The troubles released by Indian politicians opening the Pandora's Box of Caste continues.
For the last three days the Gujjars of Rajasthan have held demonstrations, which turned violent after more than a dozen were killed in police firing.The conflict of Gujjars versus the State has turned into the Gujjars vs the Meenas-- a perfect recipe for civil war and the disintegration of the India we konw and love.
Who are the Gujjars and the Meenas, and what was the origin of this dance of hate?
The Gujjars are a tribe located across Rajastan,Gujarat,Haryana, Punjab , Jammu and MadhyaPradesh.They are classified as OBC's.
The Meenas are another local tribe classified as Scheduled Tribes.
Now the Gujjars feel that they are entitled not just to the OBC benefits, but the additional benefits that Scheduled Tribes enjoy.The Meenas do not enjoy the prospect of additional competition for the benefits they are currently receiving.
The Gujjars say that the Bharatiya Janata Party, which rues Rajastahan, promised them this "additional" reclassification benefit in pre-election promises.
The question they ask is, "By what right has the State classified us as Other Backward Classes, and not Scheduled Tribes?"
Costitutionally, as far as I am aware, the notification of communities needing additional help has been left to the State (and not to the Central) Governments. But I do not believe that the Founding Fathers ever envisaged a competitive dash to the bottom of the stratification pyramid. So they never enshrined the principles that should underlie State action. So this question can in all probability not even be answered by the Courts.
The poiltics of reservation is now reaching its logical conclusion , and we can only watch in dismay.
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