The Crossbill News Desk
Around 200 activists, academics and civil society members have called for legal action against vigilante groups accused of intimidating attendees and demanding the exclusion of non-Hindus from Navratri celebrations in Gujarat.
A petition drafted by the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM), Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (Anhad) and the Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has urged the state government and police to intervene against what it describes as unlawful interference in cultural events.
The petition follows an incident at a commercial garba event in Ahmedabad on October 14, where a stage announcement interrupted a performance by artist Aditya Gadhvi and asked non-Hindus to “leave voluntarily”.
The signatories said such actions amounted to discriminatory exclusion and raised serious concerns about constitutional protections and communal harmony.
Among those who have signed the appeal are human rights and peace activist Cedric Prakash, Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan, cinema scholar and former professor Ira Bhaskar, sociologist Ghanshyam Shah, PUCL Gujarat’s Sejal Dand, NAPM Gujarat’s Bhargav Oza, urban planning scholar Darshini Mahadevia and Tushar A. Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.
“The announcement openly referenced the presence and instructions of extraconstitutional vigilante groups, including members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), while circulating a hotline number to report ‘suspicious persons’,” says the statement.
The signatories argued that coercive identity checks and attempts to dictate who could attend public events violated the constitutional guarantees of equality, non-discrimination and the right to life and personal liberty under Articles 14, 15 and 21. They warned that the “pattern of intimidation” across Gujarat was eroding communal harmony and the rule of law.
The incident occurred during ‘Rang Morla featuring Aditya Gadhvi’, held at Savvana Party Plot on Shela Road in Ahmedabad. According to the petition, an announcement was broadcast from the stage by anchor and radio jockey Akash Trivedi, explicitly asking non-Hindus, particularly members of the Muslim community, to leave the venue.
Gadhvi subsequently issued a public clarification, stating that vigilante groups had forcibly taken control of the stage and made the discriminatory announcement. Trivedi, who was also present on stage, endorsed the clarification, according to the account cited in the petition.
Calling for intervention by the Gujarat government and the state’s director general of police, the signatories have demanded the registration of a first information report under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to promoting enmity, criminal intimidation and unlawful assembly. They have also sought firm action against groups that take the law into their own hands, along with accountability for event organisers to ensure the safety and constitutional rights of all ticket-holding attendees.
The petition stressed that Navratri celebrations have traditionally provided a shared cultural space for people across communities, and cautioned against the use of such events to foster religious division.
“Festivals in Gujarat, including Navratri, have historically served as spaces of collective cultural celebration, social harmony, and communal unity. The deliberate conversion of cultural gatherings into sites of hostility, exclusion and polarisation undermines the social fabric of our state,” it says, adding that these are “not new or isolated incidents, but have been happening consistently during Navratris for the past several years”.
The signatories further argued that failing to act against such incidents could embolden groups seeking to impose their own rules on public gatherings. They urged civil society organisations, legal groups, trade unions, youth organisations, cultural workers and concerned citizens to raise the matter before statutory oversight bodies.
“Silence in the face of growing intolerance enables further lawlessness,” the petition warns, appealing for wider public intervention to defend constitutional rights and prevent religious exclusion at cultural events.
Below is the full list of signatories:
A petition drafted by the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM), Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (Anhad) and the Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has urged the state government and police to intervene against what it describes as unlawful interference in cultural events.
The petition follows an incident at a commercial garba event in Ahmedabad on October 14, where a stage announcement interrupted a performance by artist Aditya Gadhvi and asked non-Hindus to “leave voluntarily”.
The signatories said such actions amounted to discriminatory exclusion and raised serious concerns about constitutional protections and communal harmony.
Among those who have signed the appeal are human rights and peace activist Cedric Prakash, Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan, cinema scholar and former professor Ira Bhaskar, sociologist Ghanshyam Shah, PUCL Gujarat’s Sejal Dand, NAPM Gujarat’s Bhargav Oza, urban planning scholar Darshini Mahadevia and Tushar A. Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.
“The announcement openly referenced the presence and instructions of extraconstitutional vigilante groups, including members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), while circulating a hotline number to report ‘suspicious persons’,” says the statement.
The signatories argued that coercive identity checks and attempts to dictate who could attend public events violated the constitutional guarantees of equality, non-discrimination and the right to life and personal liberty under Articles 14, 15 and 21. They warned that the “pattern of intimidation” across Gujarat was eroding communal harmony and the rule of law.
The incident occurred during ‘Rang Morla featuring Aditya Gadhvi’, held at Savvana Party Plot on Shela Road in Ahmedabad. According to the petition, an announcement was broadcast from the stage by anchor and radio jockey Akash Trivedi, explicitly asking non-Hindus, particularly members of the Muslim community, to leave the venue.
Gadhvi subsequently issued a public clarification, stating that vigilante groups had forcibly taken control of the stage and made the discriminatory announcement. Trivedi, who was also present on stage, endorsed the clarification, according to the account cited in the petition.
Calling for intervention by the Gujarat government and the state’s director general of police, the signatories have demanded the registration of a first information report under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to promoting enmity, criminal intimidation and unlawful assembly. They have also sought firm action against groups that take the law into their own hands, along with accountability for event organisers to ensure the safety and constitutional rights of all ticket-holding attendees.
The petition stressed that Navratri celebrations have traditionally provided a shared cultural space for people across communities, and cautioned against the use of such events to foster religious division.
“Festivals in Gujarat, including Navratri, have historically served as spaces of collective cultural celebration, social harmony, and communal unity. The deliberate conversion of cultural gatherings into sites of hostility, exclusion and polarisation undermines the social fabric of our state,” it says, adding that these are “not new or isolated incidents, but have been happening consistently during Navratris for the past several years”.
The signatories further argued that failing to act against such incidents could embolden groups seeking to impose their own rules on public gatherings. They urged civil society organisations, legal groups, trade unions, youth organisations, cultural workers and concerned citizens to raise the matter before statutory oversight bodies.
“Silence in the face of growing intolerance enables further lawlessness,” the petition warns, appealing for wider public intervention to defend constitutional rights and prevent religious exclusion at cultural events.
Below is the full list of signatories:
- Dev Desai, Anhad, Ahmedabad
- Bandish Soparkar, Advocate, Ahmedabad
- Savan Zalariya, Student and Youth Collective (SYCA), Ahmedabad
- Jayanti Panchal, Trade Unionist, Ahmedabad
- Akhil, Ahmedabad
- A Malhotra, Delhi
- Suchitra B, Teacher, Ahmedabad
- Rohit Chauhan, Okhamandal Paryavaran Jan Sangharsh Samiti, Junagadh
- Meenakshi Joshi, Movement for Secular Democracy, Ahmedabad
- Jagdish Patel, Vadodara
- Jitu, Ahmedabad
- Raghavan Rangarajan, PUCL Gujarat, Ahmedabad
- પીયષૂ કુમાર જ.ભટટ, નિવત્તૃ પ્રોફેસર, HNGU, GU, Ahmedabad
- Jayesh Lalka, Social Worker, Bhuj
- Dipal, Research Scholar, Ahmedabad
- Aarav Thakore, Student at Georg-August Universität Göttingen, Göttingen
- Apoorva, Ahmedabad
- Kalpana Pareek, Retired, Ahmedabad
- P.S., Independent Brand Consultant, Ahmedabad
- Zarna Adtani, Law Student, Vadodara
- Dev S Nill, Ahmedabad
- Sumeet Varghese, OD Consulting, Ahmedabad
- Manasa, Student, Ahmedabad
- Rajesh Naidu, Ahmedabad
- Cedric Prakash, Human Rights and Peace Activist, Writer & Trainer, Ahmedabad
- Shubh Tripathi, Ahmedabad University, Ahmedabad
- Sahil, Teacher, Ahmedabad
- Gurudatt Gaur, Ahmedabad
- Sejal Dand, PUCL Gujarat, Ahmedabad
- Satya Oza, Ahmedabad
- Maitreyi Purohit, Economist, Ahmedabad
- રીટા પરમાર, ઘોઘબં ા
- Darshini Mahadevia, Ahmedabad
- Betty Cyril, MSK, Ahmedabad
- Himat Chauhan, Social Worker, Anand
- Aziz Minat, Concerned Citizen in Individual Capacity, Ahmedabad
- Bhavik Raja, CPDRS, Ahmedabad
- Swati Desai, NAPM Gujarat, Vadodara
- Chitra Harshvardhan, Retired Professor, Goa – 403103
- Darshan Desai, Independent Journalist, Vadodara
- Harshita, Student, Ahmedabad
- Ronald Saldanha, Social, Ahmedabad
- Kamlesh Kataria, Independent Business, Ahmedabad
- Sweety Coutinho, NA, Gandhinagar
- Harsh Parmar, Student, SYCA, Ahmedabad
- Zakir Kazi, Social Worker, Ahmedabad City
- Ida Cordeiro, Educationist, Ahmedabad
- Shoaib Qureshi, Freelance Journalist, Ahmedabad
- Bhaavya, Photographer, Gandhinagar
- Anvita Brahmbhatt, Ahmedabad
- Udip Thakkar, Architecture, Ahmedabad
- Fardin Vhora, Student, Anand
- Nirav Chavada, NGO Worker, Khedbrahma
- Sanjay Bhave, Teaching, Ahmedabad
- Jatinder, Ahmedabad
- Mansi, Ahmedabad
- Nikita Chatterjee, Researcher, Ahmedabad
- Neha Shah, Individual, Ahmedabad
- Neha Shah, Individual, Ahmedabad
- Leonard Fernandes, MBA Student, Ahmedabad
- Harshit Agrawal, Ahmedabad
- Renu Desai, Researcher, Ahmedabad
- Hardik Kunbi, Rehabilitation Social Worker, Navsari
- Leonard Fernandes, Ahmedabad
- Renu Mittal, Apparel Designer, Ahmedabad
- Amin Makaranth, Social Worker, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
- Madhavi Desai, Architect, Ahmedabad
- Atul S, Student at the National Institute of Design, Gandhinagar
- Vedika Vaidya, Law Student, Ahmedabad
- Rijin A T, Social Worker, Bhuj
- Dipani, Ecologist, Ahmedabad
- Dhwani Shah, Artist, Ahmedabad
- Mansi, Bhuj
- Vishal, Student, Gandhidham
- Madhuri, Architect, Ahmedabad
- Roger Samuel, K&S Enterprises, Dwarka, New Delhi
- Dhruvik Patel, Builder, Rajkot
- Natasha Maru, Bhuj
- Laasya Nandula, Student, Ahmedabad
- Swati Goswami, Communication Consultant, Ahmedabad
- Mahesh Gajera, Ahmedabad
- Abhinandan Sinha, Ahmedabad
- Subhash Tapodhan, Freedome, Ahmedabad
- Divy Bhagia, Ahmedabad
- Ashutosh Anil Gudi, Student, Bangalore
- Mayur Chavda, NGO Namaste Animal Foundation (Volunteer) & Civil, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
- Muskan, Ahmedabad
- Vijay Gera, Psychologist, Ahmedabad
- Mary Ann Chacko, Ahmedabad University, Ahmedabad
- Surya Kumar Maurya, Ahmedabad
- Maulshree Gangwar, Ahmedabad
- Vijaykumar Sarsava, ધ ઓલ ગજુ રાત ઑટોરિક્ષા ડ્રાઈવર્સ યનુિયન, Ahmedabad
- Kiran, Tuition, Ahmedabad
- Chirag Trivedi, An Academic, Ahmedabad
- Riya, Ahmedabad
- Sunetra Deshpande, Social Researcher, Ahmedabad
- Nairuti Trivedi, Clinical Psychologist, Ahmedabad
- Roselle Solomon, YWCA of Goa, Goa
- Sujata Gothoskar, Researcher, Mumbai
- Aryan Qadri, Comedian, Ahmedabad
- Harsiddhi Chhaiya, Fashion Designer, Ahmedabad
- Martin Macwan, Navsarjan Trust, Ahmedabad
- Ramya, Homemaker, Ahmedabad
- Jayrambhai Rabari, Ahmedabad
- Sajani Sutaria Dua, Entrepreneur, Ahmedabad
- Murari Kumar Jha, Teacher, Ahmedabad
- Prasad Chacko, PUCL Gujarat, Ahmedabad
- A. D’Souza, Retired, Valsad
- Aseem Mishra, Social Worker, Bhuj
- Shibani, Social Worker, Mumbai
- Bhavna Ramrakhiani, ACF, Ahmedabad
- Malhar Edwankar, Freelance Filmmaker, Ahmedabad
- Sosa Koshy, Bangalore
- Sowmya Dechamma, CC, Hyderabad
- Ray Rudra, Student, Ahmedabad, Delhi
- Gova Rathod, Social Activist, Junagadh
- Nirzari Pandit, Teaching and Research, Ahmedabad
- Piyush, Business, Ahmedabad
- Ayesha, Ahmedabad
- Varsha Tripathi, Housewife, Ahmedabad
- Lishya, Teacher, Bangalore
- Jayant Solanki, Retired, Ahmedabad
- Navdeep Mathur, Academics, Ahmedabad
- Aniruddh Sheth, New Delhi
- Aishani, Ahmedabad
- Kesha Marvada, Researcher, Bangalore
- Rima Kashyap, Nil, Bengaluru
- Shrikant Amrutsagar, Dalai Lama Foundation, Nandurbar Maharashtra Gujarat Border District
- Jigar Thakor, Student, Patan
- Dr Aum Kotwal, Advocate, Ahmedabad
- Nihal Shirur, Student, Gandhinagar
- East Nizz, NGO, Bangalore
- Ashim Roy, Trade Unionist, Ahmedabad
- Nimmi Chauhan, Citizen, Ahmedabad
- Purvi Tank, Architect, Ahmedabad
- Tanish Ramchandani, Ahmedabad
- Apoorva, Ahmedabad
- Kaushal Kumbhani, Working Professional, Ahmedabad
- Riya Jain, Ahmedabad
- Piyush Chavda, Student, Ahmedabad
- Prarthna Nanda, Lawyer, Gurgaon
- Aftab Pathan, Ahmedabad
- Maherunnisa Desai, Retired Professor, Ahmedabad
- Rohan Kinger, Researcher, Ahmedabad
- Nirjhari Sinha, Jan Sangharsh Manch, Ahmedabad
- Ira Bhaskar, Professor (Retd.), Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
- Aranyani Bhargav, Indian Dancers for Gaza’s Children / Dancer, Bangalore
- Shreya Jain, SYCA, Ahmedabad
- Renu Pokharna, Writer, Ahmedabad
- Khayal, Manager, Ahmedabad
- Neeraj Naidu, Ahmedabad University, Ahmedabad
- Tushar A. Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi Foundation, Writer, Mumbai
- Shefali Jha, Teaching and Research, Ahmedabad
- Setu, Ahmedabad
- Mujahid Nafees, Ahmedabad
- Saloni Gajjar, Ahmedabad
- Niharika Rai, Ahmedabad
- Shabeeh Rahat, Teaching, Ahmedabad
- Astha, Business, Ahmedabad
- Bharti Parmar, AIMSS, Baroda
- Drashti Chauhan, Student, Ahmedabad
- Vickram Crishna, Mumbai
- Dhara Patel, Landscape Architect, Ahmedabad
- Kasturi Chatterjee, Ahmedabad
- Viram Rabari, Maldhari Maha Panchayat, Ahmedabad
- Rafi Malek, Ahmedabad
- Arunesh Maiyar, LGBTQ, Bengaluru
- Tapan Dasgupta, All India United Trade Union Centre, Vadodara
- Khatija Malik, Retired Government Servant, Ahmedabad
- Jayesh Jani, Retired, Vadodara
- Hitendra Bhatt, All India Insurance Employees Association (wZIEA), Gandhinagar
- Arun Agnihotri, Education, Bengaluru
- Het Naik, Teaching Associate, Ahmedabad
- Vijay Parmar, Educator, Ahmedabad
- Ashok Sharma, Retired Diplomat, Delhi
- Hemal Jadav, Journalist, Ahmedabad
- Ghanshyam Shah, Research, Ahmedabad
- Smita, Retired, Vadodara
- Nilesh Modi, Self-employed, Ahmedabad
- Divyatanu Dev, Architect, Ahmedabad
- Ishvar Bhai Desai, Business, Ahmedabad
- Advocate Hozefa Ujjaini, Ahmedabad
- Aparna, Writer, Ahmedabad
- Khyal, Artist/Educationist, Ahmedabad
- Mohit Ahuja, Educator, Ahmedabad
- Saakshi, Self-employed, Ahmedabad
- Dr. Sonali Pattnaik, Poet, Academician, Writer, Ahmedabad
- Parthivrajsinh Kathavadia, Self-employed, Ahmedabad
- Chidambana, Ahmedabad
- Dr Krushna Makwana, Physician, Ahmedabad
- Vandita, Ahmedabad
- Paramita Banerjee, Non-profit Professional, Kolkata
- Democratic Youth Front (DYF), Ahmedabad
- Trishant, Business, Vadodara
- Divyang Mokariya, Journalist, Delhi
- Aangi Patwa, Senior Consultant, Ahmedabad
- Anandvardhan Yagnik, Lawyer, Ahmedabad
- Rohit, Student, Ahmedabad
- Shantilal Parmar, Social Worker, Anand
- Krisha Mayavanshi, Vadodara
- Nandini Mitra, Lawyer, Kolkata
- Naimuddin Zahiruddin Shaikh, Business, Ahmedabad
- Sudhir Katiyar, Ahmedabad
- Siddharth Patel, Vadodara
- Oshin Thakkar, Vadodara
- Sreeja Matravadia, Student: BA Sociology, Ahmedabad
- Nandini, Delhi
- Anusree, Media Professional, Mumbai
- Akshat Banerjee, Teacher, Vadodara
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