And they say reservations don’t divide society

Gurjars on Warpath, 16 Killed

At least 16 people were killed and over a hundred injured when the police opened fire in two districts of Rajasthan on Tuesday to disperse violent mobs of Gurjars demanding their community’s inclusion in the list of scheduled tribes (ST). The army was deployed in Dausa, Bundi and some other places to restore order.

Nine people, including two policemen, were killed near Patoli in Dausa on the Jaipur-Agra national highway; seven deaths were reported from Bundi, about 250 km from Jaipur.

State home minister Gulab Chand Kataria said, “Six civilians and two policemen died in Dausa. The identity of one more person, whose body is not being released by the protesters, is not known. Six villagers and one policemen died in Bundi. There is no information about the four policemen who were abducted by the crowd.”  

In response to a call given by the Gurjar Sangharsh Samiti to block highways, thousands of Gurjars broke prohibitory orders in Jaipur, Dausa, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli and Bundi districts and clashed with the police. The Gurjars, currently part of the other backward classes, have been demanding their inclusion in the ST list for several years.

In Dausa, 70 km from Jaipur, several thousand Gurjars blocked the Jaipur-Agra highway. The police fired tear-gas shells when the mob surrounded them and started throwing stones. Unable to check them, the police opened fire, killing six people on the spot. Several others were injured. Kataria said, “The police had to open fire after the agitated crowd became violent and started dragging away policemen.”

The protesters then burnt down every police picket in sight. Several entered the nearby Sikandara police station and set it on fire, killing two constables.

Outnumbered, the policemen ran for cover but many could not escape. Kataria said, “The crowd hacked the limbs of unarmed constables.”

After chasing the police away, the protesters placed the bodies on the road. Ambulances and police vehicles rushing the injured to hospitals in Dausa and Jaipur were attacked and not allowed to pass. In Bundi, thousands of Gurjars gathered at the Dev Narayan Temple on the Kota-Jaipur highway and later pelted the police with stones from the surrounding hills. Six people died after the police opened fire to control the mob. Kataria said, “One constable was killed by the crowd and another is in a serious condition.”

Sources said the protesters abducted four policemen and took them inside the temple. Kataria said over 300 persons were arrested across Rajasthan in connection with the violence.

Sachin Pilot, the MP from Dausa, likened the police action to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Demanding the Vasundhara Raje government’s resignation, Pilot said he would go to Delhi on Wednesday to seek central intervention and the imposition of President’s rule.

In Delhi, the Centre decided to send over 2,000 paramilitary force personnel to the trouble-torn districts to assist the police in restoring peace.

(Source: Hindustan Times  | link)

3 Responses to “And they say reservations don’t divide society”

  1. virien Says:

    Mr Pilot has to be retaught his history if he is comparing da massacre to da jallianwallah bagh slaughter….
    a nation in which every one wants to be treated special, will have no time left to look at things that really matter….

  2. admin Says:

    Absolutely true Virien. Any form of politics which promotes only the interests of a certain class or community should be criticized in the strongest possible terms. All of us are Indian citizens, first and foremost, and that should be our primary identity rather than that of a Hindu or Muslim or a Brahmin or a Dalit.

  3. eesha singh Says:

    its so bizzarre…how people are yearning to get the minority status..and viren what are those things that really matter…i have a problem with the way the quota is being implemented and not the need for it..we are still not witnessing a great change in our society..whod vote for a dalit..what happens to that girl in grade 3 nobody wishes to play with coz one has been told by his/her parents not to..and if it boils down to one’s right..well then they have a right to take our seats coz our forefathers took theirs in the society

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