BJP’s caste politics and the Gujjars Neena Vyas
The Hindu, 31st May 2008.
It is only elections that political parties have in mind. If anarchy spreads, how does it matter? With the full approval of the BJP central leadership, Vasundhara Raje made the rash promise in 2003 Now, the leadership says the promise to Gujjars was never included in the party manifesto
For a week now the rail track has been uprooted, highways have been blocked and more than two dozen have died in police firing in Rajasthan. The Army was out in full strength, yet trouble was reported from over a dozen places. It appeared anarchy was reigning in the State and the Gujjar agitation spread to neighbouring Delhi on Thursday.
All that is known. It has been on television screens and in newspaper headlines. What is less known is that the Gujjars are demanding fulfilment of a promise Vasundhara Raje made at Karoli during the Assembly election campaign in 2003: their inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe category.
Nobody, not even in the Bharatiya Janata Party, is able to explain how this could help the Gujjars. After all, they are already under the Other Backward Classes, which get 27 per cent reservation in all government jobs as against the STs, who are nationally entitled to 7.5 per cent reservation with some variations at the State level. For, the population in each category varies in each State.
Take the figures for quota positions filled in Central government services as on January 1, 2005. While the SC and ST quotas were not completely filled, they were well above the halfway-mark. As for the 27 per cent OBC quota, on average only 4-5 per cent of the slot was filled. This means there is a very large unused OBC quota, which the Gujjars could use to their advantage as they are already in this category. So, how could their demanding a share in the smaller 7.5 per cent quota that has mostly been filled serve their purpose?
The figures collected by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions are revealing. As on January 1, 2005, the STs filled 4.3 per cent of a 7.5 per cent quota of jobs in the ‘A’ category’ that includes civil service officers and superintendents of police. The OBCs managed only 4.7 per cent of the 27 per cent quota, clearly establishing that there were many more vacancies here if suitable candidates presented themselves. ( Editorial Note from YFE : We have shown even in the Supreme Court that these fifures are false).
It is a similar story even in categories ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D.’ Only in the last two categories have the OBCs managed to cross even the 5 per cent-mark, that is more than four-fifths of this quota remain unfilled. In category ‘B,’ their position dips to 2.3 per cent quota filled, that is less than one-twelfth.
The history
The history of this dispute goes back to 1998-99 when the BJP wanted to attract the Jats to its fold. At that time, it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself who promised OBC status to Jats. The National Democratic Alliance government, which began its tenure in 1999, gave the dominant Jat community OBC status.
Again in 2003, the BJP used a similar trick to woo the Gujjars. Its Hindutva ideology may be against caste politics, but on the ground the party has made a fine art of practising caste politics, while accusing Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav of doing this in Uttar Pradesh.
The political stakes were high as the Assembly elections in Rajasthan were being held just ahead of the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. This time the Gujjars, who found that the OBC category was crowded by the dominating Jats and that their share shrank as those entitled to the quota had increased numerically, were told that the problem would be remedied by giving them ST status.
With the full approval of the BJP central leadership, Ms Raje, projected as Chief Minister, made the rash promise at campaign meetings in 2003. The party won with a thumping majority, breaking all previous records. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had been able to get to the chief ministerial chair only with the help of independents.
Now, anxious to pass the blame for the mess to the Centre, the BJP leadership says the promise to Gujjars was never included in the party manifesto. The party has also tried to pass off a letter written by Ms. Raje to the Union Home Minister as sufficient ground for the Centre to “take action” to begin the process of creating a third category of reservation for some nomadic communities and Gujjars, giving them “four to six per cent” quota in jobs.
The BJP knows full well the suggestion in the letter cannot be implemented as it would take the overall reservation quota beyond 50 per cent, the limit clearly set by the Supreme Court. But Arun Jaitley, a former Law Minister, was not prepared to say that.
Asked what he would have done had he been Law Minister now, he simply said that as BJP general secretary he was not dealing with Rajasthan. But party sources disclosed that his views were the BJP could still make the best of a bad situation. The party should dump the Gujjars and consolidate the support of all others. It could be made a Gujjar versus the rest fight.
Mr. Jaitley believes that a Narendra Modi could have done it. Of course, it is only elections that political parties have in mind. If anarchy spreads, how does it matter? The BJP’s alliance partner in Maharashtra is talking about throwing non-Maharastrians, especially Biharis and those from Uttar Pradesh, out of their jobs and the State; in Rajasthan, let there be a Gujjar-Meena clash (that is inevitable if Gujjars are given ST status as they will cut into the Meena quota); even in Karnataka, the Chief Minister-designate B.S.Yeddyurappa (he has since been sworn in) has let it be known that he will not allow Tamil Nadu to go ahead with the Hogenakkal project.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/31/stories/2008053154150900.htm
