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What the Jat agitation is all about

The Jat community agitation for government reservations on Friday again disrupted major highways and rail traffic in large parts of Haryana after protestors took to the streets against government inaction on their demand.

An earlier round of disruption had invited censure from the Supreme Court. Taking strong exception to the Uttar Pradesh and the Haryana chief ministers' support to Jats' demands, an SC bench in March last year said: "We make it clear that while citizens have the right to protest, resorting to such steps should not lead to disruption of supply of essential commodities."

Here’s a quick look at key facts that explain how and why the hullaballoo around the Jats and their agitation campaign became a mainstream news.

The current situation

  • Five days into the agitation for reservation, Indian Railways has lost almost Rs 100 crore due to the blockade across Haryana which has affected 206 trains. Nearly 100 trains were cancelled and 70 diverted as Jats occupied the railway tracks.
  • Section 144, which prohibits the public assembly of more than 4 persons, has been imposed to avert any further deterioration in law and order situation.
  • Following clashes on Thursday, mobile internet services have also been blocked in Haryana's Rohtak district. Normal life was hit as the ongoing agitation for quotas, as identity-based reservations are colloquially known, spread to more parts of the state after talks between community leaders and the government failed to break the deadlock.
  • The agitation spread to Kaithal, Karnal, Jind and other districts; while rail and road traffic has been worst hit in the Rohtak-Jhajjar region, the epicentre of the protests, Bhiwani, Sonipat, Hisar have also been affected.
  • As the protests continued, supply of milk, vegetables, fruits and other items on the nationalhighway connecting Rohtak with other parts of the state and NCR was also affected. Private schools in the affected areas have declared holidays.

What are they asking for?

  • The Jats are demanding Other Backward Classes (OBC) status for the community in the central list of castes eligible for reservations. Currently, Jats enjoy reservations in four states, but are asking this to be extended to the rest of the country. This will aid the community getting into central government jobs and institutions under the category.

When was the last agitation?

  • Lat year in July, factions of Jat samiti and khap panchayat announced their decision to resume the stir after Supreme Court sets aside the notification dated March 4, 2014, granting OBC status to Jats in March. Ram Bhagat Malik, spokesman of All India Jat Aarakshan Sanghrash Samiti (AIJASS) Jat community said they were planning for an "all-out" battle against the government.

What is the trigger for the latest round of protests?

  • The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Centre’s petition asking the apex court to reconsider its verdict scrapping the March 2014 notification to include Jats in the central list of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in nine states. Also, a plea by some Jat applicants, who cleared various stages of Probationary Officers recruitment exam under the reserved OBC category but were not given letters of appointment, was rejected.
  • A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton F Nariman junked the review petition filed by the government against the March 17 verdict by the judges. It held there was no error apparent on the face of the record and the review plea was bereft of merit.
  • The review petition claimed that the court could not have sat over the decision by the government to grant OBC status to Jats since it was taken under a constitutional authority. The government cited its powers under Articles 15 (4) and 16 (4) to make special provisions, including reservation in appointments for certain disadvantaged classes, and contended that it could not be denuded of its authority by an interpretation of the court.
  • It had added that the test laid down by the Supreme Court in its previous judgments for determination of social, educational and economic backwardness of Jats had been fully met and it was only after that a decision was taken to include Jats in the list of OBC communities.
  • On March 17 last year, the Bench has quashed the notification, and ruled that “caste” and “historical injustice” cannot blind a state in according backward status to a community and that new emerging groups such as transgenders must be identified for quota benefits. It was a poll-eve decision by the UPA-II government in March 2014 to include Jats in the central list of OBC.

What has been the government's stance?

  • The Haryana state government extended an olive branch to Jats by agreeing to double the existing 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions for economically backward persons (EBPs) in the general caste category, including Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Tyagis and Bishnois. It was also decided to enhance the annual income ceiling from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh to accommodate more people under the EBP quota.

  • But, Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti  Chief Yashpal Malik said: “In my opinion, the state government is trying to mislead Jats of Haryana by floating this proposal. But the final decision about the agitation will be taken on Thursday.”
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