Jignesh Mevani (alternatively Mewani; born 11 December 1980) is an Indian politician, lawyer, activist and former

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

serving as the representative of the

Vadgam constituency Vadgam is one of the 182 Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly constituencies of Gujarat state in India. It is part of Banaskantha district, Banaskantha district, numbered as 11-Vadgam and is reserved for candidates belonging to th ...

in the

Gujarat Legislative Assembly Gujarat Legislative Assembly or Gujarat Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Gujarat, in the state capital Gandhinagar. Presently, 182 members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected from single-member co ...

since 2017. He is a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...

party. He is the convener of the

Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch is an Indian non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling ...

(RDAM).

Early life and education

Jignesh Mevani was born on 11 December 1980 in Ahmedabad,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

to a family of

Dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

from the village of Meu in

Mehsana district Mehsana district (alternate spelling "Mahesana") is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. Mehsana city is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district has a population of over 1.8 million and an area of ...

. He grew up in a lower middle class family, his parents had become government clerks, and resided in the Dalit populated locality of Meghaninagar in Ahmedabad. His father worked at the

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation The Amdavad Municipal Corporation, or the AMC, established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act (1949), is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Ahmedabad. History On 21 April 1831, the ...

and his mother at the

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Bharat, or Bharath, may refer to: * Bharat (term), the name for India in various Indian languages ** Bharata Khanda, the Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent (or South Asia) * Bharata, the name of several legendary figures or groups: ** Bha ...

(BSNL). Mevani attended school at the Swastik Vidyalaya and then the Vishwa Vidyalay Madhaymik Shala in

Ahmedabad district {{Infobox settlement , name = Ahmedabad District , native_name = , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = District of Gujarat , image_skyline = D ...

. He began his higher secondary education in the core stream of science, dropped out and completed his schooling after switching to

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at th ...

. He attained his graduation in 2003 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in English literature from the HK Arts College, affiliated to the

Gujarat University The Gujarat University is a public state university located at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The university is an affiliating university at the under-graduate level and a teaching university at the postgraduate level. It is accredited B++ by N ...

. Mevani states that in college, he was never seen as just a

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a ...

student. He was particularly impressed by

Saumya Joshi Saumya Joshi is an Indian poet, writer, playwright, director and actor associated with Gujarati language literature, theatre and films. He is known in Gujarati theatre for his plays ''Welcome Zindagi'' and ''102 Not Out''. ''Greenroomma'' (2008; ...

who was an associate professor and dramatist at the college and by the faculty member Sanjay Bhave who introduced him to various historical and contemporary figures of social activism in Gujarat. He further states it was because of Joshi and Bhave that he came into contact with Gujarati

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. In his student life, Mevani performed in

parallel cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

and researched the works of the Gujarati language poet,

Mareez Mareez, born Abbas Abdul Ali Vasi (22 February 1917 – 19 October 1983), was a Gujarati poet, mainly popular for his Ghazals. He is popularly known as '' Ghalib of Gujarat''. He left studies in young age and started working in rubber shoe fac ...

. He was also influenced by the Dutch painter

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

and the human rights activist

Mukul Sinha Mukul Sinha (10 February 1951 – 12 May 2014) was an Indian human rights activist and a lawyer at the Gujarat High Court in Ahemdabad. He was an active trade union leader and a trained physicist. He legally represented the families of the indivi ...

during this period. Following his graduation, he enrolled at the Bhavan's College, Ahmedabad for a

postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award pos ...

, in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

and

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

, which he received in 2004.

Activism

Early career

In 2004, Mevani shifted to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

and became a journalist with the

Gujarati language Gujarati (; gu, ગુજરાતી, Gujarātī, translit-std=ISO, label=Gujarati script, ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Guj ...

news magazine called ''Abhiyaan.'' He worked at the magazine for three years before quitting journalism to become an activist. He also briefly worked for a Gujarati language daily newspaper during this period. In his testimony, he states that he "realised that idealism and realism are two different things" and came to the final decision to quit career as a journalist after watching the Gujarati documentary on farmers' suicides called '' Khedu Mora Re''.'' Mevani started his activism through

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

s, and returned to Gujarat in 2008. He worked with the RTI activist Bharatsinh Zala with whom he visited several places to study the causes and issues leading to farmers' suicides. Eventually, he joined the civil rights organisation run by Mukul Sinha, called

Jan Sangharsh Manch Jan Sangharsh Manch is a voluntary civil rights organisation established in Gujarat, India. It was founded by Mukul Sinha, lawyer and trade union leader, and his wife Nirjhari Sinha, human rights activist, parents of Alt News founder Pratik Sinha. ...

(JSM). In order to combat issues of discrimination against Dalits, he grew associations with activists such as Manjula Pradeep and

Martin Macwan Martin Macwan (born c. 1959) is a Dalit human rights activist in Gujarat, India. Life and career He is one of 11 children. As a student, he watched assaults and killings of fellow Dalits, which motivated him to become an activist for Dalit right ...

of the Navsarjan Trust and the Dalit Shakti Kendra. He also worked with the activist lawyer Girish Patel and the Gandhian activists Chunilal Vaidya for farmers' rights,

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultur ...

and the development of sustainable rural economies. Subsequently, he began leading an agitation for increasing the salaries of sanitation workers. Mevani states that he drew his last salary of ₹15,000 in August 2007 and relied on 10–15 friends to provide him with ₹1,000–1,500 for his monthly expenses in order to continue working as a full time activist. In 2009, Mevani had led a JSM survey in the districts of

Surendranagar Surendranagar Dudhrej is a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Dudhrej municipality is directly connected with Wadhwan city and Wadhwan municipality. Etymology Dudhrej was originally a nes (hamlet) settle ...

and Ahmedabad to study the distribution of surplus government land to

landless Landlessness is the quality or state of being without land, without access to land, or without having private ownership of land. Although overlapping considerably, landlessness is not a necessary condition of poverty. In modern capitalist societies, ...

under provisions of the Gujarat Agriculture Land Ceiling Act. The findings of the survey revealed that the allotment of land had occurred only on paper and physical transfers of land had been denied. Over the course of the following years, he fought a long drawn out campaign over the allotment of land, in the process filing around 110 RTIs till 2015. Mevani was encouraged to pursue a degree in law in order to be better equipped to assist individuals in need for legal representation. He enrolled in the

DT Law College DT may refer to: Arts Music * Dt. (band), a Japanese dance/rock group * "D.T.", an instrumental song on '' Who Made Who'', AC/DC's 1986 album * Dark Tranquillity, Swedish melodic death metal band * Dream Theater, American progressive metal band ...

of the

while continuing his campaign over land issues during his studies. He graduated for a second time with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

degree in 2013, and became a practising activist

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

at the

Gujarat High Court The Gujarat High Court is the High Court of the state of Gujarat. It was established on 1 May 1960 under the ''Bombay Re-organisation Act, 1960'' after the state of Gujarat split from Bombay State. The seat of the court is Ahmedabad. The pres ...

, representing landless

in their cases. He also joined the Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 and became its Gujarat spokesperson. In 2015, Mevani initiated a

public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). ''Public interest litigation'' (PIL) refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and de ...

at the High Court for the allocation of 56,873 acres of surplus government land to landless labourers in Gujarat. Due to his activism over the years, he gathered a following and a support base among workers' groups and

Una incident and Dalit protests

Mevani rose to national prominence during the protests following the Una flogging incident. On 11 July 2016, seven Dalit youths were tortured in the town of

Una, Gujarat Una (or Unnatnagar) is a city and a municipality in Gir Somnath district of the Saurashtra region in the state of Gujarat, India. Geography Una is located on the bank of Machchundri river. It has an average elevation of . Kodinar is loc ...

on the pretext of cow protection and in the presence of the police. The assailants had filmed the incident and it was widely shared over social media. The incident culminated into a mass movement and large scale

militancy The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

among Dalits in the state. In midst of the protests, around 30 Dalit rights organisations had combined to form the ''Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti'' (abb. UDALS; Committee to fight against Una Dalit atrocities). The committee announced that a mass demonstration and assembly against caste based atrocities and discrimination was to be held in Ahmedabad on 30 July 2016. Mevani was one of the key organisers of the event, and was appointed as the convener of the committee.

Dalit ''mahasabha'' and #Chalo Una march

The Dalit ''mahasabha'' (

grand assembly Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

) was held on 31 July 2016, after several refusal and delays in the grant of permission by the state administration. The government granted the venue of Archer Depot, a small water clogged ground to the organisers. It witnessed an assembly of around 20,000 people, consisting of

ragpickers A rag-and-bone man or ragpicker (UK English) or ragman, old-clothesman, junkman, or junk dealer (US English), also called a bone-grubber, bone-picker, chiffonnier, rag-gatherer, bag board, or totter, collects unwanted household items and sells t ...

, scavengers, tanners, landless farm labourers, among others. The assembly which consisting mostly of young people also saw non-Dalits participants such as upper caste liberals, human rights activists, Muslims and other backward castes (OBCs). The gathering became one of the largest demonstrations for the cause of Dalits in the recent history of Gujarat. Mevani gave a speech during the assembly and was received with a wave of approval from the participants. The assembly invited a number of other speakers from a variety of backgrounds but due to the small size of the ground, many of people left early as they had to stand outside across the road. The momentum garnered in the demonstration led the assembly to conclude with the decision to carry out a ''swabhiman yatra'' (dignity march) on foot, from Ahmedabad to Una, covering a distance of 380 km. The march was alternatively designated as the ''Dalit Asmita Yatra'' (Dalit Self Respect Journey), the ''Azaadi Kooch'' (Search for Freedom), or the #Chalo Una (Let's go to Una!) march. It began on 5 August and was led by Mevani along with a core group of 70 marchers, the numbers swelled up to thousands throughout the duration of the march as Dalits from across the state joined along various parts of it. The marchers also included activists from the Navsarjan Trust, the

and the Communist Party of India. One of the primary message of the march was to encourage the Dalit community to leave their traditional caste based occupations and to demand for the distribution of 5 acres of land to every landless Dalit in the state. Mevani was instrumental in making the issue of land reform and the allocation of land to landless Dalits a major demand of the protest reasoning that if Dalits had the land, they would not have to engage in their traditional occupations such as skinning and disposing dead cows. His speeches drew massive crowds which was credited to his understanding of Dalit issues combined with oratorical skill. He coined the slogan "''Gaaye nu puchhdu taame rakho, aamne amaari jameen aapo"'' (you keep the cow’s tail, give us our land) which came to be in widespread use throughout the protests. In the process, Mevani became a notional leader for the protests across the state since the incident. On the route, the march received support from Scheduled Caste (SC) villages and no opposition or support from others. Activities such as meetings, distribution of radical literature, etc were confined to the SC villages. Large number of Dalits across the state took oaths to refrain from handling cow carcasses, including the tanners of 25 villages who took collective vows to stop performing their caste based occupation of disposing dead cows. The procession stopped for the night at various towns and villages through their ten day foot march;

Dholka Dholka is a city and municipality in the Ahmedabad District of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the headquarters of Dholka Taluka, and is 48 km by road via National Highway 8A southwest of the city of Ahmedabad. Dholka has an average e ...

town on 5 August, Koth village on 6 August,

Dhandhuka Dhandhuka is a city and a municipality in the Ahmedabad district in the state of Gujarat, India. Moreover, it is a part of the Bhal region. Dhandhuka is said to have been founded by, and to take its name from, Koli Dhana Mer, or rather Mehd, t ...

town on 7 August, Barvala village on 8 August,

Botad Botad is a city and district headquarters of Botad district, Gujarat, India. It is about 92 km from Bhavnagar and 133 km From Ahmedabad by road distance. Botad district is made from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar. Erstwhile, it was part of ...

town on 9 August,

Gadhada Gadhada is a town and a municipality in Botad District in the state of Gujarat, India. Gadhada is situated at bank of River Ghela. Swaminarayan lived here for more than 25 years. Geography Gadhada is located at . It has an average elevatio ...

town on 10 August, passing through

Amreli Amreli is a city and a municipality in Amreli district in Indian state of Gujarat. History It is believed that during 534 AD Amreli existed was formerly known as Anumanji, Amlik and then Amravati. The city is named in ancient Gujrati as ''Am ...

and halting at

Savarkundla There are 84 villages in Savarkundla tehsil, Vanshiyali, Vanda, Gadhakda, Ramgadh, Vijpadi, Chikhali, Piyava, Dhar, Juna Savar, Bhuva, Badhada, Vijyanagar, Likhala, Mota Zinzuda, Nana Zinzuda, Vadal, Khadsali, Nesadi, Kanatalav, Oliya, Charkhad ...

on 11 August, and reaching the town of

Rajula Rajula is a city and municipality in Amreli district in the Indian state of Gujarat. City was known as Rajgadh at the time of local ruler daha dhakhda. Originally Rajula spread between Dholio Dunger and Piriyo Dungar, but has expanded beyond th ...

on the night of 12 August. From 13 August onwards, the eighth day of the march, as the group approached closer to Una, locals from non-SC villages and Hindu nationalists began attacking the procession with stones, blockading their route and harassing the participants. The march eventually came to an end on 15 August (

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

) after covering 350 km and with a mass meeting in the small village of Mota Samdhiyala. Situated near the town of Una, the village was the residence and place of origin of the victims of the Una incident, and witnessed a gathering of around 15,000 Dalits from around the state in the mass meeting. The assembly also saw the attendance of the Republican Panthers among Dalits, as well as a significant number of Muslims and students from various educational institutions. Due to the attacks on the march, the organisers were fearful of an incident on the day and decided to invite only two speakers who were already in the media spotlight, Mevani himself and the student leader

Kanhaiya Kumar Kanhaiya Kumar is an Indian political activist who served as the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union and leader of the All India Students Federation (AISF). He served as National Executive Council member of Communis ...

. Mevani presented a charter of 10 demands of the UDALS which including justice for the victims of the Una atrocity, alternative livelihood options, legal frameworks for the protection of Dalits against similar atrocities and 5 acres of land for every landless Dalit household in the state, along with a 30 day ultimatum seeking a response from the government. Radhika Vemula, the mother of Rohith Vemula, was also present and concluded the event with a flag salutation.

Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch

In order to extend their agitation for land rights to a national scale, UDALS had launched the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM; State Dalit Rights Platform). Mevani along with several of his friends were the founders of the platform. During the course of the agitation, Mevani resigned from his membership with the Aam Aadmi Party stating that he intended to keep the protests "untainted by political affiliations". He was also involved in the efforts of UDALS to form an alliance with the large network of '' Julahas'' (weavers) composed primarily of Dalit converts to Islam, another targeted community in atrocities on the pretext of cow protection. The RDAM held an agitation in

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

on 31 August with the assistance of the Navsarjan Trust, raising calls to renew the agitations for the charter of demands through means such as '' rail roko'' (train obstruction) and ''

gherao Gherao, meaning "encirclement", is a word which denotes a tactic used by labour activists and union leaders in India; it is similar to picketing. Usually, a group of people would surround a politician or a government building until their demands a ...

s'' (picketing) of government offices for the charter of demands. Jignesh Mevani

Mevani employed the threat of mass

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a stat ...

after the government's refusal to negotiate, the proposed ''rail roko'' agitation was planned to begin on 1 October, at the Maninagar railway station in Ahmedabad. In the meantime, Mevani began participated in events outside the state to raise support for the movement, bringing national media attention. The protests in Gujarat had been largely ignored by the corporate media. In midst of the protests, Mevani was arrested in the evening of 16 September at the

Ahmedabad airport Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) is an international airport serving the twin cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India. The airport is located in Hansol, north of Ahmedabad. It is named after Sardar Vallab ...

on his return from an event at New Delhi and put under detention for the duration of

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the List of Prime Ministers of India, 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the List of chief ministers of Gujarat, Chief Minist ...

's visit to Gujarat on his birthday. He was detained for a second time on 19 September during the staging of a protest outside the

District Collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal revenu ...

's office in Ahmedabad and again released on 20 September. The protests continued over the month and the ''rail roko'' agitation was eventually called off on 1 October 2016, after the state government acceded to sitting on negotiations. The first meeting between the RDAM and the state government was held on 3 October. On 4 October, activists from the RDAM including Mevani were once again detained by the police before they could join a new wave of protests in

Gandhinagar Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the political capital of India, and ...

over a number of assaults on Dalits including the murder of one in

Anand district Anand District is an administrative district of Gujarat state in western India and whose popular nickname is Charotar. It was carved out of the Kheda district in 1997. Anand is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is bounde ...

in the last couple of days. The repeated use of

preventive detention Preventive detention is an imprisonment that is putatively justified for non- punitive purposes, most often to prevent (further) criminal acts. Types of preventive detention There is no universally agreed definition of preventive detention, and m ...

during the protests received criticism and were described as state repression and as a method of stifling the agitations. The #Chalo Una march inspired a similar rally called Chalo Udupi in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

. Held in response to an assault on a Dalit family by a unit of the

Bajrang Dal The Bajrang Dal () is a Hindu nationalist militant organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). It is a member of the right-wing Sangh Parivar. The ideology of the organisation is based on Hindutva. It was ...

in the town of

Chikmagalur Chikmagalur, known officially as Chikkamagaluru, is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri peak of the Western Ghats, the city attracts tourists from ...

, it began on 4 October at

Freedom Park, Bangalore Freedom Park is located in the Central Business District of the city of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. It was formerly the Central Jail. It was opened to the public in November 2008. A part of it has been allotted for protests. When a state of e ...

and ended on 9 October in the town of

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

. Mevani attended the concluding event of the march and gave a speech accusing the government of caste based discrimination in land re-distribution and calling for a ban on ''gau rakshak'' groups and the practise of ''pankti bheda'' (caste based segregation) at the

Udupi Sri Krishna Matha Udupi Shri Krishna Temple is a well-known historic Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Krishna and Dvaita Matha located in the city of Udupi in Karnataka, India. The Matha area resembles a living Aashram, a holy place for daily devotion and livin ...

. The protests led by Mevani also inspired a similar protest from

Banjaras The Banjara (also known as ,Vanzara,Lambadi,Gour Rajput,Labana) are a historically nomadic trading caste who may have origins in the Mewar region of what is now Rajasthan. Etymology The Banjaras usually refer to themselves as ''Gor'' and outs ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

in response to another assault by members of the Bajrang Dal on the pretext of cow protection. As of December 2016, the negotiations between the RDAM and the government had led to the distribution of plots of land to around 200 Dalit families. In his testimony, Mevani states that while Dalits frequently face much worse brutalities, the incident at Una became a symbol of their grievances and created an unmatched outcry, adding that anger among Dalits was simmering for years, and giving the example of the policemen who had shot 3 unarmed Dalits in 2012 and were yet to be arrested.

Later agitations

On 6 January 2017, Mevani along with Kanhaiya Kumar joined the agitations of the Kachra Vahtuk Shramik Sangh () in Mumbai, Maharashtra. In 2015, the monthly

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...

for municipal workers in the state was increased to ₹14,000 but sanitation was shifted to contractors who hired the workers and paid them wages of around ₹7,000–9,000. Drawing criticism at the

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated by the Government of India in 2014 to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management. It is a restructured version of ...

, Mevani encouraged the workers to strike if they needed to, stating that the prime minister and Bollywood stars who had promoted themselves through the mission could clean the city themselves if the government continued to refuse basic pay for them. On 9 January 2017, Mevani announced the beginning of an agitation during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. The reason provided by Mevani for the agitation was that the government was readily offering land to corporate giants and signing countless memorandums of understanding with them while refusing to budge on enacting physical transfers of land to landless farmers and Dalits. The protest was scheduled to be held at

Adalaj Adalaj is a census town in Gandhinagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat, promoted in 2001 from village status. Geography Adalaj is located at . It has an average elevation of . Climate Adalaj has substantially similar climate to Ah ...

, 10 km away from the venue of the summit but in the early morning of 10 January, Mevani was detained by the police and released later at night. Sagar Rabari, the farmers' rights activist and the general secretary of the Gujarat Khedut Samaj (), and Atul Patel, the

Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti Starting in July 2015, the people of India's Patidar community, seeking Other Backward Class (OBC) status, held public demonstrations across the Indian state of Gujarat. The largest demonstration was held in Ahmedabad on 25 August 2015, and was ...

(PAAS) leader were also detained on the day for declaring their support for the agitation. Following release, Mevani accompanied by a team of RDAM activists presented a statement at the district magistrate's office which outlined the reason for holding protests and their demands, which according to him was dismissed by the officials. The dismissal prompted the RDAM and Mevani to commence plans for disrupting the summit by reviving the idea of the ''rail roko'' agitation which had been cancelled earlier in October 2016 with the beginning of the negotiations. On 11 January, RDAM activists including Mevani attempted to halt the

Rajdhani Express Rajdhani may refer to: * ''Rajdhani'' (film), 1956 Indian film * ''Rajadhani'' (1994 film), Indian Malayalam-language film * ''Rajadhani'' (2011 film), Indian Kannada-language film * Rajdhani, Kotli, a village in Pakistan * Rajdhani, Gorakhpur, ...

at the

Ahmedabad Junction railway station Ahmedabad Junction railway station (station code: ADI) is the main railway station of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is also the biggest railway station within Gujarat and also one of the major railway station in India. It is the highest income ...

. According to the security commissioner in charge of the Ahmedabad division,

Western Railway zone The Western Railway (abbreviated WR) is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways and is among the busiest railway networks in India, headquartered at Mumbai, Maharashtra. The major railway routes of Indian Railways which come under Western Rail ...

, the protesters emerged out of nowhere, Mevani himself climbed on top of the engine of the train and a group of women began squatted on the tracks in front of the train. The

Railway Protection Force Railway Protection Force is a security force under the ownership of Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, Government of India established by the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957; enacted by the Indian Parliament for "the better protectio ...

(RPF) and

Government Railway Police The Government Railway Police ( IAST: ''Sarkārī Relve Pulis''), abbreviated as GRP, is the force responsible for policing railway stations and trains of Indian Railways. Its duties correspond to those of the District Police in the areas un ...

(GRP) arrested several protesters during the agitation and reportedly manhandled some of the women before the arrest. The women were released at midnight but the rest including Mevani and all the men were kept under arrest. The police booked cases against several of those who were arrested including Mevani and Lakshmiben Maheria, the women RDAM member who was at the forefront of the protest, under

Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established i ...

sections on "rioting", "hurting public servants", "criminal conspiracy", among others and under the Indian Railways Act section on "endangering lives". The Metropolitan Court gave Mevani and a number of others conditional bail on the evening of 12 January. The agitation in the middle of Ahmedabad was described to have led to an increase in the visibility of the cause of the protesters among the general public. In March, the Bharatiya Janata Party had begun campaigning in the Adivasi belt for the upcoming election in Gujarat. In response, the RDAM formed a pact with the Adivasi Kisan Sangharsh Morcha () and Mevani announced that they would launch their own campaign as an expose on the government's failure to grant land to Adivasis under provisions of the Forests Rights Act 2006.

Second ''Azaadi Kooch''

To commemorate the protests of the earlier year and to reinforce the demand for land reforms in the state, Mevani organised a second ''Azaadi Kooch'' in July 2017. On the anniversary of the fogging incident, the RDAM conducted an event at the Ambedkar Hall, Ahmedabad. The auditorium saw a full attendance and featured participants from across the country including Kumar, the Manav Suraksha Kanoon committee member Anil Chamdia and the relatives of the victims of various lynching cases. The success of the programme prompted the announcement of the second ''Azaadi Kooch.'' It was scheduled to begin in the town of

Mehsana Mehsana (), also spelled Mahesana, is a city and municipality in Mehsana district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Established in 14th century, the city was under Gaekwads of Baroda State from 18th century to the independence of India in 194 ...

and conclude at the town of

Dhanera Dhanera is a city in Banaskantha district in the northern part of the state of Gujarat, India. Longitude 240 – 310 degree North and latitude 120 – 020 degree east. It is close to the city of Deesa.Dhanera is an ancient part of Gujarat. For ...

Banaskantha district Banaskantha district is one of the thirty-three districts of the Gujarat state of India. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Palanpur which is also its largest city. The district is located in the Northeast of Gujarat and is pr ...

. Banaskantha Dalit Sangathan (BDS), a grassroots rights organisation was instrumental in co-ordinated with the RDAM to organise the procession. The march began on 12 July and marked by a ''jan sabha'' ( people's assembly) of around 1,500 people at Somnath Chowk, Mehsana, located 75 km away from Ahmedabad. Mevani at the gathering, re-iterated the continued denial of physical possession of allotted land to the landless labourers and Dalit families in the state and their demands for it''.'' Activists from the Communist Party of India joined the group in solidarity and continued to accompany the procession throughout the march. The Patidar leader

Reshma Patel Reshma Patel is an Indian Politician and social activist fighting for the rights of women, children, youths, farmers and victims of injustice and inequality. she is an aam aadmi party leader. She was also associated with NCP. Former chief mini ...

and the lawyer activist Shamshad Pathan were invited to the gathering, who aimed to highlight that the struggle for the rights of Dalits, Patidars and Muslims could be brought under the same platform. It was also attended by activists of the Pendu Mazdoor Union who had arrived from the state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

to support their cause, and the members of the Jaipur Hangama Natak Dal and

Budhan Theatre Founded in 1998, Budhan Theatre is an Indian theatre group composed of members of the Chhara tribe, one of India's groups of denotified or "criminal" tribal people in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The Budhan Theatre was founded by Prof. Ganesh Devy G. N. ...

of Ahmedabad, who volunteered to perform at the gathering''.'' The march was disrupted within hours following its beginning. According to Mevani, a motorcycle attempted to run over him at Fatehpur village, unidentified individuals followed Pathan's vehicle and a group of men came to the procession searching for Kumar. The incidents were reported to the police who according to Pathan advised them to keep marching and not to stop. But as the procession passed through the village of Nani Dau, the police detained the conveners of the RDAM, Mevani and Kaushik Parmar, along with 200 participants of the procession at the village. The activists of the Pendu Mazdoor Union, the performers who had volunteered as well as Kumar and Patel were also detained while on their way back to Ahmedabad from Mehsana. The detainees were released after three hours and with a case of "unlawful gathering" lodged against 14 individuals, the core team of organisers, including Mevani''.'' On the same day, the police denied permission for the procession to conduct rallies in the towns of

Unjha Unjha is a town and a municipality in the Mehsana district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Unjha is 26 km north of Mehsana and 102 km north of Ahmedabad. Geography Unjha is located at . It has an averag ...

and

Siddhpur Siddhpur, also spelled Sidhpur, is a town, municipality and headquarter of Sidhpur taluka in Patan district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is a historical place located on the bank of the endorheic Saraswati River, which is probably a rem ...

, the next two destinations of the march. In response, Mevani asserted that the march should be conducted under any circumstances. It was expected to reach Unjha at 8 p.m. but arrived there late at night due to the detentions. The procession held a public meeting in the town at midnight and was joined by a large number of its residents in spite of the delay. Mevani gave a speech at the meeting where he stated that the government was sparing no effort to disrupt the march and that " e momentum of the movement may have been slowed down, but the spirit has certainly not dampened." The march reached Siddhpur on 13 July where it received a surge of Dalits, Muslims and members of the nomadic tribe of Chharas. Police personnel and attaches from state and central intelligence agencies began accompanying them by the time the march entered Banaskantha district. Dalpat Bhatia of the BDS helped them secure permission to march through the villages of Banaskantha and it continued without further disruption. It passed through the village of Sagrosana, near

Palanpur Palanpur is a city and a municipality of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the administrative headquarters of Banaskantha district. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants. Ety ...

on 14 July where it was received with felicitation, in particular from Dalit women. The RDAM had directly intervened in the village where a Dalit woman named Madhuben was attempting to gain possession of her land which she had been allotted in 2006. One of the committee members of the RDAM, Lakshmiben Maheria was a Dalit woman from the village. From the beginning the march was led by a large contingent of Dalit women, who gave speeches, sang songs and coined slogans on multiple occasion. One of the key issues the movement brought up was to campaign against the traditional custom of ''

ghoonghat A ghoonghat (''ghunghat'', ''ghunghta'', ''ghomta'', ''orhni'', odani, ''laaj'', ''chunari'', ''jhund'', ''kundh'') is a headcovering or headscarf, worn primarily in the Indian subcontinent, by some married Hindu, Jain, and Sikh women to cover ...

'' (face veil). It reached the town of

Deesa Deesa is a city and a municipality in the Banaskantha district in the state of Gujarat, India. History Deesa is situated on the east banks of the river Banas. Deesa was an estate and thana ( faujdari/thanedari ) ruled by the Mandori (Jhalori) ...

on 15 July, and eventually reached Dhanera on 18 July. One of the objectives of the ''Azaadi Kooch'' had been conclude the march by securing land of 12 acres which was allotted to four Dalit families in the village of Lavara near Dhanera. On 17 July, while they had stopped at the village of Soneth, they were informed by the police personnel that Dileep Rana, the

district magistrate A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal revenu ...

(DM) of Banaskantha had taken up the issue and would ensure the physical possession of land. The march held a gathering at Dhanera which witnessed a participation of around 2,500–5,000 people cordoned by around 200 police personnel. During the gathering, the Dalits from Lavara reached the rally and informed them that their land was illegally occupied by a group of

Rajputs Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

who had threatened them including their ''

sarpanch A sarpanch ( IAST: ''Sarpañch'' Hindi: ''सरपंच'') or Gram Pradhan or Mukhiya is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the Gram Sabha (village government) in India. The Sarp ...

'' (village head). On receiving the news, Mevani announced that they would sit on a ''

dharna A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to m ...

'' (sit in protest) outside the Dhanera police station. The police agreed to file a

First Information Report __NOTOC__ A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commi ...

(FIR) against the encorachers, but prevented the procession to enter the village itself. In the end, Bhatia from the BDS, accompanying members of the Communist Party and four members of the core team of the RDAM, namely Mevani, Dixit Parmar, Kaushik Parmar and Rakesh Maheria, visited the location accompanied by the police in order to oversee the transfer of the land. Activist in the BDS were assigned to maintain communications with the Dalit families to ensure that the land remained in their possession. The march lasted for 7 days and concluded with the transfer of land which occurred after a period of 50 years since they were first allotted to the four families. DM Rana later gave a statement that no case was registered against the encroachers since it was agricultural land and they were using it for that purpose. According to ''The Citizen'' news website, the march received a media blackout from most of the mainstream media.

Member of Legislative Assembly

2017 election

On 30 November 2017, it was announced that Mevani would contest in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly election as an independent candidate at

. The constituency was reserved for Scheduled Castes and had a large population of Dalits. The announcement came at the last day for filing of nominations, and campaign lacked both funding and a concrete organisation. Mevani's campaign operated out of a motel situated in a small village on the Ahmedabad–

highway. The farmers' rights activist Sagar Rabari, volunteered to help the campaign in devising its election strategy. Local activists such as Dalpat Bhatia with a team of 1,000 people from the Banaskantha Dalit Sangathan and Ishaqbhai Maderia from the Jan Sangharsh Manch volunteered to campaign for him. Maderia was elected as

of Bhangal village, an year earlier in the ''panchayat'' (local body) elections and Mevani adopted the election symbol of sewing machine which Maderia had used in his election. Mevani had appealed to other parties to not field candidates in the constituency stating that his fight was primarily against the ruling

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...

(BJP). The

and the Aam Aadmi Party withdrew their candidates, and both the parties announced their support for Mevani. This turned it into primarily a bipolar contest between Mevani and Vijay Chakravarthi, the candidate of the BJP. Ashwin Parmar, the son of a former Congress legislator decided to rebel and contest from the constituency as an independent, causing apprehensions that he could draw in some of the votes that would have otherwise went to Mevani. Among other candidates were one from a local party called Jan Chetna, one from the

Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), a ...

and six other independent candidates. According to Bhatia, the Banasakantha Dalit Sangathan was able to sway around 20,000 voters among Dalits towards voting for Mevani instead of Parmar. Four separate groups emerged to campaign for him; his associates from Ahmedabad,

human rights activists A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing ca ...

and volunteers from Delhi, local communities and organisations in Vadgam and the Congress party workers. His candidacy was endorsed by the Congress party vice-president

Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president of ...

and the Thakor community activist Alpesh Thakor who had joined the Congress. According to one of Mevani's friends, the Congress party workers stopped working for their campaign after Ashwin Parmar's candidancy despite their party leadership's position. On 5 December, his procession was attacked during campaigning in Tarakwad village although no one was injured. Kaushik Parmar, an associate of Mevani at the RDAM states that the incident caused a surge in supporters volunteering for his campaign. His team arranged a

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance. In 2015, over was rais ...

initiative for the campaign which ultimately raised ₹20,50,000. The writer and activist

Arundhati Roy Suzanna Arundhati Roy (born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. S ...

donated ₹3,00,000 to the campaign. According to Roy, Mevani represented "a kind of breakthrough in Indian politics, a solidarity that rises from the bottom upwards". In contrast to Mevani's campaign, the ruling

(BJP) had a well organised electoral machinery, the ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

'' in a later report compared it to a

David vs Goliath David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

situation. The BJP campaign created a perception among upper castes that the Dalit leader Mevani would conduct

witch-hunts A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern peri ...

against them. According to Sagar Rabri, the community of

Chaudhary Chaudhary (or Choudhary ; also: Chaudhuri, Choudhuary, Chowdhury) is a hereditary title mainly in South Asia, mainly used by Jats, Gurjar and Bhumihars. Chowdhury ( Hindi: चौधरी/चौधुरी/चौधारी; Urdu: چودھ ...

s were concerned that they would be targeted with cases under the Atrocities Act because Dalits worked in their farms and factories. The

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India ( IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of th ...

, the party president

Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Jana ...

, the

Chief Minister of Gujarat The Chief Minister of Gujarat is the chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. The chief minister's term ...

Vijay Rupani Vijaybhai Ramniklalbhai Rupani (born 2 August 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the 16th Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2016 to 2021 for two terms. He is a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, representing Rajkot West. He is a ...

and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

themselves arrived to campaign against him in the constituency. During the campaign, the BJP spokesperson

Sambit Patra Sambit Patra (born 13 December 1974) is an Indian politician and has served as the National spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014 and currently serving as a chairman in tourism department. Patra had his first job at Hindu Rao Ho ...

accused Mevani of having "terror links" in response to which he threatened to initiate a defamation suit against the party. Before the announcement of the results, Mevani had predicted that he would either lose or win with a small margin of around 5,000 votes. Mevani won the election with a margin of over 18,000 votes. Chakravarthi secured 75,801 votes polling at 40.32% while Mevani secured 95,397 votes polling at 50.79%. In 2022 Gujarat assembly elections, Jignesh Mevani won the election with a margin of over 5,000 votes. Manilal Vaghela secured 89,837 votes polling at 45.51% while Mevani secured 94,765 votes polling at 48%.

Tenure

On 6 October 2018, Mevani attended a

panel discussion A panel discussion, or simply a panel, involves a group of people gathered to discuss a topic in front of an audience, typically at scientific, business, or academic conferences, fan conventions, and on television shows. Panels usually include a ...

of Dalit leaders, activists and academics at

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as ...

. In February 2019, the president and the vice-president of the HK Arts College were forced to cancel an event where they had invited Mevani (an alumnus of the college) and resigned thereafter under pressure from Bharatiya Janata Party affiliated students union leaders. In December 2019, Mevani opposed the

Statue of Unity The ''Statue of Unity'' is the world's tallest statue, with a height of , located near Kevadia in the state of Gujarat, India. It depicts Indian statesman and independence activist Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950), who was the first deputy ...

Area Development and Tourism Governance Bill on the justification that it would adversely effect the

tribals The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

in the area, stating that they were displaced from 70 villages when the government forcefully snatched their lands for the construction of the statue. The Bill created a governance authority empowered to take punitive action against engaging in activities which would harm the "tourism potential" of the site, including begging, hawking and unauthorised development. Mevani was suspended for 3 days on grounds of indiscipline after alleging that the Treasury benches followed the ''

Manusmriti The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India According to consen ...

'' and not the Constitution, according to him the bill violated the provisions of the Schedule 5 of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

. In March 2021, Mevani was suspended for a day on grounds of indiscipline from the Gujarat Legislative Assembly by the speaker Rajendra Trivedi. He was demanding the arrest of a police officer and had questioned the Home Minister, Pradipsinh Jadeja on whether he was related to the officer who was allegedly present at an incident where a Dalit RTI activist was beaten to death by a group of upper caste men. In April 2021, Mevani raised the issue of postponement of offline

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

and

higher secondary The Higher Secondary School Certificate is a secondary qualification in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Higher Secondary Education The Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education in Bangladesh recognises "Higher Secondary Education" unde ...

boards examination in Gujarat, stating that

Central Board of Secondary Education The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...

has cancelled its offline examinations but the education department is continuing it and risking the lives of students.

Arrest

Mevani was arrested by the

Assam Police The Assam Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Assam in India. A regular police force was initiated in Assam by the British after the Treaty of Yandaboo to maintain the law and order. It functions under the Department of Home ...

on 20 April 2022 after he made a tweet criticising the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with charges under the

sections for criminal conspiracy, hurting religious sentiment and threat to peace. The BJP leader who filed the complaint stated that it was done to send a message to people that they need to be careful about making negative posts against the Prime Minister. Mevani stated that the arrest came as a surprise to him but he was not afraid and would continue to fight for the rights of the deprived, adding that the arrest has only gone to highlight the real situation of the country and the motives of the government. He was arrested at midnight from his residence in Gujarat and transported to

Kokrajhar district Kokrajhar district is an administrative district in Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam. It is predominantly inhabited by the Boro tribe. The district has its headquarters located at Kokrajhar Town and occupies an area of . It has two civil ...

, Assam, where his anticipatory bail was initially rejected by the district court which stating that the hearing for it will be held on a later date. The arrest received condemnation and was described as an attack on freedom of speech and intimidation of dissidents through the misuse of law and order machinery under the Modi administration in India. Human rights activist such as

Akhil Gogoi Akhil Gogoi is an Indian peasant leader, RTI activist and MLA from Sibsagar, Assam. Over the years he has been leading many anti-graft movements in the state. Gogoi came to national attention after he was awarded the Shanmugam Manjunath Integr ...

, Kavita Krishnan,

Ajit Kumar Bhuyan Ajit Kumar Bhuyan is a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, from the state of Assam. He was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha on 18 March 2020. He is also an Indian journalist, author and former editor of the Asomi ...

and opposition politicians including

Debabrata Saikia Debabrata Saikia (Assamese: দেবব্ৰত শইকীয়া; born 14 December 1964) is an Assamese politician. He is the incumbent Leader of Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly. Saikia was elected to the Assam Legislative ...

Gaurav Gogoi Gaurav Gogoi is an Indian politician of Indian National Congress from the Indian state of Assam. He is son of former chief minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi. He contested the Indian general elections 2014 and 2019 from Kaliabor seat and won. Gau ...

and

extended their support to him. Rajasthan Chief Minister

Ashok Gehlot Ashok Gehlot (born 3 May 1951) politician serving as the current Chief Minister of Rajasthan. He held this position from December 1998 to 2003, and from 2008 to 2013, and again from 17 December 2018. He represents Sardarpura constituency of Jod ...

stated that the arrest was an attack on democratic norms and an example of the

dictatorial A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

attitude of the Modi administration and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The President of the

Telangana Rashtra Samithi Bharat Rashtra Samithi ( ; BRS), formerly known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi ( TRS), is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in the state of Telangana. It was founded on 27 April 2001 as by K. Chandrashekar Rao, with a sing ...

K. T. Rama Rao Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao (born 24 July 1976), popularly known by his initials KTR, is an Indian politician serving as the Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, and Information Technology of Tel ...

reiterated the statement in Mevani's tweet, that Modi was following

Nathuram Godse Nathuram Vinayak Godse (19 May 1910 – 15 November 1949) was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. He was a Hindu nationalist from Maharashtra who shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point blank range at a multi-faith prayer meeting in ...

's ideology and dared the government to arrest him as well. Activists and opposition parties including the

organised a protest outside the Kokrajhar police station where Mevani was being held with plans to move the case to the Guwahati High Court if necessary, while several other activists and supporters of Mevani announced their intention to escalate the protests to Delhi. After a 3 day police custody, he was moved to judicial custody by the district court with the date for the hearing scheduled for 25 April. He was released on 25 April after the hearing with the court stating that it did not find any reasonable grounds for keeping him detained, but he was re-arrested immediately after his release and moved to a police station in Barpeta district, Assam. The arrest was made with new charges of obscenity and assault based on a complaint that he had used slang words and pushed a police officer when he was being transported to Kokrajhar. Mevani's lawyer stated the new charges were a later fabrication as there was no mention of this allegation during the 3 day custody or in the court hearing arguments. Kirit Rathod, the convener of a rights organisation filed a petition and stated that his fundamental rights were being violated as he was not provided a copy of his FIR and was not allowed to meet his lawyer, leading to the chief secretaries of Gujarat and Assam being sent notices to present the facts of the case to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Spontaneous protests against the arrest emerged in several places in Gujarat, occurring at two levels, with one composed of the Indian Nation Congress with

leading it and the other composed of ordinary Dalits, civil society organisations and other supporters of Mevani. Mevani's supporters have also stated that Gujarat Police has been threatening and harassing Mevani's family and associates since his arrest. Mevani was released on 30 April after a hearing at the district court stating that one would have to rewrite the entire criminal jurisprudence to the able to accept the case and that "converting our hard-earned democracy into a police state is simply unthinkable". During the court's testimony, the officer contradicted the FIR and did not state that Mevani had used his hands to apply any physical force on the officer or uttered any obscene words, rather that he had spoken words in his language which were allegedly abuses that the officer did not understand. The court reprimanded the police stating that they had manufactured a false case and misused the process to keep him detained for a longer period. The court also sent a request to the Guwahati High Court to take up a petition for police reforms to mandate officers to wear body cameras and install CCTVs in police vehicles, raising concerns that Assam was becoming a police state, citing frequent instances of police brutality and other excesses in the state.

2022 election

Mevani was elected from Vadgam constituency again in 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election as an INC candidate defeating his nearest rival and

candidate Manilal Vaghela.

Political positions

Mevani is the convener of the ''Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch'' (State Dalit Rights Platform), who identifies himself as a social liberal and Ambedkarite. He subscribes to the school of thought in Ambedkarism, propounded by Anand Teltumbde, according to which social transformation is not achievable by solely focusing on caste as it leads to repeated division within the movement and that it needs to forge a class unity among all marginalised groups. According to Mevani, there is a material foundation to caste beyond that of just being a sociocultural phenomenon, and that "for the annihilation of caste, struggle against caste and class both go hand in hand". Described as a part of a new emergent left wing in India, Mevani has formed direct associations with individuals such as Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan, Gauri Lankesh,

, Shehla Rashid and Umar Khalid, among others. On being called a communist, he states that he is yet to attain the same understanding that communists have to be considered one.

Land reform

Mevani is a proponent of land reform in India. One of his long standing demands, has been that of allotment and distribution of 5 acres of land to landless farming families. His interest in the question of land is considered to be unique in contemporary Dalit politics. Mevani states that "one can not preach Self-Respect Movement, self respect to empty stomachs" and that land reform is a vital tool which can bring about important structural changes for the annihilation of caste.

Labour rights

Mevani is a vocal supporter of labour rights, including the dismantlation of contract employment. He has also advocated for the sanitation workers to be made permanent and offered benefits akin to other government jobs.

Anti-fascism

Mevani is an advocate for unity between anti-fascist groups, and endorses the formation of a joint platform between all anti-Sangh Parivar and leftist groups. Identifying the Hindutva movement – consisting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, its Sangh Parivar affiliates and the

– as a movement for fascism in India, he states that it intends to reorient the state into a casteist and fascist system on the lines of the ''

'' and the teachings of Hindutva ideologues like M. S. Golwalkar. He has taken the stance that he intends to oppose them wherever they are as they threaten the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mevani, Jignesh Living people Indian social reformers Dalit activists Activists from Gujarat 1982 births Journalists from Gujarat 21st-century Indian journalists Writers from Ahmedabad Gujarat University alumni Gujarat MLAs 2017–2022 Gujarat MLAs 2022–2027 Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat