The Jat Agitation

Presentation by:
Nisha Baskar
Saha Debanshee Gopal

So whats this agitation all about?

The Jats are primarily farmers. They
make up 29 per cent of Haryana's total
population.
The Jats are demanding to be
declared OBC (other backward class),
which will help them secure the 27 per
cent OBC reservation in government
jobs.

Socio Economic Profile of Jats

25%of Haryana population
21%share in class I & II services of state government
87%community members engaged in agriculture
12%children of the community (aged 6-14) never attended
school
6.5%enrolment at graduation level, lesser than state average
of 8.3%
1.71%enrolment at PG level, against state average of 2.26%

Jat Quota Demand- their history

1997

2014

Latest Round of Protests

The protest started on 12 February16,
and turned violent on 20 February16. In
Haryana,
the
protesters
blocked
highways and railway lines, burnt down
several vehicles, damaged public and
private property, set the house of state's
finance minister. They also blocked water
supply
to
the
neighbouringDelhi,
resulting in a temporary water crisis in
that state.

Consequences
By 22 February, the protests were estimated to
have
caused
a
loss
of
Rs340
billion(US$5.0billion) in northern India.
TheNorthern Railwayshas suffered a loss ofRs2
billion(US$29million)
while
more
than
10lakhpassengers have been affected.
Delhi faced water crisis due to protests.
During the protests women were gang raped,
this information is public, the police is also aware
of this fact. However, no action has been taken
by any authority.

..Some more developments

The protesters set the RN Mall in
Rohtak on fire and looted guns and
ammunition from a private armoury.
The army had been called in to the
eight worst affected areas including
Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Bhiwani,
Karnal and Hisar.
Many people were killed in police
firing.
Schools have shut down in affected
towns and the supply of milk,

.. And some more

Agitators set Vita Milk Plant in
Haryana's Rohtak on fire. People
living in vicinity have been asked to
vacate the areas due to possibility of
gas leakage.
Maruti Suzuki Plant in Manesar
temporarily closed as a precautionary
measure following protests.
And many more..

Heres a short video

Other Communities
Gurjar Agitation in Rajasthan
Violence erupted in the state ofRajasthanin India on
23 May 2008 when police fired on protesters
belonging to theGurjar castewho were demanding a
lowerscheduled tribestatus, instead of their current,
higher OBC (Other Backward Class) status.
Patidar Reservation Agitation
Starting
of
July
2015,
the
people
of
India'sPatidarcommunity, seekingOther Backward
Class(OBC) status, held public demonstrations
across the Indian state ofGujarat.

Reasons behind the Jat demands

Unemployment : Failure of state to create adequate
employment opportunities for its educated youth.
Partial success of reservation policy : Increased
competition due to partial success of reservation policy
which bring some socially disadvantaged sections par to
the general people.
Large failure of Reservation policy : Anger towards
state's largely failed reservation policy whose benefits are
being accrued by well-off eligible communities.
Education : Lack of access to affordable, quality higher
education institutes in India.
Agriculture : Agrarian distress due to back to back
droughts which affected prosperity of these communities.

.. And they are unreasonable

because
Constitution
requires
evidence
of
discrimination or backwardness or underrepresentation to consider demand of reservation
which these communities have failed to present.
Constitution envisages reservation as an explicit
and exclusive measure to reduce caste
discrimination. On the contrary, here demand is
totally based on caste factor.
Moreover, Jats in Haryana are a relatively more
prosperous land owning community.

Ethically Right or Wrong?

A number of questions can
be raised concerning the Jat
agitation:
Is the concept of reservations
still valid today? If yes:
First: Should reservations be
given based on only caste or
based on how economically
backward they are?
Second: Was it okay for the Jats to protest in the
manner that they did?

Bibliography
http://www.ndtv.com/cheat-sheet/haryanas-rohtak-tenseafter-clashes-over-jat-quota-all-party-meet-today-1278988
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jat_reservation_agitation
http://thelogicalindian.com/story-feed/opinion/all-youneed-to-know-about-jat-agitation-and-the-logical-indianopinion-on-it/
http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/in-fact-jatsthink-theyre-backward-theres-a-reason/
http://www.business-standard.com/article/currentaffairs/what-the-jat-agitation-is-all-about116021900312_1.html
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/why-jats-are-protestingin-haryana-all-you-need-to-know/1/600890.html

Questions?

Thank you!

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