‘Skeletons Exhumed’ in Gujarat: Dalit Community in Surendranagar’s Parnala Seeks Action Against Mining Mafia for Cemetery Desecration

Surendranagar/Gujarat- In the quiet village of Parnala, located in Surendranagar’s Limbdi taluka, the Dalit community is reeling from an unimaginable violation that has shattered their sense of peace and dignity. Families who laid their loved ones to rest in the community’s sacred cremation ground now stand heartbroken, as the mining mafia, driven by greed, has desecrated their burial site.

With ruthless disregard, these powerful elements dug up the earth, unearthing and discarding human skeletons in their reckless pursuit of illegal soil excavation. The pain of seeing their ancestors’ remains treated with such cruelty has left the community in deep sorrow, their grief compounded by the indifference of local authorities. Led by Lilaben Makwana, the Dalits of Parnala have submitted a memorandum to the Surendranagar Collectorate, addressing the Chief Minister, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, the District Collector, and the Superintendent of Police. They demand justice, protection, and the restoration of their sacred space, warning that the district administration will be held accountable for any further harm if swift action is not taken.

The memorandum details how dominant individuals, backed by the mining mafia, forcibly dumped soil on the cremation ground and conducted illegal excavations, fully aware that it was a sacred Dalit burial site. The deliberate desecration, which involved unearthing and discarding human remains, has been perceived as a calculated attempt to humiliate and intimidate the community while sowing communal discord.

The perpetrators have shown no respect for the village sarpanch’s authority, blocking all access to the cremation ground and rendering it unusable for the Dalits. Despite repeated oral and written complaints to local police and administrative officials, the community’s pleas have been met with silence, deepening their sense of abandonment and marginalization by a system that should protect their rights.

The Dalit community has accused the mining mafia of exploiting their vulnerability to assert dominance, perpetuating a cycle of caste-based oppression. They have demanded that a case be registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, with immediate arrests of the culprits. They have also called for the seizure of vehicles used in the illegal mining and the imposition of heavy fines to deter future violations. Recognizing the threat to their safety, the community has urged the administration to deploy police protection in their neighborhoods to shield them from further aggression by these powerful forces.

The community has further demanded that the gram panchayat take action under the Land Grabbing Act to free the cremation ground from the mafia’s control, restoring their right to access their sacred space. They have called for an investigation into the criminal history of the mining mafia, insisting that habitual offenders be expelled from the district to prevent further atrocities against vulnerable communities. The Dalits have also proposed the formation of a joint team, comprising the Deputy Collector, Mamlatdar, and Deputy Superintendent of Police, to visit the site and submit a factual report to the state government, highlighting the violation of their human rights.

To restore the sanctity of their cremation ground, the Dalit community has outlined several demands for its development. They have called for a paved road to ensure access, a boundary wall, a gate, benches for seating, tree plantation, and a room for storing equipment, all funded through grants from the gram panchayat, taluka panchayat, and district panchayat. They have also urged the District Development Officer to approve special grants for these initiatives, emphasizing the need to prioritize community-led efforts to reclaim their sacred space.

As per a report in local media outlet Khabarantar, social activist Kirit Rathod from the Navsarjan Trust visited Parnala village and submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Surendranagar Collector, the Superintendent of Police, and other officials, amplifying the community’s cry for justice. He described the incident as a deliberate act of caste-based violence, enabled by the complicity of local authorities. The memorandum highlights the broader issue of unchecked illegal mining in Surendranagar district, where the mafia operates with impunity, often targeting marginalized communities like the Dalits under the alleged protection of local police and administration.