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Una flogging 10 years on: Fight for justice continues for Sarvaiya family
🇮🇳 India /Culture & Society

Una flogging 10 years on: Fight for justice continues for Sarvaiya family

From Hindustan Times · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • A Dalit family in Gujarat continues to fight for justice and rehabilitation 10 years after being flogged by cow vigilantes.
  • The assault in 2016, stemming from accusations of cow slaughter, led to a significant Dalit movement against caste discrimination and vigilantism.
  • The family has abandoned traditional Dalit work and seeks equality, symbolized by adopting a pony.

Ten years after a brutal assault, the Sarvaiya family in Gujarat's Gir Somnath district is still navigating a difficult path toward justice and a dignified life. In 2016, brothers Vashrambhai and Ramesh Sarvaiya, along with cousins Ashok and Bechar Sarvaiya, were tied to a vehicle, stripped, and flogged by self-styled cow vigilantes. The family had been skinning a dead cow, a task generations of Dalits performed due to their caste. The incident, captured on video, ignited widespread outrage, sparking one of Gujarat's largest Dalit movements and forcing a national conversation about caste discrimination and cow vigilantism.

Despite the legal battles and the lingering trauma, the Sarvaiya family has resolutely abandoned the hereditary occupation imposed by their caste. Vashrambhai, now 33, stated they realized they should not continue work dictated by caste, even if life became harder. Their resolve is evident in Vashrambhai's recent decision to adopt a pony, a symbol of equality and self-respect. In Gujarat, Dalits have historically faced resistance for acts like riding horses, traditionally associated with dominant castes. "Keeping the pony is our way of saying we are equal," he explained.

We understood Babasaheb Ambedkar only after Una. We realised we should not continue such work imposed on us only because of our caste. We decided that no matter how difficult life became, we would never again lift or skin dead animals.

— Vashrambhai SarvaiyaReflecting on the impact of the 2016 assault and the subsequent movement.

The family's struggle has now shifted from their former occupation to rebuilding their lives and seeking fulfillment of rehabilitation promises made after the assault. They survive on a modest income from selling milk to a local dairy. The 2016 incident and the subsequent protests, including the Dalit Asmita Yatra with its powerful slogan "Gai nu puchdu tame rakho, amne amari jameen aapo" (Keep the cow’s tail, give us back our land), highlighted a deeper demand for land rights and an end to caste-based oppression. The family's ongoing fight underscores the persistent challenges Dalits face in India.

Keeping the pony is our way of saying we are equal.

— Vashrambhai SarvaiyaExplaining the significance of adopting a pony as a symbol of equality and self-respect.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hindustan Times. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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