ON JULY 11, 2016, a mob of upper-caste men at Una town in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district attacked seven members of a dalit family who were skinning a dead cow. They were stripped of their clothes, tied to the back of a car, and beaten with sticks and iron pipes. Videos of the violence went viral.
The incident changed Jignesh Mevani’s life. Until then, he had been just another dalit activist fighting for the uplift of his community. Born in a lower middle class family in Mehsana district, he was a graduate in English literature and law, and had worked briefly as a journalist and lawyer. The Una incident so moved him that Mevani mobilised a mass movement and led a 400km padyatra to Una. He also set up the rights platform Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, becoming the face of the dalit struggle for land in Gujarat.
Mevani, 41, now represents the Vadgam constituency in the Gujarat assembly. A vociferous critic of the BJP, he was recently arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy by the Assam Police for a tweet criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mevani said in the tweet: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who considers Godse as his god, is going on a tour of Gujarat from April 20. I appeal to him that he should appeal for calm in Himmatnagar, Khambat and Veraval, where communal violence broke out. Can we at least hope for this much from the maker of the grand temple?”
Mevani was charged with trying to “incite hatred” and “destroy the social fabric”. But a district court in Assam said the arrest was unlawful and granted him bail.
He was re-arrested after a lady police officer alleged that Mevani had harassed and threatened her while being in custody in Assam, but the court again granted him bail.
Days later, a magisterial court in Mehsana convicted Mevani and nine others, and sentenced them to three months in prison, for holding a rally in 2017 without requisite permission. The court also granted a stay on the order to allow him to move a higher court.
Mevani clearly has his hands full as he prepares for the assembly elections in Gujarat, due later this year. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Mevani talked about his political and legal challenges, his plans to join the Congress, his future in politics, and the continuing fight against the RSS.
Excerpts:
Q/ Did you expect that the tweet will get you arrested?
A/ Obviously not. It does not contain anything for which an FIR can be attracted. It should rather be appreciated that I appealed to the prime minister to make an appeal to the people of Gujarat to maintain peace and harmony.
Q/ How did you feel when you were arrested?
A/ I felt that [this was] fascism. These people (the BJP and the RSS) can go to any length. Groups that are ideologically affiliated to the BJP and the RSS have killed Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh. They have put Sudha Bharadwaj, Hardik Patel and Akhil Gogoi behind bars. They have arrested journalists, activists and politicians. We are living in an era of fascist people. Anything can happen. So when the police came and arrested me, I was not surprised.
Q/ Why do you think you were arrested? It is not obviously because of the tweet.
A/ I was arrested because they wanted to teach me a lesson. They want to persecute me because I have been solidly against the BJP and the RSS, not just in Gujarat but across India. They know I am a threat to them in the long run. There is also the fact that elections are due in Gujarat. Above all, they have become arrogant; they think that they can get away with anything.
Q/ You were also convicted for holding a rally without permission.
A/ I would probably be the only MLA in India convicted for holding a rally without permission. Such rallies happen on a daily basis, but since this is Jignesh Mevani, they are taking it seriously. The way they have been conspiring against me, the RSS may have a plan to kill me. They may physically eliminate me.
Q/ Have you informed the police of this?
A/ No, because [the RSS] can do this to anyone. Justice B.H. Loya can be killed; Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya can be killed; there are serious doubts about the death of Pramod Mahajan and many others; and we already have cases related to the deaths of Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh. What happened to them can happen to me as well.
Q/ Why do you feel it can happen to you?
A/ I feel so because that is what the RSS is—extremely fascist in nature. It is obvious that I am a much bigger threat than Dabholkar, Kalburgi, Pansare and Gauri Lankesh.
Q/ The way you have been hounded, do you feel that it would improve your stature in politics?
A/ It has definitely helped me politically. People in Gujarat really came out in my support. There was a lot of love and affection, and genuine anger against the BJP.
Q/ How are you going to capitalise on the trust that people have in you?
A/ I have gained their trust by working day and night for them. And if I keep doing it—and I will—their faith in me will certainly grow. I will tell the people of Gujarat, particularly dalits and the people in my constituency, the story of what happened to me and how they (the BJP) targeted me. They are completely exposed by the judiciary in Assam. It was almost established by the court that there was a conspiracy to implicate me in criminal cases.
[That the police came] all the way to Gujarat, covering 2,500km, shows how desperate they are. And what their priority is. Insurgency and drug peddlers are not the priority of the Assam Police. They travel 2,500km to arrest an MLA on the basis of a tweet, and it speaks volumes about what they have become.
Q/ How will the trial affect your campaign?
A/ I will have to go [to Assam]. It will affect my campaign, and the Congress. And that is what the plan is. But what can one do? One has to face it.
Q/ What will be your role in the Congress in the run-up to the elections?
A/ I will be one of their leading campaigners—one of the star speakers. I will try to shape the campaign and the party’s manifesto.
Q/ Within the Congress in Gujarat, there is a divide between the elder and younger generations. How do you plan to bridge this gap?
A/ I am a lucky chap in that sense. I am loved by the old guard as well as the younger lot. I will try and bridge the gap by bringing in more people like me, and giving them the space to fight.
Q/ Your friend and party colleague Hardik Patel has been having some issues with the state leadership. Have you spoken to him?
A/ I have not spoken to him at length. Everybody knows he is angry. But it will be taken care of. Hardik will remain with the Congress.
Q/ Where do you see yourself five years from now?
A/ I think I will be able to grow in Gujarat and nationally. This is because my base is increasing both ways. My acceptance is steadily growing nationally, and I have been able to consolidate in Gujarat as well. Hopefully, there will be more cases, more persecutions and more harassment, giving me more sympathy, more limelight and more attention (laughs).
Q/ What are your five major achievements in Vadgam constituency?
A/ We could generate the highest number of jobs in north Gujarat as part of the National Employment Guarantee Scheme. My constituency is number one [in that regard]. We have been able to generate jobs for 12,000 people through the scheme, and this includes not just Vadgam but Banaskantha as well. During my tenure, 500 people got housing plots. The people of Vadgam had been demanding that the Narmada canal network be extended to the Mukteshwar dam, which we could achieve.
We could set up Gujarat’s biggest oxygen plant in my constituency; it is in a primary health centre at Chhapi, with a refilling capacity of more than 700 jumbo cylinders. I have become the voice of lakhs of dalits in Gujarat and India. We—the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikaar Manch—could ensure the transfer of 2,500 acres to landless dalits. No other dalit leader in the state has been able to do so in two decades.
Q/ How will you ensure your victory in Vadgam this time? You will have to be away because of the cases against you. The BJP is all out to get this seat, and the Aam Aadmi Party is also in the fray.
A/ Since the BJP is so desperate, the people of Vadgam will also go all out against the BJP. Last time, I contested as an independent. Now, I will have a party symbol. As for the AAP, [the impact] won’t be big.
Q/ What do you do when you take time out from politics?
A/ I like poetry. Poetry in any language—Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, English. Mareez in Gujarati, and Ghalib, Gulzar, Shahryar, Kaif Bhopali, Kaifi Azmi and Javed Akhtar. I love poetry, theatre and cinema. I love Chaplin and Van Gogh. I love to be with friends, idling away hours and having chai ki tapri.
Q/ What are your favourite dishes?
A/ Dal is something that I love, but [the dish] should not be sweet. I also like fish, chicken and green vegetables.
Q/ You are an eligible bachelor. When are you getting married?
A/ The Assam judiciary has let me be a free bird; I would request you to let me remain a free bird (laughs).