R.D. Bhardwaj “Noorpuri”
The Jat community in some states have been pressing for seeking reservation in government jobs for the last few years though their social, economic and financial status in society does not substantiate and justify their demand. The Jats in almost all states have been economically well off as they have huge agricultural lands to survive on. Apart from this, they have also started some other businesses / have shops / working in police / have trucks and buses etc. which gives them a good amount of earnings and thereby helps them to lead a quality and luxurious life. But still they are bent upon having access to reservation of seats in government job and colleges, which prima-facie seems totally unjustified and lacks logic and historical reasons as well for which the people belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes have been given this benefit by making provisions in Constitution of India.
2. Despite all this, the Jats from Haryana had started all out agitation for seeking reservation for the last couple of days. Everybody is quite aware that Haryana is a state which has fertile lands and people having agricultural lands have flourished beyond the periphery of doubts. They came out on roads almost in the entire state and started indulging in causing huge loss / damage to public property, shops and shopping malls, buses and trucks have been set on fire. Railway lines have been uprooted / dismantled, stopped the flow of traffic coming from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir towards Delhi and vice-versa. Life of the people has been made hell by these hooliganism and vandalism. It is also intriguing to note that both Haryana police and central forces have remained a silent spectators during the entire course of this agitation. Hyundai showrooms have been set on fire and it is also reported that the calls made by the victims and other suffering people to the police, remained just unresponded.
3. It is duty of the government to protect the lives and property of people in case some miscreants start indulging in some riots and destructive behaviour of some people. But neither the police plunged into action nor military services were pressed into action while these people of the Jat agitation were rowdy, violent and high on their rioting and looting exercise. This gives credence to the point that these law enforcing agencies were clandestinely hand and glove with the agitationsts, in the same or similar manner as was planned and masterminded in the riots which followed the death of Smt. Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, in the first week of November 1984. The news channels have surveyed many places which had to bear the brunt of these riots and have reported that shops / shopping malls / thousands of vehicles and some other property of the Punjabis were particularly targeted very shrewdly and cunningly, as if theses agitationists were out to settle some scores with them. Indeed very shameful.
4. It is also very regretful / shameful to observe that while both Haryana and Centre are being ruled and governed by the same party, still why the central government continued sitting ideal and did not take any discernible action, if the situation in Haryana became beyond the control of the state government? This conspiracy of silence simply goes beyond comprehension. Three days ago, when some students of a college in Varanasi showed black flags to the prime minister and tried to submit their memorandum of demands, they were beaten mercilessly, as if those students were hardened criminals. But when the question and crisis of dealing with agitating people of the Jat community comes who had turned violent & destructive and set property worth crores of rupees on fire, the law enforcing agencies of both – Haryana and Central government did not rise up to the occasion and take remedial action? Apparently, it looks very weird and intriguing ? Governments have every power and means at their disposal and should not behave sitting helplessly, the way it has been done now.
5. Rough estimates done by the news channels put the figure of financial loss to the nation at more than Rs. 20,000/- crores, besides causing death to about 21/22 people. Even the terrorists coming from across the border did not cause such a huge loss to property due to their terrorist activities during the last 9/10 years. On the top of it, the leaders of this Jat agitation people now very cunningly deny causing any damage / loss to the national property and loss of life as well. It becomes imperative for the government and the law enforcing agencies to recover this huge loss from the Jats of Haryana who were surely behind all these wrong doings. They should also realise that damaging any national property certainly drags the country many years backwards rather than providing any solution to the problem.
6. In view of the above, it becomes really necessary for the Prime Ministers to now show his nerves of steel, as he has been saying during last general elections and act sternly and show them in very clear terms that the nation is not going to bullied by such non-sense of causing loss to the public property and take the country to ransom. Haryana government should be dismissed due to their total failure of the constitutional machinery and in protecting lives of common and peace loving people. Thirdly, as our history of caste system shows that the Jats have never been victimised, harassed and discriminated against and also in the light of fact that they are the proud owners of big agricultural lands and the people of sound financial health, their demand for reservation of seats in government jobs is simply not justified and hence, can’t accepted. Hon’ble Supreme Court has also in its earlier judgements has turned down reservation in their favour. But, all this can be done only if the central government really behaves in a clear cut rational manner and strictly announces its will power to dismantle their unconstitutional and illogical demands. And last, but not the least, it should announce a policy that in future, if any agitating people ever dare to damage public / private or personal property of any member of society, the loss thus caused shall be solely recovered from them.
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