Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Gurjar agitation came to an end with a promise from the Raje government that their demand of inclusion into the scheduled tribe quota will be fulfilled in three-months. But the families who lost their men in the six-day-long agitation say they perhaps paid too huge a price for the cause.
In Rajasthan’s Peepal Khera village, families are counting the number of youth killed in police firing. The cops on day one of the protests killed 22-year-old Rambir Singh who was just one of the thousands of educated Gurjar youth who took to streets their demand for a scheduled tribe status.
“Their demands have been met, but at what cost? My innocent son was killed in the protest. Was it worth fighting for?” asks Havaldar Ratan Singh, victim’s uncle.
Like Rambir, many others who lost their sons in the rowdy agitation feel their lives have been lost in vain. “We have been treated unjustly. We want reservations right away, not a mere promise,” says Vachan singh Rambir's cousin.
The Pipal Khera village near Dausa district of Rajasthan was the epicenter of the Gurjar agitation. The blocked Jaipur-Agra highway that saw violent outbursts and bloodshed on Monday has returned to normalcy. But for the mourning village, life will never be the same ever again.
While Gurjars wait for another three months to get the ST reservations, families who lost their loved ones question was it worth fighting for at all.
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