Una Dalit victims to convert to Buddhism

“The accused are roaming free... and the case drags on,” says a victim who was beaten up by so-called cow vigilantes for skinning a dead cattle last year.

A Dalit family, which was beaten up allegedly by ‘cow vigilantes’ in Una tehsil in Gujarat, have decided to embrace Buddhism.

In July last year, seven Dalits of Mota Samadhiyala village were paraded and flogged for skinning a dead cow, an incident that caused nation-wide outrage after its video went viral.

Later, four of these Dalit youths were taken to Una town, where they were tied up with a vehicle and thrashed allegedly by the cow vigilantes.

A member of the Dalit family has alleged that the State government did not fulfil its promise to give jobs and a piece of land to the victims.

“We have decided to convert to Buddhism as we have faced a lot of discrimination due to our traditional profession for skinning dead animals,” Vashram Sarvaiya said, the eldest of three brothers who were beaten on July 11, 2016.

“We are yet to finalise the date, but we have asked the community members to come together and convert to Buddhism in large numbers,” he told PTI.

Sarvaiya alleged that the government did not constitute a special court to try the case of assault — as was promised by the then Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. The police had arrested 20 people in the matter.

“The accused are roaming free after they were released on bail, and the case drags on. We haven’t been given anything as promised by the State government.

“All we have got was ₹3 lakh that is given to Dalit victims in atrocity cases, but most of the money was spent on litigation and medicines as our father Ashok Sarvaiya continues to suffer due to the thrashing and needs to be taken to a Ahmedabad hospital for treatment,” he said.

With most of the accused out on bail, the family members are scared of stepping out of their home, Sarvaiya said.