Click to play videoLalsot, Rajasthan: It was on the hills of Lalsot that the Meenas and Gurjars clashed with each other. The clash left four Gurjars dead. And what was till then a conflict between the State government and the Gurjars acquired the tones of a caste war.
It started with a few hundred Gurjars who had blocked a road in Lalsot for three days. The same, which about 25,000 Meenas, heading for a Meena Mahapanchayat, wanted to use. But the local administration and police did nothing as tension mounted and soon a cast war was raging. Even the Army, just 25 kilometers away in Dausa was not called in.
"The administration could have easily prevented this if they wanted to,” says advocate Nathu Lal Meena.
The violence lasted for four hours, claiming four lives. Ram Charan, a Gurjar, was one of those killed. And left behind are his wife, Sushila, and his nine-month-old son.
"My son had been hacked to death. Today is just the fourth day,” says Ram Charan’s mother, Rampati Devi.
Meanwhile, in Ram Charan's village there is grief and terror. Rumor is rife that the Meenas are coming. But the local administration is doing nothing to squash the rumors.
The Gurjars are also angry about the way their dead were treated. "They took the dead bodies of the Gurjars and lined them up and then sprinkled kerosene on them,” says Ram's brother, Kamlesh Charan.
Gurjars around Lalsot are aware that they are outnumbered and therefore cannot take on the Meenas. Even reconciliation doesn’t seem to be on the agenda.
“The Meenas killed us. How can we forgive them? How can we trust them?” says Ram Charan’s mother, Rampati Devi.
But the caste fires that raged across Rajasthan spared no one. The house of a Meena farmer was burnt down and he lost 150 quintals of groundnuts.
He has been running from pillar to post just trying to get his complaint registered and salvage whatever he can from the government.
"My house was burnt down in the presence of the police and administration. They did not do anything,” says the farmer.
While some of the Meenas, on their way to the Meena Mahapanchayat that day, were witnesses, others were participants in the clash. But now allegations of murder are quickly brushed away. And the cause of the deaths, they say, is different.
“People died because they fell from the hills. They were hit by stone. There were no deaths on the main road,” says Nathu Lal Meena.
The Meenas around Lalsot are assertive and they say will not allow the Gurjars to share the benefits of Reservation.
"We have been cultivating a field for the past fifty years. Why does the government want to take away a part of it and give it to the Gurjars? We have been used to something for the past fifty years. We cannot allow that to be taken away,” says Nathu Lal.
The Meenas have already given a show of strength at Lalsot, and they are not prepared to back off.
"They have dared to threaten our leader. We will not hesitate to wipe out the whole community if any of our leaders are touched,” says Meena leader, Kaanji Lal Meena.
The reason why reservation is crucial to the Meenas because they have benefited most from the reservations. This year's civil service results show that out of 36 seats in the reserved category, Meenas from Rajasthan have taken 23.
"The Gurjars are OBCs, why do they want to migrate to a lower rank of STs?” says Kaanji Lal.
Twenty eight-year-old Shyam Lal Meena also took part in the Lalsot violence. He has had the benefits of reservation all his life beginning with scholarships from Class 6 that continued till he graduated. And now as he prepares for the Rajasthan Judicial Services, he is confident yet again.
"With the provision of reservations I am sure that I’ll make it. I will not share the quotas with anyone. We want exactly the same benefits for our kids also,” says Shyam Lal.
Meanwhile on the ground no one is ready to talk about the Lalsot violence. From tea stall owners to barbers and fruit vendors all say they saw and know nothing about the violence.
The Lalsot police station has finally registered an FIR, naming 10 people, including the cousin of local MLA V K Meena, who is also the state Finance Minister. But its too little and too late. Both, Gurjars and Meenas have their stories to tell, and so, memories of the Lalsot clashes will be hard to erase.
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