Gurjar agitation in Rajasthan :

The Gurjar agitation in Rajasthan were a series of protests in Rajastan state, during 2008. Violence erupted in the state of Rajasthan on 23 May 2008 when police fired on protesters belonging to the Gurjar caste who were demanding a lower scheduled tribe status, instead of their current OBC (Other Backward Class) status. In retaliation, the protesters lynched a policeman in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. In response, police shot at protesters as they tried to damage railway lines and government property. At least 15 were killed on the spot.

On 24 May, the Indian army was called in to help calm the violence as another 15 people were killed when police shot at a mob of protesters trying to torch a police station in Sikandra.

Thousands of protesters blocked a rail route between Delhi and Mumbai. Highways had also been blocked, and state authorities cancelled many buses. Getting almost nothing from the government for their demand of a 5% quota for government jobs, Gurjars again went on to agitate in 2010. They jammed trains on the Jaipur-Delhi and Mumbai-Delhi routes. Unlike the unrest in 2008, there was no violence in 2010. In May 2015, a similar protest was organized and over thousands of Gujjars blocked railway tracks halting train traffic.

Background :

Gurjars, a farming and trading community — are classified by the government as an "Other Backward Class". They are part of the caste system that does not face as much exclusion or discrimination in Indian society. The Gurjar community feels it has been economically and educationally left behind and it wants to be reclassified as a Scheduled Tribe. They demand scheduled tribe status so that they can qualify for government jobs and state college seats reserved solely for such groups. The Indian government has put in place an affirmative action plan that sets aside job and educational quotas for the disadvantaged groups that it classifies as Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. These tribes, the government believes, need extra assistance to overcome centuries of neglect.

The state government, however, has so far declined to change their status. Instead, it has announced that Rs. 2.82 billion ($ 67 million)will be spent to improve schools, clinics, roads and other infrastructure in Gurjar-dominated areas. 

In 2007, Gurjars in Rajasthan fought police and members of the Meena tribe that had already qualified for Scheduled Tribe benefits and is opposed to Gurjars sharing the benefits it has cornered for itself. At least 26 people were killed in that violence. In the wake of the ongoing Gurjar agitation in neighbouring Rajasthan, high alert had been sounded in the border districts of Madhya Pradesh to check any spread of violence.The agitation finally ended after Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasnundhara Raje agreed on a 5% reservation under a new special category.

Violence :

Gujjars mainly targeted the Jaipur-Delhi, Jaipur-Agra, and the Mumbai-Delhi transport routes as they believed it would capture the attention of the government and media altogether and resorted to violence when security forces tried to clear the roads and railways. Many gurjars alleged the role of home minister and chief minister as provocative and oppressive. They blamed the government for giving the agitation a violent turn by firing at people gathering around patoli village whose bodies were then preserved using salt and ice for the duration of the entire period of agitation. The demand for punishment for those responsible for killing the villagers was added to that of gaining the reservation. Fifteen demonstrators died when police fired live ammunition and tear gas to halt rioting, said Singh. A police officer was also beaten to death. At least 70 injured people were hospitalized in Jaipur, the state capital, and the town of Dosa.

Demonstrators blocked a major highway linking Jaipur to Agra site of the world famous Taj Mahal monument  stranding thousands of people.Thousands of army, police, and paramilitary forces patrolled villages to control the violence.

Sporadic violence began again on 26 May when more than 36 towns observed a bandh to protest the police firing into the crowds. Six wagons of a goods train on its way to Agra derailed near Bandikui station in Dausa district due to tampering of rail tracks, allegedly by the Gurjars. Northern railway cancelled nine trains passing through Rajasthan and diverted several others to different routes.

Security forces' action :

The Indian Army, the Rapid Action Force, jawans of the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary, besides the Rajasthan police, carried out patrolling in the troubled districts of Lalshot Bharatpur, Karauli and Dausa as at least a dozen places, including Alwar, Kotputli, and Kekri in Ajmer, Pali and Rayla in Bhilwara observed bandhs (closure or curtailing of city businesses, offices and civilian activity due to security fears).

Government's response :

The gurjar agitation was the outcome of years of negligence from the government in addressing the demands of gurjars for their educational and economic progress, according to the gurjar leaders their demands were just and they deserved reservation as the main occupation of gurjars in areas where they lived in majority(karauli,bharatpur,sawai madhopur,dausa,dholpur) was agriculture and animal husbandry but they were deprived of reservation due to the political influence of rival communities who were not willing to share the benefits of reservation with the gurjars and the gurjar vote bank was considered to be smaller than the other communities by the government.It was, therefore, the mindset of the government to deny any reservation to the gurjars .

The government had earlier crushed a protest of farmers demanding water in Tonk district by firing at them and were employing similar tactics when a small mob was about to gather near Patoli village on the first evening of the agitation. A few villagers were killed in the firing. This incident backfired on the government and the agitation intensified as the gurjars considered the villagers killed in the firing as 'martyrs' and a sense of sympathy and anger spread throughout the state. Consequently, major national highways (Jaipur-Agra,Jaipur-Delhi)were blocked and the Mumbai-Delhi rail line was also blocked at various places. The government which was not expecting such a backlash was forced to call in the Indian Army to maintain law and order. Jagan Gurjar, a dacoit from the Chambal ravines also participated in the agitation and was seen waving rifles on various T.V news channels. Rajasthan then Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said there is a limit to everything and that her government will not allow Gurjars to take the state to "ransom".

On 26 February, the Chief Minister announced that she would write to the Prime Minister of India recommending placing Gurjars in the category of de-notified tribes, setting aside a reservation of 4-6 per cent for them.The Cabinet has decided to write to the Prime Minister requesting him to convene a meeting of Chief Ministers to review the National Scheduled Tribe Policy document of 2006.

However,  Kirori Singh Bhainsla rejected Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's proposal for additional reservation for the agitating community. Bainsla’s rejection of the proposal was unexpected, as he had earlier welcomed Raje’s move to recommend in a letter to the Prime Minister four to six percent special reservation for the community.

Other states :

Madhya Pradesh, another state with a large Gurjar population, was put on alert after the violence. Delhi was also affected for two days.Community members, who have decided to assemble at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh along with the bodies of those killed in the agitation. To keep control of the situation, additional police forces have been deployed in Morena and Chambal, keeping in view the large number of Gujjars residing in the region. Police were also keeping a strict vigil on the Rajghat bridge on the highway of Rajasthan border.

Present status ( 2019 ) :

The Rajasthan government has introduced a bill in the Assembly to give a five per cent quota in jobs and educational institutes to Gujjars and four other communities agitating for it. The Rajasthan Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced by the new Congress government earlier in the day.

The bill sought to increase the backward classes' reservation from the present 21 per cent to 26 per cent with a five per cent quota for Gujjars, Banjaras, Gadia Lohars, Raikas and Gadaria communities, bill still faces legal hassles.