Gujarat’s Dalits Juggle New Patterns of Hate, Violence and Police Apathy https://thewire.in/caste/gujarat-dalits-caste-violence 15-4-25 Though Gujarat is very often advertised as a model, developed state, according to data tabled in Rajya Sabha, the conviction rate in cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes between 2018 and 2021 was a mere 3.065 %, much lower than the national average. According to data acquired under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, acts of discrimination in urban Gujarat are extremely high as well. Ahmedabad city reported 189 cases – the highest number in the state – of atrocities against SC people in 2022. The state recorded a total of 1,425 such cases.
The situation of Dalits is only worsening since 2010, according to the data from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Cell. The National Crimes Bureau’s 2020 report put the number of crimes against Dalits in Gujarat at 1,313. In March 2019, Gujarat’s minister of social justice and empowerment Ishwar Parmar told the state assembly that the crimes against Dalits in the state had risen by 32% between 2013 and 2018. In 2018, 49 cases of atrocity were registered in the Ahmedabad district, 23 in the Banaskantha district, 34 cases in Junagadh, and 24 in the Surendranagar district.
Jignesh Mevani, MLA from Gujarat’s Vadgam Constituency,In 2023, Mevani launched the ‘Swabhiman Helpline’ (9724344061) to help people from marginalised sections of society with legal proceedings. This, he had announced, would aid people from various communities including the Dalits, tribals, Muslims, women and denotified tribes, who face atrocities and discrimination. “Our helpline has received 113 calls and has managed to get 150 culprits arrested, but this also shows that the people already exhibit a lack of faith in the justice dispensation institutions in the country,” he said.
While the atrocities are rising, the state administration as well as even judiciary are airing their prejudices in open that the atrocity act is misused” – though there is no factual evidence on such misuse. - Martin Macwan, a veteran activist from Gujarat, and the founder of Navsarjan Trust, Dalit Shakti Kendra and Dalit Foundation