Click to play videoJaipur: The agitated members of Rajasthan’s Meena community gathered in huge numbers in Saipur Mahua district on Sunday. Close to 50,000 men armed with weapons at the Mahapanchayat protested the Gurjar demand for an ST status in the state.
They warned more bloodshed and protests if the Gurjars don’t back off their demand of getting inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe list.
“We'll not let anyone interfere into our reservations. We are ready to sacrifice our lives but we will not let our quota slip out of our hands. We will take our campaign to Delhi and more violence and bloodshed could be used to straighten things out,” said one Meena leader.
Meena community says the ST status is their constitutional right and no one can take it away from them—not even the Gurjars. So far the state administration has failed miserably in controlling the violent agitations.
Even as truck-loads of members of the Meena community with lathis and swords pass through roads, the police, the rapid action force and even the military remain mute spectators. The parallel agitation called by the Meenas is proving tough to handle, but the police believes otherwise.
“Situation is absolutely under control. We are in touch with agitators and they are cooperating. Things will turn peaceful very soon,” BR Gwala, IG, Jaipur range told CNN-IBN.
The focus right now is to make sure the two communities don’t face off. Meenas compromise 15 per cent of the population of Rajasthan, and have dominated the ST list in the state. And to continue enjoying the privileges, they oppose any move to include the Gurjars in the same list. With both sides believing that the battle for reservation is a battle for survival itself, peace so far remains distant.
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