Dalit Writer Amrutlal Makwana Returns Award After Una Incident

Ahmedabad: As a mark of protest against the thrashing of Dalit youths at Una, Dalit writer Amrutlal Makwana on Wednesday returned an award given by the Gujarat government.

The 44-year-old writer had received the Dasi Jeevan Shreshth Dalit Sahitya Kruti Award for 2012-13 for his work "Kharapat Nu Dalit Lok Sahitya".

Mr Makwana returned the award, including Rs 25,000 cash, at Ahmedabad District Collector's office.

"I have also given a short letter to the authorities saying that I am returning this award out of grief and pain due to the treatment meted out to Dalit youths in Una," he said.

The letter is addressed to Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

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Mr Makwana, a resident of Wadhwan town of Surendranagar district, further said, "Such incidents are occurring in Gujarat on a regular basis but the government is not doing enough to ensure that Dalits get justice.

"What happened at Mota Samadhiyala village of Gir-Somnath district was ghastly and barbaric. Such atrocities on Dalits are condemnable and it shook me to the core. Sadly, such incidents are happening around us regularly," he said.

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 On July 11, some Dalit youths from Mota Samadhiyala who were skinning a dead cow were flogged by cow vigilantes, alleging that they had killed the cow.

 After a video of the incident went viral, it sparked off violent protests across Gujarat.

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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)