Gujarat tribal youth launch 131 Km padayatra over unemployment, caste discrimination
AHMEDABAD: Frustrated by three years of unresolved grievances, members of the tribal community from Banaskantha have launched a 131-kilometre padayatra from Palanpur to Gandhinagar. The protesters allege persistent caste discrimination, arbitrary rejection of caste verification certificates, and deliberate delays that have pushed educated tribal youth into prolonged unemployment. Congress workers, including Danta Congress MLA Kanti Kharadi, joined the walk. This is not a protest born overnight, Kharadi said while walking alongside protesters. For years, representations were made at the district level. Files moved, meetings happened, assurances were given but nothing changed. Because of the rejection of caste verification certificates, educated youth are sitting at home without jobs. When there is no solution locally, we are left with no option but to walk to Gandhinagar. At the heart of the agitation lies the caste verification process, which protesters say has turned into an institutional roadblock rather than a safeguard. Tribal leader Ishwarbhai Damor traced the crisis back three to four years, saying the community exhausted every constitutional channel before hitting the streets. We submitted written applications to Mamlatdars, Collectors, Ministers, the Chief Minister, even the Governor, Damor said. Our only demand was to remove the hurdles in caste certificate verification. Till today, there is no permanent or humane solution. Damor alleged that the consequences have been devastating. Youth who studied for years, cleared government exams through hard work, had their appointment orders withheld only because their caste certificates were kept pending or cancelled. Careers were paused, futures were frozen, he said. Taking the charge further, Damor accused verification committees of deliberately sabotaging candidates. Certificates are cancelled over minor grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, or technicalities. This is not scrutiny; this is obstruction. It feels like the administration is actively trying to prevent tribal youth from entering government service, he said, calling the practice condemnable and inhuman. According to Damor, repeated applications, follow-ups, and appeals yielded nothing, forcing leaders and youth from across the region to unite under one banner. That helplessness is why this walk has begun today, he said. It is not politics it is survival. Another tribal leader, Shankarbhai, put the issue in stark terms, questioning the very identity recognition of the community. For the last two years, we have been knocking on the governments doors, he said. There has been no solution. Our boys and girls remain jobless. If the government doubts whether we are tribal, then test our DNA but stop destroying our childrens future. The protesters have made their next step clear: if assurances replace action once again, the streets outside the power centre will turn into a protest site.
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