Twenty-five killed in Indian caste protests
Tens of thousands of lower-caste people wielding swords and knives were prevented from marching in troubled north-western India, where clashes involving police and rival communities have killed at least 25 in recent days.
An estimated 50,000 members of the Meena community had assembled near the village of Peepal Khera, 70 miles east of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state, said Madhukar Gupta, the commissioner of Jaipur division.
“No reservations for Gujjars,” they chanted as they walked from nearby villages, carrying swords, knives, bamboo sticks and sickles.
Nearly 1,000 army, police and paramilitary forces encircled the crowd to prevent them from attacking protesters belonging to the Gujjar community, who have been demanding their caste’s official classification at the bottom of India’s complex social ladder to receive government jobs and university spots reserved for such groups.
The Meena caste, which already receives the benefits, is opposed to sharing them with the Gujjars.
On Friday, four people were killed in clashes between the Meena caste and Gujjars in Lalsot village in the region despite warnings that police would shoot protesters on sight.
Gujjars comprise 7 per cent and Meenas nearly 12 per cent of Rajasthan state’s 54.8 million people.
Yesterday, the Meenas burned a truck carrying foodstuffs for Gujjars near Dausa, a town in Rajasthan, said BL Arya, the state home secretary.
On Saturday, state authorities assumed sweeping powers to detain protesters for one year without trial as they restored most train and road services after four days of clashes between police and Gujjars, who have been staging violent protests since Tuesday.
The protests have disrupted transport to Agra, site of the Taj Mahal.
Dausa has seen most of the violence, including repeated attacks on government offices, railway stations, and vehicles.
Gujjar protesters and police have also clashed in many places, resulting in the deaths of at least two policemen and 19 demonstrators. The protests have spread to neighbouring Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi states.
Although India officially banned caste discrimination decades ago, lower social groups such as the Gujjar, who are traditionally farmers and shepherds in north-western India, still face widespread disadvantages.
In an attempt to right historical wrongs, India’s federal and state governments have over the past decades established quotas for lower caste groups to ensure they get government jobs and university spots.
Gujjars are already classified as one of India’s thousands of “Other Backward Classes,” which gives them some preferential treatment. However, they want to be redefined as a “Scheduled Tribe,” an even lower classification that would open up more opportunities.
