Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Gujjar agitation

Although the Gujjars' agitation has been called off following the Rajasthan Government's decision to appoint a committee to look into their demand to be declared a Scheduled Tribe, it has cast a question mark on the working of State governments in a democracy. The agitation proved that the elected representatives of the people are more caste representatives (many Meena and Gujjar Ministers threatened to resign during the agitation). The State administration overlooked the acts of the agitators as they went on the rampage. Was it not its duty to take effective steps to control the situation and make life easier for the common man?

B.M. Chitlangi,
Jodhpur

What the State Government needs right now is sympathy and not criticism. Caste and communal identities are an indestructible part of Indian society. One cannot wish them away. The nation as a whole has been perpetuating the caste system over thousands of years. One has to muster the courage to tackle the issues associated with it.

As for the desirability of judicial intervention in social issues, caste, communal, and religious clashes have to be solved by political wisdom and compromise, not by court verdicts. It is the Government that has to act and solve the problems.

S. Arunajatesan,
Chennai

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