Indian Railways has been put on alert in view of yet another annual Gurjar agitation set to begin from May 15.
It has taken pre-emptive steps in view of Gurjar supremo Kirori Singh Bainsla’s announcement for a mahapanchyat on May 15 which is likely to be held near a track in Bharatpur district.
Railway has ordered six of railway protection force companies to be deployed along Delhi-Mumbai and Jaipur-Agra rail tracks at Byana, Hindaun, Bharatpur on Kota Divison of WCR, Jaipur on WCR and Agra Division of NCR.
Come summer and Gurjars of this region are notorious to organise agitations that focuses on disrupting rail traffic for days.
In 2007 and 2008, their agitation had led to the loss of more than 70 lives and properties worth hundreds of crores in arson and violence.
Gurjars resort to agitation every year and despite successive governments promising them whatever they ask for, nothing is done on the ground because of their ultra constitutional demands.
As a result, Bainsla has lost most of his credibility. He has been aligning with Congress and BJP according to his convenience.
Gurjars began with a demand to be included in Scheduled Tribes but powerful Meena community, which corners most of the ST reservation quota, did not let it happen.
Then Gurjars demanded that they be carved out a special category within existing OBC along with others of most backward classes but this time jats, who corner most of the OBC quota, did not let it happen.
Finally, Gurjars settled down for a special OBC status for which state government assured one per cent reservation from general quota so that it did not exceed 50 per cent and another five per cent through an amendment which has been repeatedly set aside or stayed by the courts.
Rajasthan badly needs to review castes that get ST and OBC reservations but fearing a backlash of these powerful castes, no government dares to do it.
As a result, lopsided reservation carries on.
If at all Bainsla wants to help Gurjars, he must then demand either a segregation within the reservation quota for the OBCs or shifted to ST category.
But since both are a mammoth task, he keeps arriving on agreements knowing well that these cannot be implemented only to harass the common man and put at risk life of Gurjars.