Brahmin Woman Seeks 'No Religion No Caste' Certificate, Says She Faced "Many Troubles"

A woman from the Brahmin caste sought a 'no religion, no caste certificate' from the Gujarat High Court. The 36-year-old Kajal Govindbhai Manjula is from Surat city in Gujarat. She has asked the high court to issue this certificate. This petition by her was filed on Wednesday this week. It was submitted through her advocate Dharmesh Gurjar.

The petition for the certificate is in line with a similar plea filed by another woman named Sneha Prathibaraja. She had filed it in the Madras High Court and had sought the removal of her religious identity and pleaded to get a "no caste, no religion" certificate.

The reason why Manjula has submitted the petition is that she and her family have suffered a lot from society and her family due to the discriminatory caste system. This stress is forcing her to remove the mention of caste and religion from her identity, legally too, in future.

Suggested Reading: Tamil Nadu: Harassed For College Fees, Dalit Student Dies By Suicide

No Religion No Caste Certificate: Brahmin Woman Approached Gujarat HC

Reportedly, her petition stated, "Petitioner has to face so many troubles in her life due to discriminatory caste system in our country and society and therefore, present petitioner, many times badly treated due to such caste system in the country. However, it is pertinent to note that the present petitioner originally belongs to the Rajgor Brahmin community and despite this, she has to suffer a lot due to such a discretionary caste system in our society."

She also mentioned that she has applied to the Gujarat Government Gazette and opted for the removal of her last name Shilu. She has also asked for a certificate pertaining to this change in the gazette, which was published in August 2021.

Along with the gazette, she wants the last name to be removed from her legal identity proof documents as well. She has done masters in science and has worked in the Information Technology (IT) sector in Ahmedabad.

Although, there is a history of dispute between her family and her. Her family resides in Junagadh, Gujarat. Following this dispute, she had put up a shelter home for the urban homeless in Surat. This act was to mark her protest against her family.

(Feature Image Credit: The Indian Express)