Dalit woman abused, dragged out of Garba event in Gujarat
New Delhi: In yet another case of caste-based discrimination in India, a Dalit woman was abused, assaulted, and dragged out of a Garba event in Gujarat’s Mahisagar district.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the 25-year-old victim, Rinku Vankar, a fourth-year student of the Government Engineering College in Gandhinagar, was targeted when she joined the festivities with a friend in her village.
In her FIR lodged at Virpur police station, Vankar said that three women — Loma Patel, Roshni Patel and Vrushti Patel — first humiliated her for participating in the dance and hurled casteist slurs, declaring Dalits “not equal” and unfit to play Garba. Soon after, another woman, Meena Patel, joined them in physically assaulting her.
“They grabbed me by the hair, dragged me out and threatened me with dire consequences if I ever tried to return,” the Dalit student said in her statement, adding that other attendees restrained her from recording the incident on her phone.
The incident has sparked outrage, highlighting the continuing vulnerability of Dalits to caste-based humiliation and violence in Indian society.
Garba is a traditional dance as part of the annual Hindu festival of Navratri (or “Nine Nights”).
