World | India
Gujjar caste riots toll 20 as agitation continues
The death toll from rioting by members of one of India's lowest castes jumped to 20 on Saturday after they protested a government ruling on their caste status.
- AP
- Published: 00:11 May 25, 2008
Jaipur: The death toll from rioting by members of one of India's lowest castes jumped to 20 on Saturday after they protested a government ruling on their caste status.
The deaths occurred across six villages in western India hit by violence on Friday, said Rohit Kumar Singh, the Rajasthan state information commissioner.
Police fired live ammunition and tear gas after Gujjars - who occupy one of the lowest rungs on India's complex social ladder - beat a policeman to death and set several police vans and a railway track on fire in Bharatpur district.
The Gujjars, an ethnic group who rear livestock and earn a living by selling milk and other dairy products, are demanding to be reclassified to a lower social level so they can qualify for government jobs and university places reserved for such groups.
The troubled area is 150 kilometres east of Rajasthan state's capital Jaipur - the scene of Gujjar riots nearly a year ago that left 26 people dead.
Highway blocked
Traffic between Jaipur and Agra, where the famous Taj Mahal monument is located, has been severely disrupted by protesters blocking the highway, affecting thousands of travellers. Authorities stopped nearly 400 tourist buses and diverted trains to Mumbai. Four buses were damaged and a violent mob tried to vandalise a bus stand on the Jaipur-Agra highway.
The protesters also uprooted a 1.5-kilometre stretch of rail track Friday. Nearly a dozen trains were cancelled.
The Rajasthan government Friday imposed orders prohibiting gathering of more than four people at a time and tightened security measures in six of the districts including state capital Jaipur.
Gujjars took to the streets after a government panel set up to look into their demands recommended a $70 million (Dh257 million) aid package for their community, but ruled out caste reclassification. Gujjars are considered part of the second-lowest group, Other Backward Classes, a step up from the Scheduled Tribes and Castes.
Prolonged agitation
Gujjar leader K.S. Bainsla said this time the agitation would go on till their demands are met.
"We have been fooled by the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state for long. This time we want our demand to be accepted," he said.
The Hindu caste system was outlawed soon after independence from Britain in 1947, but its influence remains powerful. The system has led to wide-spread protests, with many complaining of reverse discrimination against the forward castes.
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