3 minutes of readingGandhinagarMarch 23, 2026 07:22 am IST
Vadgam MLA and Dalit youth leader Jignesh Mevani on Sunday called for rethinking the ‘Dalit Andolan (movement)’ in Gujarat, stating that the community collectively agitated mainly against atrocities and not against issues like land allocation, fund allocation, education, health, etc.
“Dalits do not talk about filling vacancies [in government jobs]. It becomes a problem when reservations are not applied in recruitment for 84 posts of police sub-inspectors…if the vacant posts are required to be filled, then 8,400 people can get jobs…we are not fighting for the issue of education. We do not fight for the issue of health, employment or land. We do not require plots for housing. We do not fight for land for cremation/burial. We did not carry out any campaign for the removal of untouchability,” he said at an event where tributes were paid to the victims of Dalit atrocities in the state, including those in the 2016 Una public flogging case.
The program was organized by Maha Gujarat SC-ST Mahasabha in Gandhinagar. There they also congratulated Mevani.
“We are not fighting for minimum wages for workers in factories. We are not fighting for ensuring payroll and provident funds for employees or against the hiring and firing policy. Except atrocities, we are fighting against almost nothing. This is the ‘dasha’ (condition), and if we want to change the ‘disha’ (direction), then Dalit Andoan must also change their outlook.”
Mevani added: “No land has been distributed in Gujarat (as per revenue laws) after 2008. We also do not demand from political parties during elections, or even in other circumstances, how much land they will distribute if they win. The Dalit movement makes no such demand in Gujarat or anywhere else in the country…”
On resource allocation, Mevani said, “We have no perspective on resources. Dalits should fight for contracts in all districts. This should be the agenda of Dalit Andolan. Our demand should be to increase foreign education loans to Rs 1 crore.”
The Vadgam MLA argued that there was a need to “rethink” the setup of the Dalit agitation in the state.
Story continues below this ad.
Mevani said that in most gruesome or serious atrocity cases, like the 2012 Thangadh murders or the 2016 Una public flogging, there should be a team of experts who can coordinate and fight the cases all the way to the Supreme Court.
Apart from the victims of Una’s public flogging, his lawyer Govind Parmar was also congratulated at the event. Recently, a special court convicted five accused and acquitted 35 others. The five convicts were sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment.
Parmar said they would challenge the sentence in the High Court and seek an increase in the prison terms imposed on the five convicts, and also the acquittal of the 35 individuals.
Stay up to date with the latest – click here to follow us on Instagram
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd