Tribals try to isolate New Delhi
New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Thousands of ethnic Gujjars have blocked the main roads and railway into New Delhi to protest the government’s failure to grant them certain social benefits. They threaten to continue their protest and isolate the capital and have thrown stones at passing cars and the police.
The authorities have deployed more than 35,000 soldiers and police to enforce law and order and have cleared barricades that blocked some roads like the road connecting Delhi and Gurgaon.
Last week at least 41 people were killed in clashes between Gujjars and police. On 23 May a mob lynched a policeman and police fired on protesters.
In the Rajasthani towns of Bayana and Sikandra, where Gujjars are a majority, protesters blocked roads with bodies of some of those killed in the police firing a week ago, saying the bodies would not be cremated until the government relented.
Now protests threaten to stop essential supplies into the city like milk and vegetables.
The Gujjars are the main and most influential ethnic group in northern India. They want to be included in the Scheduled Tribes category so as to secure more government jobs and educational opportunities.
The government said it would spend 2.8 billion rupees ( million) improving schools, clinics, roads and other infrastructure in Gujjar areas, but Gujjars rejected this option.
India reserves about half of all seats in state colleges and universities for lower castes and tribal groups to overcome centuries-old social hierarchies. However, the scheme has been criticised for accentuating caste identities and discriminating against the better students.
“The truth is that our politics is driving us into an explosive cul de sac,” wrote Pratap Bhanu Mehta, head of the Centre for Policy Research.
“The recent, terrible violence is a reminder of what happens to societies when they can neither endure their current social condition, nor [have] the means to overcome it,” he explained. (PB)
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14/02/2005
