WHY DID THE violence by Gujjars start in Rajasthan? Who was responsible for the recent spread of violence? What steps should the government take to check the further spread of violence at all India level in the future involving other communities, e.g. Brahmins, who may demand, to get social justice?

 

Isn’t the government, mainly central, largely responsible for such irrational demands raised by communities to get the benefits of reservation policy? Today it is Gujjars in Rajasthan, tomorrow it may be Brahmins and Kshatriyas at all India level, the Bhasmasur (monster) is going to destroy its own creator.

 

The recent violence over the ‘reservation issue’ had engulfed more than 25 districts of Rajasthan out of its total 32 districts and spread to the neighbouring states including national capital, Delhi. The violence caused a huge loss of lives and public property and paralyzed the normal life in the state. More important, the violence exposed one dangerous aspect of the reservation policy: of one community’s aspiration against another’s apprehension.

 

 

Nothing concrete is available about the origin of Gujjars. Probably they appeared in northern India about the time of the Huna invasions. Scholars such as V.A. Smith believed that the Gujjars were foreign immigrants. Bhandarkar, another historian, believes that Gurjars came into India with the Hunas. Cunningham identified the Gujjars with Yuezhi or Tocharians. The Imperial Gazetteer of India states that throughout the Indian rebellion of 1857, the Gujjars and Musalman Rajputs proved the most irreconcilable enemies of the British.

 

Gujjars are mainly concentrated in North India, largely in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi etc and it is largely a heterogeneous community. The Gujjars are classified as a Scheduled Tribe in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and as Other Backward Classes in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In 1991, the Gujjars in Jammu and Kashmir were given ST status during Chandrashekhar Government.

 

The agitation by the Gujjar community took place because of the promise made by Bharatiya Janata Party during 2003 assembly election campaign of providing ST status to Gujjar community. Another factor, which is responsible for the violence is the Vajpayee government’s decision to reclassify Jats as Other Backward Classes earlier on. Prior to that the Gujjars formed the chunk of the OBC category in Rajasthan. With Jats coming into the picture their share of the pie reduced considerably and they started demanding an inclusion in the ST list which was opposed by the dominant Meenas.

 

Successive governments, in the name of providing social justice, have encouraging competitive cast politics. Politicians should take note of the situation while campaigning for future elections to woo voters on the basis of reckless use of caste card and false promises.If the politicians betray the electorates, how they expect the voters to trust and accept them as a policy maker of the nation?

 

It may be mentioned that the death toll in a-week-long agitation claimed 26 lives and led to inter community clash between Gujjaras and Meenas. During the agitation Gujjaras blocked NH-11 and spread the agitation to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The normal life in the national capital was paralyzed on June 4. Buses were torched, trains were stopped and commuters were left stranded for hours. According to FICCI, Delhi alone had to suffer the damages of more than Rs 20 crore.

 

The Supreme Court described the violence in Rajasthan to press the demand for inclusion of Gujjars as ST and the subsequent incidents as ‘national shame.’ Taking suo moto cognizance of large-scale destruction of property, the bench said, “It is a national shame that hordes of people are indulging in destruction of property.” It recalled the judgment upholding a Kerala High Court order and said that the damages should be recovered from those who were involved in the destruction. The order of the honourable courts should be implemented wholeheartedly so that in future the national property could be saved.

 

The violent agitation, spread outside Rajasthan and was on the verge of taking a shape of caste war. In fact in the violence between Meenas and Gujjaras, four people were killed. The Meena community, numerically stronger, threatened to go further. They had apprehension that if the Gujjaras would be given ST status, the fruits of reservation policy would be shared between them and their dominance in civil and political sphere would decrease. Meenas in Rajasthan have considerable clout in political and administrative sphere. The Gujjaras of Jammu and Kashmir supported their brethrens in Rajasthan. J&K Gujjar United Front leader Chowdhry Shah Mohammad said, “In their hour of need, we are fully with them in their struggle and would join them if their demand would not be accepted. On every parameter the Gujjars deserve ST status.”

 

The weeklong violence in Rajasthan destroyed its image nationally and internationally. Among the tourists visiting India, more than 60per cent visit Delhi-Jaipur-Agra tourism triangle. Due to blockade of the NH-11 tourists faced much problem and total tourism sector became victim to the violence.

 

Do the Gujjaras really deserve ST status? For a moment, even if we agree with their demand, then what about the far more socially deprived communities like Sansis, Raikas and Kalbelias? These communities are numerically much lesser than the Gujjars and Meenas. Then what would be the criteria for their inclusion into the state of backwardness? Considering the Rajasthan situation, if Gujjaras are included in the ST category, why not let the underprivileged among Brahmins and Kshatriyas enjoy the fruit of reservation?

 

The agitation in Rajasthan exposed the negative consequences of the reservation policy. Kuldip Nayar, after the victory of Mayawati in the UP, wrote an article in the Asian Age – ‘Caste stalls communalism’. The article began with a statement that what he said years ago in Rajya Sabha that caste was bound to stall the spread of communalism one day. He did not know that this would happen in Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections. The violence of Rajasthan gives strong support to Nayar’s statement that casteism is more powerful and hence dangerous than communalism.