27, Jul 2015

Three years after a 27year-old dalit man was burnt alive in Gir-Somnath district, the state government has officially accepted it would be unsafe for his family to return to their native Ankolali village where he was killed.
The government has declared the family of the deceased Lalji Sarvaiya `hijarati’ or compelled migrants.This means while the family can’t return to their native village, they will be given compensation in the form of house and land and the government will be responsible to rehabilitate them.
Sources said that there are about 50 dalit families in four villages of Saurashtra, Kutch and north Gujarat who have been declared `hijaratis’ in the last five years.