Members of the Dalit and upper caste communities clashed in Dholka town of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad district on Tuesday night, over the use of a name, the Hindustan Times reported. Tension began when some men from the upper caste Darbar community attacked a Dalit youth’s house after he suffixed “Sinh” to his first name.
A few days ago, 22-year-old Maulik Jadav, a Dalit, had posted on Facebook that he had changed his surname from Maulik to “Mauliksinh”. This led to an abusive exchange on social media between members of the Darbar and Dalit communities.
“On my Facebook profile, I changed my name from “Maulik” to “Mauliksinh” thinking we are free to keep the name of our choice,” Jadav said. “Soon, some Darbar youths started threatening me over the phone as well as on Facebook, asking me to remove ‘Sinh’ from my name or face the consequences.”
“Today [Tuesday], when I was riding my bike, some five to six persons came in a car and stopped me,” Jadav said, according to The Indian Express. “They then slapped me and tried to beat me up over the same issue. I somehow managed to escape and went straight to Dholka police station to lodge a complaint. I know two of the attackers by their names.”
He claimed that a group of Darbar community members attacked his house and seriously injured one of his relatives while he was at the police station. Unidentified police officials said that the attack on Jadav’s house was followed by Dalit community members allegedly ransacking a Darbar man’s house.
The Dholka Police have registered several first information reports in the case. Ahmedabad Rural Superintendent of Police RV Asari said Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code which prohibits the assembly of more than four persons, had been imposed in the area.
“No one has been severely injured,” he added. “Both groups have registered counter complaints.” Asari said the situation in the area was now under control.
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