the largest national flag, prepared by DSK students, after it was refused by Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani earlier this year.
The Dalits in Gujarat were also upset with the BJP, because not only its state leaders, but also Prime Minister Narendra Modi, did not utter a single word after the Una incident, in which five Dalits were thrashed by cow vigilantes on July 11, 2016. The incident led to rallies across Gujarat led by Mevani. These rallies were followed by an equally forceful campaign by Abhadchhed Mukt Bharat Andolan (Untouchability Free India Movement), in which Dalit members of the Gujarat legislative assembly and ministers were asked to explain what they had done to fight the discrimination against Dalits in Gujarat and whether they approved of attacks by cow vigilantes.
Yet, the assembly results also go to suggest that Dalit votes, or their issues, do not matter in the electoral battle. In the reserved scheduled caste (SC) constituency, Vadgam, from where Mevani won, Dalits constitute about 15% of the voter strength; naturally, he had to depend on other sections, especially Muslims and other backward classes or OBCs. As one voter told me, Mevani had to perforce stress on how all sections of society, including Dalits, suffered under the BJP “misrule”. He would specifically talk on how people were being deprived of water, roads, and irrigation in the constituency, “but rarely recalled untouchability and discrimination.”
No doubt, Dalits were perceptibly unhappy over the failure on the part of successive BJP governments in Gujarat to address the issues of untouchability. But as they form less than 6.7% of the state’s population (national average 16.6%), they did not seem to matter electorally. It is against this backdrop that the move gained momentum to revive the 1932 demand of BR Ambedkar to have separate electorate for Dalits. Martin Macwan, founder of Gujarat’s Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust, reminded Rahul Gandhi at a rally at the DSK, where he had come to pick up the 185-foot national flag – a symbol of equality and patriotism – that even Congress MLAs had done little to raise caste-related issues in the state legislature.
Gujarat may have progressed economically, but the view among Dalits is that untouchability and discrimination have not been addressed in Gujarat. Studies have found that in rural Gujarat caste discrimination remains intact, though the state government has sought to call this a matter “perception.” A 1976 study by well-known social scientist IP Desai said that 85% villages practised untouchability in the private spheres (barring entry to upper caste houses, temples, etc.), 47% villages observed untouchability in the marketplace and exchange of services, and 18% villages practised untouchability in the public space (restricting access to public roads, school, transport, gram panchayat, etc.). Fresh studies show that things have hardly changed.
A Navsarjan study, carried out in 1,589 villages, sponsored by the Robert E Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights, found that in 98.4% of the villages inter-caste marriage was prohibited and inter-caste couples would be subjected to violence and would often have to leave the village; in 98.1% of the villages, a Dalit could not rent a house in a non-Dalit locality; in 97.6% of villages, Dalits touching the water pots or utensils of non-Dalits was considered defilement; in 90% of temples, Dalits were not be allowed an entry; and in 54% of government schools, Dalit children were made to sit separately.
---
*Chair, Janvikas, Ahmedabad. This article was first published HERE

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

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. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

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".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.