Haryana Ground Report: The Jat Quota Stir is a “Moochon ki Ladai”

In the backdrop of the demand for reservation, there is a deep resentment among Jat and Saini communities.

Things quickly escalated in Haryana. The army is on the ground trying to quell the agitation, which has reached the gates of Delhi and now threatens the supply of essential good and services, including drinking water in the capital.

The demand for reservation is not a new one. It has surfaced repeatedly over the last decade and more, and each time assurances were given and left unfulfilled

Also Read: Sorry, Jats of Haryana. You’re Just Not Backward Enough

But the violence and disruption seen in the last few days was unprecedented. So what has changed?

This time the issue isn’t just reservation, but a fight to dominate the social and political landscape of Haryana.

We Want a Share of the Pie

Jatwasi is an obviously named village adjacent to the national highway that goes from Delhi to Rohtak. It is close to the ‘blockade’ put up at the Rewari toll both.

A bunch of men sit around, ‘guarding’ the entrance to the Jat hamlet. At first, the crux of their demand for reservation seems simple enough.

Why not us? Over generations, our land is dwindling. We have educated boys sitting at home with no jobs. This government promised us reservations. 

Duleet Chand, Resident, Jatgaon

The BJP, during its election campaign in the state had promised reservation in government institutions to Jats. They voted for the party. Now they want the government to live up to its end of the deal.

Modi said denge aarakshan. Khattar said denge aarakshan. We want our right, and will fight for it till our demands are met. Jat families have given so many boys to the armed forces, to the police. Don’t we deserve what others are getting already?

Balbir Pradhan, Resident, Jatgaon

But the courts have ruled that reservation cannot exceed 50 percent, so where should the Jats be accommodated? Sandeep, sarpanch of the village has a simple answer.

Take it from the Sainis. They think it’s their time now, we will show them.

Sandeep, Sarpanch, Jatwasi

Insult Perhaps, But Where is the Injury?

Raj Kumar Saini is a focus of the bulk of the Jat rage. His house was attacked, and many from the community had some unkind, even unprintable things to say about him. The BJP leader from Kurukshera is strongly opposed to Jat reservations and has openly threatened to resign if they are included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

Raj Kumar Saini has abused us [Jats] repeteadly. He has made caste-based slurs and said he will not allow us in the OBC category. Who is he to allow us? Why hasn’t he been sacked by the BJP for casteist remarks? He thinks his vote bank of 37 jatis (sub-castes) makes him invincible? Ab toh ye moochun ki ladai hai. Let’s see who will win.

Sandeep Pradhan, sarpanch of Jatgaon

Moochon ki ladai. A battle of mustaches. A question of pride, manhood and manliness. The rise of non-Jat communities, particularly the Sainis and Ahirs, seems to have shaken up Haryana’s social applecart. The jats clearly, are upset by this. After all, before Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana had a jat chief ministers for 20 years.

But even now, they hold a lion’s share of the jobs in government services, are more than adequately represented in the legislature and have relatively large landholdings.

That’s pretty much the definition of a dominant caste.

OBCs Will Not Share Their Reservation Quota

Since Jats, at least for now, cannot be legally given a separate quota, they want to be included within the current OBC quota. But the Ahirs (Haryana’s Yadavs) and the Sainis are unlikely to fall in line with the move which digs into their share of government jobs.

On the sidelines of a cricket match between the Saini Samaj and the Rotary Club, Ram Saini, the President of the Rewari Saini Sabha flatly denied that Ram Kumar Saini had made any casteist statements.

The allegations against our leader (Ram Kumar Saini) are baseless. All he said was that Jats should not be given OBC status. They already control so much of the administration, if they get reservation they will use their influence to corner all the jobs. If that happens, all OBC communities will come together and agitate. Of course, we will do it peacefully – there will be no damage to life and property. 

Ram Saini, President, Rewari Saini Sabha

The government is now in a tight spot. A resolution to the current crisis, while welcome, can at best act as a band-aid for the deep social and political gashes in Haryana. The real question for the BJP is whether to wield a coalition with numerically dominant OBCs and upper castes, or appease the politically powerful Jats.