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Gujjars threaten nationwide agitation

Staff Reporter

To be launched if demand for granting ST status is not conceded

Col. Bainsla appeals to community to educate children
Demand withdrawal of cases against Gujjars

— Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

The gathering at the ‘Gujjar Swabhimaan Rally’ in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: The Akhil Bharatiya Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti on Saturday said a nationwide agitation would be launched if the Centre and the Rajasthan government failed to fulfil the various demands of the community, including granting them the Scheduled Tribe status.

Addressing the Swabhimaan rally at the Ramlila Grounds here, Samiti patron Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said if the Rajasthan government did not recommend to the Central government that Gujjars be accorded ST status before Diwali, no member of the community would celebrate Diwali. “The patience of the Gujjars is running out and if our demands are not met, a nationwide agitation would be launched soon,” Mr. Bidhuri added.

The leaders also pledged their full-fledged support to Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla saying he was their only leader. The spiritual guru of Gujjars, Baba Balwant Singh, also attended the rally and extended full support to Col. Bainsla.

Speakers at the rally said the formation of a committee to look into the Gujjar’s demand for ST status was not enough. The government should come up with concrete announcements to avoid confrontation.

Col. Bainsla made it clear that he was not interested in politics. “I am an ordinary Gujjar like you and I won’t fight any election. All I want is to keep working for the community and live long enough to see the fruits of our efforts being reaped. I want to see members of the Gujjar community occupy top offices in the government,” he said.

Col. Bainsla also appealed to his community members to educate their children so that they were able to get the benefits of reservation. “What good would reservation serve if your children are not educated?” The Gujjars demanded that all the cases registered against members of their community following the agitation that took place in Rajasthan in May and June be withdrawn.

They also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the Meena-Gujjar riots that broke out during the agitation. They alleged that no action had been taken against the policemen who shot dead members of the Gujjar community without any provocation.

The Gujjars demanded that a “Gujjar Regiment” be raised in the Army. The community also wanted educational institutions be opened in areas where Gujjars were a majority. The Gujjars also passed a resolution that May 29, the day when 13 members of the community were killed in clashes with the police, be observed as “Shaheed Divas.”

They demanded that the land of Gujjars be acquired by the government at market price and one member of the family, whose land is being acquired, be given a job. Gujjars from Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and other States took part in the rally.

Website launched

Jammu Staff Reporter reports:

The first-ever website on the Gujjar tribe of Jammu and Kashmir was launched by the Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation to keep the community informed of the changing times in the age of information revolution.

The website can be accessed at www.jktribals.co.cc with an alternate address www.jktribals.page.tl.

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