Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

The Gujjar unrest

The violent protests by the Gujjar community across Rajasthan and the killing of more than a dozen protestors in police firing are most unfortunate. While more and more communities are demanding to be included in the list of SCs, STs, and OBCs, there is vehement opposition to the expansion of the list from those who are already in it, as they fear dilution of their share. Both the positions are against the basic spirit of reservation.

The BJP, as the ruling party, has a constitutional and moral duty to put an end to the violence and, at the same time, find an amicable solution to the knotty issue through negotiations. The opposition should resist fishing in troubled waters as such sensitive issues can destroy communal amity.

Bichu Muttathara,
Thiruvananthapuram

* * *

The killing of 13 persons in police firing is condemnable. Although it may not be easy to accede to the Gujjars' demand that they be included in the ST category, I think the blame for the violence should go to the BJP that exploited the issue to make an election promise and win votes. It has now betrayed the Gujjars and they are up in arms. On another plane, is it not a shame that communities are demanding that their names be included in the backward category so that they can enjoy the benefits the status offers?

A. Digu,
Coimbatore

* * *

The flare-up in Rajasthan and the agitations in Andhra Pradesh for and against the categorisation of SCs are the fallout of the disenchantment of communities clamouring for a larger share in the reservation cake. With politicians providing reservation to more and more groups, things are getting out of hand. There is an urgent need to evolve a scientific formula for the uplift of the underprivileged.

B. Madhava Murthy,
Hyderabad

* * *

It is rather unfortunate that the stir is assuming a political colour. It shows how ugly reservation can become when it is not provided in a scientific manner. Stiff competition in the OBC category has made the Gujjars demand that they be given the ST status. The Centre must intervene and resolve the issue at the earliest.

Inamdar Ramchandra,
Bangalore

* * *

The clashes in Rajasthan are a serious warning to our leaders not to ignore unity and integrity for political gains. The government must spend more money to establish more educational institutions and give financial assistance to poor students instead of introducing quotas and diluting the standards.

Vipul Thakore,
London

* * *

The Gujjar-police clash in Rajasthan is a reality check for the Vasundhara Raje Government. Its unfulfilled promise of including the Gujjars among the Scheduled Tribes has caused them to react tempestuously, in one of the rare instances of the electorate venting its grievances to force its representatives to fulfil its demand.

Although the violence that claimed 14 lives is deplorable, due credit must be given to the leaders of the Gujjar community for reminding the politicians of the consequence of making false promises. What was at display in Dausa was the power of a community that felt short-changed by a government.

Sai Manish,
Chennai

* * *

The observation by the two-judge Supreme Court bench that stayed the implementation of 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in higher education — that nowhere else in the world is there competition to assert backwardness — has come true. If caste-based reservation is to continue, the creamy layer should be excluded. Only then will the policy be meaningful.

K.P. Sanal Kumar,
Chennai

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