AHMEDABAD: The toll-free number of National Helpline Against Atrocities (NHAA) 14566 has logged a staggering 15,303 complaints from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members over the past five years. Designed for grievance redressal and awareness on legal safeguards, the helpline has witnessed an alarming spike, with cases jumping from 3,755 in 2022 to 7,432 in 2023 nearly doubling in just a year, signalling a deeply troubling trend.The startling disclosure was made by the Centre in the Rajya Sabha when it was responding to a question by Congress MP Randeep Surjewala about the state-wise data on complaints received through the National Helpline Against Atrocities (NHAA).The Gujarat numbers stood out as both alarming and telling of a deepening crisis. Government records show that Gujarat registered 191 complaints in 2020, which then jumped nearly fourfold to 705 in 2021. This was followed by an explosive surge in 2022, with 3,755 complaints flooding the helpline, and the momentum only intensified in 2023 when cases doubled to a staggering 7,432. Although the tally dropped to 2,144 in 2024 and further to 1,076 in 2025 (till reporting date), the cumulative count over five years still touched a massive 15,303 underscoring the scale of grievances in the state.The Centre further informed that as of July 31, 2025, Gujarat’s NHAA complaints translated into 223 FIRs, with 221 cases resolved and only two still pending raising questions on both the efficiency and adequacy of follow-up action.Placing Gujarat’s data in the national perspective, the government disclosed that, across India, the NHAA had received a staggering 6,34,066 calls as of July 30, 2021. This broader backdrop makes Gujarat’s steep complaint trajectory all the more noteworthy, suggesting that while awareness and reporting may have improved, the persistence of atrocities and grievances continues to cast a long shadow over the state’s social justice framework.
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