Gujarat: Labourer from Dalit Community Assaulted for Wanting to Visit Temple

Gujarat prides itself on constitutional safeguards. They are one of the most active diaspora of India. They are entrepreneurial and opt to settle in different corners of the world. They are adaptable but that seems to be the case only when they leave India.

In India, Gujaratis are not known to be liberal people. They demand justice and equality in foreign lands but back home, they continue to exploit the under-privileged and marginalised, according to the Gujarat government and police records.

Caste-based atrocities against Dalits continue unabated in the state. From not allowing Dalits to ride a horse during their traditional wedding processions, singling out Dalits during festivities and public beatings to social boycotts, Dalits continue to face humiliation for asserting their basic rights. So much so that they are denied even access to temples.

A recent case from Sabarkantha district is yet another disturbing reminder of this systemic oppression.

According to a report, Shailesh Solanki, a 38-year-old Dalit labourer from Khedawada Lakshmipura village, was allegedly assaulted and abused with casteist slurs. His only ‘offence’ – expressing the intent to visit the Kal Bhairav temple in Himatnagar.

While waiting for transportation at a crossroads in Balochpur, Solanki was confronted by Bharat Patel, a resident of nearby Dhanpura village. Patel questioned why Solanki was in the area and asked for his identity.

Solanki explained that he was heading to the temple. Patel reportedly dismissed the explanation and demanded to know whether Solanki belonged to a Scheduled Caste or the general category.

When Solanki produced his Aadhaar card, Patel allegedly identified his caste from the surname and began hurling casteist slurs. He then slapped Solanki multiple times and questioned his right to visit a temple after dark.

Soon after, two men from Titpur village arrived on a motorcycle. They intervened and stopped the assault.

But Patel allegedly wasn’t done. He forced Solanki onto his scooter, drove him a short distance, and dropped him near Ghorwada. Before leaving, he warned Solanki of serious consequences if he returned to the area.

Shaken, Solanki informed his family and later approached the Himatnagar rural police. Narendrasinh and Jagatsinh accompanied him and offered to be witnesses.

Based on his complaint, the police registered an FIR under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, including charges of assault and criminal intimidation.

But Solanki’s ordeal is far from an isolated case.

Across Gujarat and other parts of the country, Dalits continue to be victims of social cruelty.

In March this year, a Dalit man in Vadol village, also in Sabarkantha district, was beaten, stripped naked and paraded through the streets by dominant-caste men for allegedly entering a temple.

In Mandal village, two Dalit men were assaulted by cow vigilantes simply for refusing to dispose of a dead animal, a task traditionally forced upon their community. A young girl was dragged out by her her hair for performing garba in Gujarat this Navratri.

In Una taluka’s Ankolali village, a man from the Dalit community was burned alive inside his own home in a horrific act of caste violence; eleven men were later convicted in the case.

And in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, a Dalit man was beaten to death after his sister filed a complaint of sexual harassment.

Each of these cases is a reminder that caste continues to dictate who belongs where.

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