RAJASTHAN GUJJARS STIR UP VIOLENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 001442 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INS, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINR KDEM CASC ASEC IN SUBJECT: RAJASTHAN GUJJARS STIR UP VIOLENCE REF: A. NEW DELHI 1336 ¶B. NEW DELHI 196 ¶C. 07 NEW DELHI 2583 ¶D. 07 NEW DELHI 2564 ¶E. 07 NEW DELHI 2766 ¶F. 07 NEW DELHI 2636 ¶G. 07 NEW DELHI 2624 Classified By: PolCouns Ted Osius for reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Summary: On May 23, just as the Rajasthan tourism industry was crawling towards recovery after the May 13 Jaipur bomb blast (ref A),an old controversy resurfaced, threatening to disrupt life in parts of Rajasthan and beyond, including in the greater Delhi area. The Gujjar community once again turned to violence to press its demand for inclusion in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST) which open up quota-based access to employment and education opportunities. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Rajasthan government struck back hard: as Gujjars burnt buses and police stations, the police fired on the demonstrators, killing 39 Gujjars. The latest Gujjar-inspired flare-up comes in the run up to state assembly elections due before the end of the year. With this in mind, the Congress Party and the BJP began immediately to point fingers and to shift the responsibility to each other. The Gujjar controversy also highlights a larger looming problem for India ) the escalating demands by different groups for expansion of the complicated quota/preference system to get a sweeter piece of the pie. End Summary. Gujjars Unite For Last Ditch Effort at Reservations -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On May 23, Gujjar leader Colonel Kirori Bhaisala called on his community to mobilize for what seems to be a last ditch effort to force the Rajasthan government to recommend to the GOI the classification of the Gujjar community as a Scheduled Tribe (ST). Currently considered an "Other Backward Caste (OBC)," Gujjars do not enjoy access to a host of employment and education benefits awarded to STs. In response to Bhaisala's call, thousands of angry Gujjars came out in force, burning buses and blocking roads and railroad tracks. When the crowd torched a police jeep and rushed a police station, the police opened fire, killing 16 Gujjars. However, the police have only been able to recover four of the bodies, while Bhaisala has held onto 12 as a mechanism to incite the community further. It surprised many political observers that so many Gujjars answered Bhaisala's call this year because he had come to be viewed as an ineffective leader after the debacle last year when 14 Gujjars died in demonstrations he inspired and which did not in the end yield any concessions for the community. ¶3. (SBU) Between May 24-25, the agitation continued with more violent confrontations between police and protesters, resulting in another 16-17 dead. The Rajasthan government called in massive security forces, including an army presence over 800 strong, a 240-strong commando force, and 2,500 personnel from the Rapid Action Force, the Border Security Force, and the Central Reserve Police Force. The army surrounded Bayana town, where Bhaisala is ensconced and stopped the flow of supplies to the town. During a press conference, Rajasthan's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje, announced she would not allow Bhaisala to hold the state hostage and that lawbreakers would be dealt with firmly. ¶4. (C) The army surrounding Bayana began jamming cell phone communications and stopped supplies from reaching Bhaisala. Raje offered to meet with Bhaisala to discuss options but he refused. Seeing that the situation was only getting worse, Raje announced the next day that she had sent a letter to the Prime Minister with the state's recommendation that Gujjars receive four to six percent reservations as part of a denotified class of tribals/nomadic tribe. This was exactly NEW DELHI 00001442 002 OF 003 what she had done in January, when an independent committee had recommended against ST status for the community and instead suggested financial spending of about USD 700 million to uplift the 3.3 million Gujjars in Rajasthan. Similar to the previous reaction of the Gujjar community, this recommendation was also deemed unacceptable to the community. In this letter, Raje also recommended to the Prime Minister that he convene a meeting of Chief Ministers of states with Gujjar populations to discuss a nationwide solution. Raje realized that by writing this letter, she was setting the Congress Party up for a lose-lose situation. If the federal government granted the reservation, the UPA government would not get the credit, Raje would take it for writing the letter. Likewise, if the UPA government did not award the reservation to the Gujjars the Prime Minister would get the blame by Gujjars all over the country. ¶5. (SBU) On May 27, the GOI rejected Raje's recommendation and Bhaisala dug his heels in, announcing that the Gujjar protests would continue until their demands are met. He said, there is no question of "relenting" this time, adding, "if we do, then history will call us cowards." He concluded by saying that "the agitation will go on. What the Gujjars want is ST status and nothing less." Wreaking Havoc -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The latest Gujjar protest have hit the tourism industry in the state of Rajasthan hard, reducing hotel and tour bookings by a reported 50 percent. Gujjars in neighboring states have also taken up the cause, holding strikes and protests in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and the greater Delhi area. Numerous train routes in North India have faced serious delays or been canceled altogether, including the Delhi-Mumbai route, where Gujjars dismantled around 500 meters of the rail track. Roads were blocked and bus services to the eastern and north eastern parts of Rajasthan have stopped. Politics As Usual -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The BJP took pot shots at the Congress-led UPA government and the Congress Party fought back. Trying to punt the problem to the GOI, Raje told reporters the authority to shift Gujjars to ST status rests solely with the federal government. Congress Party Spokesperson Manish Tewari lashed out at Raje for the law and order problems plaguing the state and for the lack of value she puts on the lives of Gujjars. He attacked Rajefor what he called her "authoritarian-feudal mindset" which caused so many lives and accused Raje of shooting first and talking later. Mayawati Finds an Opening -------------- ¶8. (C) With no tangible presence in Rajasthan, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati pounced on the opportunity to exploit the issue ahead of state assembly elections scheduled for November. She denounced the BJP-led Rajasthan government for failing to find a solution and for creating a tense caste environment. She also pointed a finger at the Congress Party for not making its stand clear and for trying to abolish the reservation system. Mayawati said that she favored reservations for all disadvantaged groups and suggested that Gujjars get access to reservations without disturbing the share of reservations other ST communities already receive. Meenas Complicating Matters -------------- ¶9. (C) In Rajasthan, the only group constitutionally recognized as ST is the Meena community, who are NEW DELHI 00001442 003 OF 003 traditionally aligned with the BJP. The Meenas vehemently oppose ST status for the Gujjars because they would be required to share reservations allotted to their community with Gujjars. While the Meenas have been inactive during this recent bout of protests, the first Gujjar uprising in May 2007 saw serious clashes between Meenas and Gujjars. The BJP is caught between the conflicting demands of the Meena, who constitute 12 percent of Rajasthan's population, and the Gujjar, who are only seven percent. Since the Meenas are politically more powerful, the BJP is more likely to pick the Meenas over the Gujjars. Gujjars Plan More Trouble -------------- ¶10. (C) Gujjar leaders announced a strike for May 29 in Delhi, triggering the GOI to declare a high alert for Delhi and its surrounding area. Threatening to immobilize Delhi, the Gujjars' goal is to disrupt life as much as possible until their demands are met. Additionally, Gujjar leaders want the national BJP leadership to take on their cause. At this juncture, with neither the Congress Party in Delhi or the BJP government in Jaipur taking responsibility for finding a solution, and the Gujjars becoming more aggressive in their methods, the situation is volatile and delicately poised. Comment: Who Needs the Gujjars Anyway? -------------- ¶11. (C) The BJP-led Rajasthan government seems to have calculated its options in this election year and decided to hold onto the Meena vote, a politically more powerful community, at the expense of the Gujjar vote. It will also seek to woo others in the state who do not approve of the violent and disruptive tactics of the Gujjars. After the Jaipur bomb blast, the BJP and Raje, concerned about what the electorate may think about the law and order in the state, cracked down hard on the Gujjars. In the coming campaign for the state assembly to be held before the end of the year, the Congress Party will no doubt point to the Jaipur blasts and the Gujjar protest as indicators of BJP failings. The BJP will pitch it back to the Congress Party claiming the Gujjar and terrorism problems of the state are rooted in failings at the federal level. Comment: National Implications -------------- ¶12. (C) If the Gujjars are successful in winning their demands, it could potentially open a Pandora's box. Having seen the ability of the Gujjars to use violence to get results, other caste groups could mount similar campaigns in the years ahead across the country. The Indian political system needs to reassess its elaborate quota/preference system that not only pits communities against each other but also creates the incentive for groups to seek classification as a more underprivileged group for a sweeter package of benefits. End Comment. MULFORD