The Hindu : Front Page : Gujjars take out rally in New Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 18, 2006
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Gujjars take out rally in New Delhi

Staff Reporter

— Photo: R.V. Moorthy

Gujjar community members participate in a rally in New Delhi on Sunday.

NEW DELHI: Highlighting their demands, including adequate political and administrative representation, members of the Gujjar community from across the country held a rally opposite the Akshardham Temple here on Sunday.

Coming together under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Gujjar Vikas Sangathan (ABGVS), the community also demanded commissioning of a separate Gujjar regiment; Scheduled Tribes status in Rajasthan; security for the community in Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and an efficient system for social uplift.

Addressing the gathering, and ABGVS national president Avtar Singh Bhadana MP, said the community had been the traditional constituency of the Congress but its interests had long been ignored.

``We constitute one of the largest communities in India with a population of over 10 crore and wield enough political influence in Northern India.''

`` The need of the hour is to recognise our collective strength and struggle for the realisation of political and social ambitions of the community,'' said Mr. Bhadana.

``I have raised the demands of the community at different fora on several occasions, but my voice has not been heard as we have little political presence," he said.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda, who made a brief appearance at the rally, expressed solidarity with the community.

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