New Delhi: An exodus may be imminent in some Gujarat villages, where members of the Dalit community have alleged they are increasingly facing harassment, intimidation and violence at the hands of upper-caste communities and OBC communities.“It will happen, if not today, then very soon,” says Somabhai, a resident of Rupal village in Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district, alleging that the upper-caste communities do not wish to see their community prosper.On May 18, members of the Dalit community from villages in Sabarkantha district submitted a memorandum to the Resident Additional Collector at the district office in Himmatnagar demanding immediate intervention and protection from such atrocities.In it, Dalit villagers from Rupal village have alleged that despite repeated requests and appeals to the local administration, they continue to face harassment at several levels. They feel that the administration has failed to provide justice and a sense of security to the community, which now finds itself facing an effective social boycott within the village. Representatives of the community alleged that people are being mentally, physically and economically harassed, leaving them with no option but to consider leaving their native village. In the memorandum, the community clearly writes that if a lasting resolution is not reached within the next seven days, families from the Scheduled Caste community may be forced to migrate.Dalit leaders submit a memorandum to Krishna A. Vaghela, Resident Additional Collector, at the district office in Himmatnagar seeking protection from atrocities. Photo: Dhiraj LeuaThe allegations emerging from Rupal village are part of a wider and deeply entrenched pattern of caste violence and discrimination in Gujarat, a state often projected as a ‘model of economic development’, but where Dalit communities continue to report systemic exclusion, intimidation and violence. According to official data, thousands of cases of crimes against Scheduled Castes have been registered in Gujarat over the past decade, ranging from assault and social boycott to rape and murder. While the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data cited in the Gujarat assembly showed that more than 9,000 cases of crimes against Dalits were reported in the state between 2016 and 2022 alone, rights groups and Dalit activists argue that the actual number is likely much higher due to underreporting, pressure on victims to “settle” disputes locally, and fear of retaliation from dominant caste groups.Dhiraj Leua, a teacher and activist from Rupal village, believes that the police and administration have no will to protect them. “Does the government not have mechanisms to ensure our safety? Thakors (an upper-caste community) don’t let us build good homes, they don’t let us sport moustaches, they don’t let us ride motorcycles or cars. Why can’t we be allowed to live?” he asks, speaking to The Wire.Like Leua, others from his community have become accustomed to anti-Dalit slurs, caste based abuse which have become a daily affair. However, what made them write to the Resident Additional Collector, was a recent incident where members of the Thakor community tried to run a Dalit man over with a tractor. Bystanders filmed this, preventing the Thakors from crushing the Dalit man.“After that, we couldn’t take it anymore. We cannot die everyday just because they think we are lesser humans than them,” Leua says.He notes that in several instances when members of the Scheduled Caste community approach police stations to file FIRs against their oppressors, they are instead booked in counter cases themselves. “First we are harassed and when we go to claim our rights, we are slapped with cross FIRs with POCSO Act cases, attempt to murder, attempt to rape to break our spirit” he said.Caste violence in Gujarat has drawn national attention several times in the past, from the flogging of Dalit men by cow vigilantes in Una, 2016, to recurring reports of segregation in villages, denial of access to temples, separate utensils in schools and economic boycotts targeting Dalit families. However, according to data tabled in Rajya Sabha, the conviction rate in cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes between 2018 and 2021 was a mere 3.065 %, much lower than the national average. According to data reported in response to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, acts of discrimination in urban Gujarat are extremely high as well. Ahmedabad city reported 189 cases – the highest number in the state – of atrocities against SC people in 2022. The state recorded a total of 1,425 such cases. From 2018 to 2021, only 32 cases out of the 5,369 registered cases were proved against the accused. In at least 1,012 registered cases, the accused were acquitted, even when the charges were as serious as murder and rape.Researchers studying caste violence have also linked such attacks to assertions of social and economic mobility among Dalit communities, arguing that upward mobility often triggers backlash from dominant caste groups seeking to preserve traditional hierarchies. In many villages across Gujarat, activists say the threat of social ostracisation, denial of work, and violence continues to function as a mechanism to discipline Dalit assertion and maintain caste control.In nearby Prantij town, too, the Scheduled Caste community is mustering the courage to call out their oppressors. Gujarat MLA from Vadgam and Working President, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, Jignesh Mevani recently took to Instagram to highlight the issue, where he said that the Dalits in Prantij felt below pests and claimed to be treated in an extremely inhuman manner. Mevani, who is also convener of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, said that the police and administration just register cases for formality and then forget about the issue and this leaves Dalits in a very uncertain space. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani)Advocate Jayendra Jayantibhai Parmar looks at the resolve of Rupal village’s Dalit with sympathy. “We deal with inhuman behaviour every day and all acts and laws meant to protect us exist just on paper. We have no one at our disposal. At such a time, exodus will be our only choice left,” Parmar tells The Wire.Recalling a personal incident, Parmar recalled how he requested the police for protection during the wedding procession of his sister last month. “When I approached them with this well-experienced apprehension that those people might not let us peacefully marry off my sister, the Police asked me to not marry off my sister with pomp and show as it may irk them. This is what is happening. The PI began lecturing me about how the timing was not right, how the BJP was not in a good mood,” he says.As night falls over Rupal, many Dalit families say they no longer feel safe and accepted in the village they have called home for generations. For them, migration is no longer just an economic decision, but a desperate attempt to escape humiliation, fear and violence. Unless the administration intervenes meaningfully, residents warn that Rupal village may soon become another reminder of how caste oppression continues to push India’s most marginalised communities out of their homes.