Rajasthan: Jats of Bharatpur, Dholpur Launch Stir Seeking OBC Quota at the Central Level
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: The Jats of Bharatpur and Dholpur in Rajasthan have once again hit the streets demanding their inclusion in the central Other Backward Classes (OBCs) list.
Hundreds of Jats began their protest on Wednesday, January 17, at Jaicholi village in Bharatpur district and vowed to continue it indefinitely if their demands are not met. The Rajasthan government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, sent platoons of police forces to the protest site to quell the protest.
Inclusion in the central OBC list would pave the way for reservation for the community in central jobs and centrally-run educational institutions. The protestors issued an ultimatum of January 22 to the authorities to meet their demands.
"Till January 22, we will protest in a Gandhian way. If the government does not fulfill our demands, then we will intensify the movement," said Bharatpur-Dholpur Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti convenor Nem Singh Faujdar, according to NDTV.
Jats of Bharatpur and Dholpur began their demand for OBC reservation first in 1998. In 2013, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, led by Manmohan Singh, granted OBC reservations to the Jats in Bharatpur, Dholpur, and nine other states. However, after the Modi government assumed power in 2014, the Centre annulled that reservation, enabled through OBC quota.
The March 2015 Supreme Court verdict also excluded them from the Central OBC list, and subsequently, they were removed from the state OBC list after a high court verdict in August 2015. Those who oppose awarding of OBC quota to them argue that they had historical ties to the former royal family in these districts who belonged to the Jat community.
However, things changed once again, when, in August 2017, the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in Rajasthan granted reservations once again to Jats of the two districts. Now, they are demanding for their inclusion in the Central OBC List for the sake of reservation.
This article went live on January eighteenth, two thousand twenty four, at forty minutes past eleven in the morning.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.