ST status to them will open a Pandora’s box

With regard to the basic issue, an Asian Centre for Human Rights report says it’s high time the Centre found a holistic solution to the demand for ST status by several groups.

It says over 100 groups in the country have applied to the ministry of tribal affairs for recognition as STs. If the Centre tries to find a solution only for the Gurjars, it will open a Pandora’s box.

The Gurjars predominantly inhabit the north and northwest states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In the Hindu varna system, they are categorised as kshatriya.

There are around 53 million Gurjars in India. In Rajasthan, they comprise about 11% of the population. While they are recognised as STs in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, in Rajasthan, they are classified as other backward classes (OBCs) entitled to quotas in state-run educational institutions and government jobs.

About 25 years ago, a similar demand by the Gurjars of Rajasthan was rejected by the state government after finding that they did not fulfil the conditions set by the Dhebar Commission in 1960 for inclusion in the ST list.

However, during the 2003 assembly election campaign, the BJP promised the community ST status if it came to power. It did not put it in the election manifesto, though, and now denies the promise.

After the BJP failed to keep its promise in September 2006, the Gurjars launched a violent protest in Hindaun, following which a cabinet sub-committee was set up to examine the demand. The sub-committee, however, failed to come up with a concrete solution.

On May 29, 2007, the Gurjars launched another demonstration. The violence rapidly spread from Rajasthan to Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. Within a week, at least 26 persons were killed, including the 21 shot dead by the police.

On June 4, 2007, Gurjar leaders agreed to withdraw the agitation after three days of negotiation with chief minister Raje. The state government agreed to set up a three-member committee to examine their demand. The committee headed by retired judge of the Rajasthan high court Jasraj Chopra submitted its report on December 17, 2007, rejecting the Gurjar demand for not meeting the criteria but recommending a special package of benefits.

The state government decided on December 18, 2007, to set up another four-member high-level committee to prepare the package. On May 17, 2008, the committee headed by Ramdas Agarwal announced an area-specific Rs282-crore package for Gurjars directly benefiting 9-10 lakh of them in the districts of Alwar, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Dholpur and Jhalawar. But the Gurjars rejected the offer and began a new round of demonstrations on May 23, 2008.

Rajasthan has now suggested a 4-6% reservation for the Gurjars in the de-notified tribals/nomadic tribe category. There is no separate category of reservation for “de-notified tribes”, some of whom have been classified as scheduled caste (SC) and others as ST. Moreover, reservation has already touched 49% with 27% quota for the OBCs, 15% for SCs and 7.5% for STs.