Post by dipakgurjar on Apr 16, 2010 16:24:16 GMT 5.5
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Gujjar-march-Stage-set-for-Jaipur-siege/articleshow/5814092.cms
Gujjar march: Stage set for Jaipur siege
Akhilesh Kumar Singh & Abhinav Sharma, TNN, Apr 16, 2010, 02.43am IST
JAIPUR: Haunted by past misdemeanors of persistent procrastination, state government is now exploring possibilities to sort out the Gujjar quota issue, as the agitating community members are inching towards Jaipur and threaten to lay siege to the desert state capital within the next few days.
However, going by the dilly-dally approach of the government and also the rigid attitude of the community, the state seems to be heading for yet another impasse, despite the fact the Gujjar agitations in the past have witnessed loss of lives as well as property. However, under given circumstances, Gujjar community's latest demand of exclusive 5% quota, leaving aside their previous demand of scheduled tribe status, seems to be a remote possibility.
State government has already given special backward status to the community and accorded 5% quota and another 14% for the economically weaker sections. But it exceeded the 50% limit and now Rajasthan High Court has stayed its operations.
As the quota given by the government has fallen in legal tangles, Gujjars have shifted from their previous strategy and now, they are seeking exclusive 50% quota by truncating the existing OBC category quota.
Although Gujjars are listed in the OBC category, along with 67 other castes but they want specified and dedicated 5% quota for themselves, a demand that has put state government on a sticky wicket, mainly at a time when the quota given to the community is sub judice.
In 2007, the government of Andhra Pradesh had given 4% special reservation to Muslim community which was in legal tangles for quite some time. But a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices J M Panchal and Justice B S Chauhan, allowed the state to continue with it ad-interim, till the final verdict is pronounced by a constitution bench.
The apex court had cautioned against any disproportionate use of "reservation", saying it would prove counterproductive and only help perpetuate casteism, in M. Nagraj versus Union of India case in 2006 itself. However, the bench had also said reservation beyond 50% ceiling is permissible provided there are circumstances to justify representation of those communities to which the excess reservation is proposed.
The above observations of the apex court renders a glimmer of hope in favour of the Gujjars provided the state government treads the issue in right earnest. Although Government had appealed in Rajasthan High Court seeking vacation of the stay but court denied it.
Interestingly, the state has not shown any interest in going in appeal in the Supreme Court against the Rajasthan High Court order, unlike Andhra Pradesh, which got relief from the apex court in the Muslim quota case, which had also been stayed by the Andhra High Court.
Rajasthan state advocate general, G S Baphana, said that the state had no plans to appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Rajasthan High Court order.
"We had pleaded that the act provisioning quota for the Gujjars was valid, but High Court refused to vacate the stay and we have no option but to comply with it," he said. Queried further, he said, "I have no information if state has any plans to go into appeal in the Supreme Court."
The observations of the Supreme Court bench in the Nagaraj's case that the reservation beyond 50 percent ceiling limit is permissible provided there are circumstances to justify the representation of those communities also gives the state an opportunity to think beyond political permutations and make efforts for the community, who remain to be extremely backwards even after 60 years of independence.
Gujjar population in Rajasthan is over 6% of the state population (over 5million) but there are only 14 gazetted officers, six university teachers, 10 college lecturers, 30 doctors, 20 engineers and over 2000 in other government services. There are hardly any Gujjar in trade and business and in Karauli and Sawai Madhopur, 40.18% and 37.47% Gujjar families are classified as BPL families. There are only five RAS officers from the community but none has made it to the all India services till date.
Although Gujjars in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal are classified as Scheduled Tribes they could not make it to the category in Rajasthan mainly due to political considerations. On the other hand, Meenas in eastern Rajasthan come from the same background but have been listed as a scheduled tribe have been reaping the maximum benifit of the ST quota not only in Rajasthan but across the country. Meena candidates constitute a majority in the all India services and they are far ahead of other tribes in the country. At present, over 250 Meena people are in all India services, to say the least about the state services.
Experts say that Gujjars felt envious of Meenas' growth through services as the community live in the neighbourhood in the eastern Rajasthan but the inclusion of Jat community on the OBC category was the biggest damage to the community and they are fighting for separate quota since then. The OBC reservation was introduced in Rajasthan in 1994 and Gujjars were the most dominant in the listed OBC castes.
But in 2000, the NDA government included Jats in the OBC category after which Gujjars got only peripheral benefits of the OBC quota. Jats, who constitute over 10% of the Rajasthan population, are the most effluent among the Rajasthan castes and their inclusion in the category did the maximum damage to Gujjars. "Since then, Gujjars are left to fend for themselves but their demand is rightful as they remain to be the most backward in the state," says Narain Barith, a journalist from eastern Rajasthan.
Gujjar march: Stage set for Jaipur siege
Akhilesh Kumar Singh & Abhinav Sharma, TNN, Apr 16, 2010, 02.43am IST
JAIPUR: Haunted by past misdemeanors of persistent procrastination, state government is now exploring possibilities to sort out the Gujjar quota issue, as the agitating community members are inching towards Jaipur and threaten to lay siege to the desert state capital within the next few days.
However, going by the dilly-dally approach of the government and also the rigid attitude of the community, the state seems to be heading for yet another impasse, despite the fact the Gujjar agitations in the past have witnessed loss of lives as well as property. However, under given circumstances, Gujjar community's latest demand of exclusive 5% quota, leaving aside their previous demand of scheduled tribe status, seems to be a remote possibility.
State government has already given special backward status to the community and accorded 5% quota and another 14% for the economically weaker sections. But it exceeded the 50% limit and now Rajasthan High Court has stayed its operations.
As the quota given by the government has fallen in legal tangles, Gujjars have shifted from their previous strategy and now, they are seeking exclusive 50% quota by truncating the existing OBC category quota.
Although Gujjars are listed in the OBC category, along with 67 other castes but they want specified and dedicated 5% quota for themselves, a demand that has put state government on a sticky wicket, mainly at a time when the quota given to the community is sub judice.
In 2007, the government of Andhra Pradesh had given 4% special reservation to Muslim community which was in legal tangles for quite some time. But a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices J M Panchal and Justice B S Chauhan, allowed the state to continue with it ad-interim, till the final verdict is pronounced by a constitution bench.
The apex court had cautioned against any disproportionate use of "reservation", saying it would prove counterproductive and only help perpetuate casteism, in M. Nagraj versus Union of India case in 2006 itself. However, the bench had also said reservation beyond 50% ceiling is permissible provided there are circumstances to justify representation of those communities to which the excess reservation is proposed.
The above observations of the apex court renders a glimmer of hope in favour of the Gujjars provided the state government treads the issue in right earnest. Although Government had appealed in Rajasthan High Court seeking vacation of the stay but court denied it.
Interestingly, the state has not shown any interest in going in appeal in the Supreme Court against the Rajasthan High Court order, unlike Andhra Pradesh, which got relief from the apex court in the Muslim quota case, which had also been stayed by the Andhra High Court.
Rajasthan state advocate general, G S Baphana, said that the state had no plans to appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Rajasthan High Court order.
"We had pleaded that the act provisioning quota for the Gujjars was valid, but High Court refused to vacate the stay and we have no option but to comply with it," he said. Queried further, he said, "I have no information if state has any plans to go into appeal in the Supreme Court."
The observations of the Supreme Court bench in the Nagaraj's case that the reservation beyond 50 percent ceiling limit is permissible provided there are circumstances to justify the representation of those communities also gives the state an opportunity to think beyond political permutations and make efforts for the community, who remain to be extremely backwards even after 60 years of independence.
Gujjar population in Rajasthan is over 6% of the state population (over 5million) but there are only 14 gazetted officers, six university teachers, 10 college lecturers, 30 doctors, 20 engineers and over 2000 in other government services. There are hardly any Gujjar in trade and business and in Karauli and Sawai Madhopur, 40.18% and 37.47% Gujjar families are classified as BPL families. There are only five RAS officers from the community but none has made it to the all India services till date.
Although Gujjars in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal are classified as Scheduled Tribes they could not make it to the category in Rajasthan mainly due to political considerations. On the other hand, Meenas in eastern Rajasthan come from the same background but have been listed as a scheduled tribe have been reaping the maximum benifit of the ST quota not only in Rajasthan but across the country. Meena candidates constitute a majority in the all India services and they are far ahead of other tribes in the country. At present, over 250 Meena people are in all India services, to say the least about the state services.
Experts say that Gujjars felt envious of Meenas' growth through services as the community live in the neighbourhood in the eastern Rajasthan but the inclusion of Jat community on the OBC category was the biggest damage to the community and they are fighting for separate quota since then. The OBC reservation was introduced in Rajasthan in 1994 and Gujjars were the most dominant in the listed OBC castes.
But in 2000, the NDA government included Jats in the OBC category after which Gujjars got only peripheral benefits of the OBC quota. Jats, who constitute over 10% of the Rajasthan population, are the most effluent among the Rajasthan castes and their inclusion in the category did the maximum damage to Gujjars. "Since then, Gujjars are left to fend for themselves but their demand is rightful as they remain to be the most backward in the state," says Narain Barith, a journalist from eastern Rajasthan.
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