Meena n Gujjar on the Front??? what about others

A caste war broke out between the Meena and Gujjar communities over the issue of Scheduled Tribe status for the Gujjars when the two communities engaged in bloody battles at Lalsot town, in Rajasthan’s Dausa district, on Friday. Nine people were killed in the clashes. The Meenas, a Scheduled Tribe, do not want the Gujjars granted the same status because they fear this will eat into their share of reservations. The police was able to confirm five deaths on Friday. The administration has issued shoot-at-sight orders, which will remain in force till June 12, in strife-torn Bharatpur, Karauli and Swai Madhopur districts. The death toll after Friday’s violence is 27. “It is a war-like situation. Thousands of people gathered on both sides at Ghata in Lalsot, where Gujjars have been blocking the road. The Meenas assembled there and tried to remove the blockade,” said Giriraj, an eyewitness. The condition of seven of the 17 injured was critical. The mobs threw stones and bottles of acid and petrol at each other. The Gujjars took shelter on a hillock, but it was not of much help. Only a handful of policemen were present.“Both sides were equipped with lathis, stones and bottles full of petrol. It was a bloody war. After half-an-hour of clashes, there were nine bodies lying on the roadside,” an eyewitness said. According to sources, the policemen, who were outnumbered and could not prevent the bloodshed, ran away. Eyewitnesses in Lalsot claimed that about 30 houses belonging to the Gujjars were burnt down.One person, a pharmacist said to belong to the Meena community, was shot dead by persons allegedly belonging to the other community in Masalpur area of Karauli, the police said. The man had been riding his two-wheeler near the area in Nangal Pyaribaas where the Meenas held a mahapanchayat to decide their course of action. A case has been registered and the pharmacist’s body has been sent for a post-mortem examination. Hundreds of angry Meenas gathered in Karauli to protest against the killing.Meanwhile, Gujjars in Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi on Friday protested the police action against their community by blocking roads and burning effigies of Ms Vasundhara Raje across these four states.Lalsot town is 45 km from the district headquarters of Dausa in Rajasthan. The town is known for the “Haila Khayal” annual folk song festival, which attracts over 50,000 people, including Gujjars and Meenas. “It is very sad that the town had to witness the killing of innocent people instead of the sound of folk music,” said Kamal, a Lalsot resident. The Meenas have been organising panchayats in Dausa district since Thursday and have cut off the supply lines of the Gujjars sitting on dharna at Patoli, on the national highway connecting Jaipur to Agra. Mehandipur Dham, a religious place situated between Dausa and Bharatpur and known for its Hanuman temple, is where the Meenas are camping, while the Gujjars are at Patoli. The roadblocks have stranded over 3,000 devotees on their way to Mehandipur Dham. “We are in great trouble, we have no money to eat,” said Kishan Lal, a devotee from Uttar Pradesh. The administration has decided to provide the stranded devotees with transport.The Meenas also manhandled mediapersons, alleging that the media was giving more coverage to the Gujjars. The Army fanned out to the sensitive places on Friday and held flag marches to curb further violence. Meanwhile, ministers from both communities have been making provocative statements. “No one can eat into our share of reservation. I had openly announced at Meena gatherings last year that if needed I am ready to resign from my post,” said Rajasthan food minister Kirodi Lal Meena.MLAs and ministers from the Meena community called on Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and handed over a memorandum saying they would oppose any bifurcation of ST reservation. On the other hand, Gujjar leaders from the BJP pressed for the inclusion of their community in the list of Scheduled Castes.