Denying dissent democratic space in Gujarat: 'sad narrative of eroding ethical values'

By Sandeep Pandey*
A padyatra (foot march) was to be taken out between 26 September and 4 October, 2022 from Randhikpur village in Dahod district of Gujarat to Ahmedabad to apologise to Bilkis Bano. Randhikpur is Bilkis Bano’s village. In 2002 Gujarat communal violence she was gang raped, her 3 years old daughter, another child in womb and a total of 14 family members were killed. 11 people were convicted and sentenced for life in 2008.
However, on 15 August, 2022 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a speech from Red Fort appealing to people to change their attitude towards women and treat them with respect, a district level committee of Panchmahal decided to release the 11 rapists and murderers. A Bhartiya Janata Party leader described four of these criminals as virtuous Brahmins.
Before the padyatra could begin from Randhikpur, on 25 September night, 7 activists were picked up from Godhra corporator Hanif Kalandar’s house where they had gone for dinner. The detainee included Tanushree Gangopadhyay, D Gopalakrishna, Nitesh Gangaramani, Kausharli Saiyed, Noorjahan Dewan, Hanif Kalandar and myself.
A crowd had gathered outside Hanif’s house as the police were taking away the detainees in their vehicles. Crowd became more restless as Hanif and Noorjahan were continuously raising slogans demanding justice for Bilkis Bano. It followed the vehicles to police station. The only wise decision of police that night was to let Hanif and two ladies go back to his house otherwise the volatile situation could have become worse.
Rest of the detainees and another Dalit activist Advocate Narendra Parmar was picked up from outside his house were taken to Kankanpur police station, 15 kms outside Godhra. The detainees were kept for the night at police station.
I started a fast as penance for what was done to Bilkis. If the convicts and the government don’t feel any remorse for the incident and try to justify the release, then as a society we need to be worried. Essentially we are asking the victims to live with their tormentors.
The victim has to fear for her life whereas the rapists and murderers are garlanded and offered sweet upon release from jail. The erosion of values and upturning of ethical standards must be arrested otherwise we are headed towards a jungle raj. It is hoped that the society will think what kind of people we are electing to govern ourselves.
At about 3 pm the police decided to release the detainees on the condition that they would not go to Godhra but would begin their padyatra from the borders of District Panchmahal and Kheda.
No soon had the padyatris crossed the Mahisagar river which borders the two districts, the police of Sewaliya police station were waiting to the greet the padyatris. Another night was spent in the police station.

Tanushree Gangopadhyay, D Gopalakrishna, Nitesh Gangaramani, Kausharli Saiyed, Rajeshwar Brahmbhatt, Pravin Patel, Haresh Raval, Rajeev Singh Kushwaha, Krishnendu Chaterjee and myself were detained. The police was very vigilant and was keeping close watch on all our movements including visits to toilets.

Sandeep Pandey

Tanushree was told that she would be taken to her home in Ahmedabad as she could not be kept at the police station but she was taken to a local hotel and had to spend the night guarded by 3 women police personnel. On 27 September morning she was brought to the police station and later all the 10 detainees were driven to Ahmedabad’s Odhav police station and released from there.
Thus a 180 km, 9 days padyatra was completed in a couple of kms and the remaining distance in police vehicles in 2 days.
I had broken my fast when we were allowed to walk from inside the Panchmahal district but started it again on the morning on 27 September from Sewaliya police station when it became clear that we were not going to be allowed to walk.
In Ahmedabad the police denied permission for the fast to be carried on at a public place. I tried to sit at Satyagrah Chhavni, the designated protest area in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, but the intelligence personnel did not allow that without a permission of district authorities.

It is a commentary on the democratic space for dissent in Gujarat that not a single demonstration was going on at Satyagrah Chhavni when we visited it. I then decided to carry on with my fast at a friend’s place.
The penance fast continued till 2 October and was broken on its sixth day at Kochrab Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi by the hands of two women who were detained by police on 25 September, Tanushree and Noorjahan.
However, the struggle for dignity of women will continue. The women can feel safe in only two conditions. One in which the men, who dominate the society, become sensitive to women and second, women themselves become empowered and prevent men from exploiting them.

Although both processes are going on but they are very slow. Large numbers of women continue to be under patriarchal rule and have to suffer daily violence, at home as well as outside.
It is said that among all the struggles against inequalities of different varieties the gender inequality will be the most difficult to overcome. That is why probably the famous socialist thinker and politician Dr Ram Manohar Lohia in his enunciation of seven revolutions necessary for society kept gender equality at the top.
---
*Magsaysay award winning academic and social activist, general secretary of Socialist Party (India)

Comments

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.

Kolkata dialogue flags policy and finance deficit in wetland sustainability

By A Representative Wetlands were the focus of India–Germany climate talks in Kolkata, where experts from government, business, and civil society stressed both their ecological importance and the urgent need for stronger conservation frameworks.

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 ...

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...

Maoist activity in India: Weakening structures, 'shifts' in leadership, strategy and ideology

By Harsh Thakor* Recent statements by government representatives have suggested that Maoism in India has been effectively eliminated, citing the weakening of central leadership and intensified security operations. These claims follow sustained counterinsurgency efforts across key regions, including central and eastern India. However, available information from security agencies and independent observers indicates that while the organizational structure of the CPI (Maoist) has been significantly disrupted, elements of the movement remain active. Reports acknowledge the continued presence of cadres in certain forested regions such as Bastar and parts of Dandakaranya, alongside smaller, decentralized units adapting their operational strategies.

46% own nothing, 1% own 18%: The truth about India’s land inequality

By Vikas Meshram * “Agriculture is the backbone of India” — this is what we have been hearing for generations. But there is a pain hollowing out this backbone from within: the unequal distribution of land. On one hand, news of farmer suicides, indebtedness, and rural migration keeps coming; on the other, agricultural land across the country continues to concentrate in the hands of a few wealthy individuals.

US study links ultra-processed diets to preterm birth, sparks concern in India

By Jag Jivan A growing body of scientific evidence linking ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption during pregnancy to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes has sparked fresh concern among public health experts, with Indian nutrition advocates warning of serious implications for the country’s already strained maternal health landscape.

From Manesar to Noida: Workers take to streets for bread, media looks away

By Sunil Kumar* Across several states in India, a workers’ movement is gathering momentum. This is not a movement born of luxury or ambition, nor a demand for power-sharing within the state. At its core lies a stark and basic plea: the right to survive with dignity—adequate food, and wages sufficient to afford it.

Midnight weeping: The sociology of tragic vision in Badri Narayan’s poetry

By Ravi Ranjan* Badri Narayan, a distinguished Hindi poet and social scientist, occupies a unique position in contemporary Indian intellectual life by bridging the worlds of creative literature and critical social inquiry. His poetic journey began significantly with the 1993 collection 'Saca Sune Hue Kaï Dina Hue' (Truth Heard Many Days Ago). As a social historian and cultural anthropologist, Narayan pioneered a methodological shift away from elite archives toward the oral traditions and folk myths of marginalized communities. He eventually legitimized "folk-ethnography" as a rigorous academic discipline during his tenure as Director of the G.B. Pant Social Science Institute.

Search This Blog