With deal done, one can hope for lasting peace
The end of the agitation by Gujjars in Rajasthan is a matter of immense relief. The protests had not just affected normal life in the region for eight long days but also disrupted road and rail traffic, putting thousands of commuters to great inconvenience and leading to monetary losses amounting to many crores of rupees in the process. Gujjar leaders called off the protests after the Rajasthan Government assured them of a Bill that would offer reservation of five per cent to the community in Government employment. The demand for a quota has been an old one, and Governments in the past had grappled with a mechanism to meet it, given that total reservations could not cross the ceiling of 50 per cent under the Other Backward Classes category, as laid down by the Supreme Court.
The resolution could not have come at a more opportune time, since the Rajasthan High Court had taken strong note of the chaos which had erupted in the wake of the agitation. It had directed the Government to immediately clear the blockades on roads and railway tracks — the favourite places for agitationists since those promised the greatest impact — and observed that the people could not be made to suffer as a result of the “undemocratic agitations”. The movement had thrown services on the Mumbai-Delhi rail route out of gear, while the busy Agra-Jaipur national highway remained blocked for traffic, causing snarls and tensions on either side of the road.
The court had pulled up both the Government and the agitationists, remarking that “both of you have gone senseless towards the plight of the public”. The court's anger also emanated from the fact that the agitationists led by Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla had apparently violated the High Court's 2008 directive to not block public services such as road and rail traffic as part of their protest movements. Realising the seriousness of the matter, the Centre too had rushed 6,000 central paramilitary forces to the State to clear the blockade and help the local police force to maintain law and order.
While the agitation has been called off for now, the real test for the authorities is to ensure that it does not yet again rear its head in the coming months. The Rajasthan Government will have to keep its promise on the job quota for the Gujjar community if it wants to avoid another row. It can be argued that the community does not deserve reservations, or it can be contrarily argued that when so many others as part of the OBC have benefitted, the Gujjars ought not to be left out. This is a subject of a larger and separate debate. There is also the Jat factor to contend with. The Jats have generally been opposed to the quota benefit to the Gujjars — and both the Jats and the Gujjars have influence in the corridors of power in Rajasthan (as well as in Haryana, for that matter). Since both the States have a BJP Government, the party has to move fast and settle the contentious matter once and for all.