Jignesh Mevani is an Indian politician from Gujarat. He is a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from Vadgam constituency. He has worked as a social worker and lawyer. In 2016, he advocated for the interests of Dalits, considered ‘low caste’ in the Indian caste classification, in Gujarat.
Mevani was born on 11 December 1982 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. His family is native to Miu, a village in Faizabad district. He did his schooling from Swastik Vidyalaya and Vishwavidyalaya Secondary School, Ahmedabad. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from HK Arts College, Ahmedabad in 2003. In 2004, he did Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication. Worked as a reporter for Abhiyan, a Gujarati magazine, from 2004 to 2007. In 2013 he D.T. Graduated in Law from Law College, Ahmedabad.
Jignesh studied mass communication and law. He has also been a journalist. He has also worked in a newspaper in Mumbai. Jignesh, a lawyer by profession, has special interest in literature. He lives in Meghani Nagar, a Dalit dominated area of Ahmedabad. He has the energy to fulfill the needs of the Dalit society. Mevani speaks English, Hindi and Gujarati fluently. He has also participated in the JNU student struggle in Delhi. Jignesh also joined human rights activist Mukul Sinha’s “Jan Sangharsh Manch”. During this time he fought for the riot victims and the labor union. Later became the spokesperson of Aam Aadmi Party.
Mevani came into limelight when Dalits were beaten in the name of cow protection in Una. Mevani led the movement against that violence. Born in Mehsana district, Jignesh had led the ‘Azadi March Movement’. In which he administered an oath to about 20 thousand Dalits together not to pick up dead animals and not to collect garbage. Mevani had said that Dalits will now talk to the government for other work for themselves. Apart from this, he has also taken out ‘Dalit Asmita Yatra’. Unlike other young leaders, Mevani does not have a big car to drive around. But they have hard work, dedication and energy. An energy that can bring equality and justice in the Dalit society.
Following the attack on Dalit people in Una village in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region, protests broke out across Gujarat, claimed by members of a cow protection group. Jignesh Mevani led the Dalit Asmita Yatra from Ahmedabad to Una, which ended on 15 August 2016 and was attended by about 20,000 Dalits, including Dalit women, who promised to leave their traditional jobs of cleaning white dead bodies. He demanded land for the upliftment of Dalits.
In the year 2017, Mevani decided to contest from Vadgam seat in Gujarat Assembly elections. He announced his support to the Indian National Congress party. On 18 December 2017, he won the Gujarat Assembly election from Vadgam constituency.
Controversy In 2017, during his campaign in the Gujarat Assembly elections, a video surfaced in which he allegedly raised religious slogans and when he asked the crowd present to chant “Allah Hu Akbar”, the crowd responded, ” Modi, Modi”. On 20 December 2017, he made a controversial statement in which he suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should retire from politics and “move to the Himalayas.”
