Dalit youths thrashed for sporting 'Darbar' mustache

Three Dalit youths in Gujarat were beaten up by upper caste men for sporting ‘Durbar’ mustaches, prompting a section of the community to declare that they would topple the BJP.

“We will die the death of a dog but will not vote for BJP in our life,” pledged over 1000 Dalit community members along with their leader Jignesh Mevani after a meeting at Sui village in Banaskantha district.

They also pledged to launch a campaign against what they called the “Hindutva, anti-dalit and anti-Constitution BJP”.

A 24-year-old Dalit youth, Piyush Natvar Parmar, and his cousin Digant were beaten at Limbodra village, close to state capital Gandhinagar, for sporting a moustache like the upper caste darbars.

The FIR filed with police said Piyush and his cousin were returning home after a Garba event on a motorcycle.

Three men — Mayur Ajitsinh Vaghela, Rahul Vikramsinh Serathia and Ajitsinh Popatsinh Vaghela — stopped them as they passed by the upper caste section of the village.

The men hurled casteist abuse at Parmar and his cousin. “As it was dark, we were unable to see (who abused us),” Parmar said in the FIR.

“When we went closer, we saw that it was three darbars. To avoid any trouble, we got home and watched garba. The three men came there and hurled abuses at us for sporting mustache.

“They beat up Digant and then me when I tried to stop them.” Gandhinagar district police has registered an FIR under Atrocities Act and IPC Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with an intent to provoke and breach of peace) and 114 (abetment).

In a similar incident, 30-year-old law student Krunal Maheria, another resident of Limbodra, was reportedly beaten up by an upper caste man four days after the first incident. “The man told me I cannot become a Rajput by sporting a moustache,” he stated.