The hills along the Jaipur-Agra highway turned into a battleground on Friday as thousands of members of the Meena community attacked agitating Gujjars with iron rods and knives, witnesses and the police said.

At least eight people were killed in the attack near Lalsot town of Rajasthan’s Dausa district, at the epicentre of the four-day agitation by the Gujjar community in support of its demand for inclusion in the list of scheduled tribes. The Meenas, the biggest scheduled tribe in the state, do not want to share the benefits of reservation with the Gujjars.

“About 20,000 Meenas attacked the village at around 3 p.m., pulled people out of their homes and misbehaved with women,” Ram Singh Gujjar, a resident of Lalsot, told the Hindustan Times at Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital where one of his relative was being treated for injuries suffered in the attack.

Rajasthan home secretary V.S. Singh said, “There may be more bodies scattered in the hills.”

The Meenas were on their way to the nearby Pyaribas town to attend a caste panchayat, said K.L. Bairwa, Rajasthan’s additional director general of police. “When their march was thwarted by a Gujjar blockade, they turned violent,” he added.

The central government sent additional paramilitary troops on Friday to help police control the situation as the violence reached the outskirts of the national capital, but chances of peace remained elusive in the usually quiet Rajasthan as talks between the Gujjars and the state government foundered.

All major highways into Rajasthan were shut for the second day on Friday and bus and train services were severely disrupted as protests by the Gujjar community continued in and outside the state.

Shoot-at-sight orders were in force in Bharatpur and army contingents were kept at the ready in other areas. In Gurgaon, the Central Reserve Police Force staged a flag march. The Meenas want the Gujjars to end their blockade and have asked the state government not to give in to the protesters. About 30 people have died since the start of the agitation.

Eyewitnesses said violence erupted when members of the Meena community attacked the Gujjars blocking the highway near Lalsot, a Meena-majority town.

Kailash Meena, a spokesperson for the Save Tribal Reservation Movement, said community members were forced to retaliate after the Gujjars trapped them on a road lined on either side by small hillocks. “Meenas were stoned from the adjoining hills,” he said.

The community quickly mobilised more people and counter-attacked with sharp weapons and lathis. The clashes continued for almost two hours. Rajasthan government officials said about 30 people were seriously injured in the attack and some of them with head and chest injuries had been moved to Jaipur for treatment.

Witnesses said a group of Meenas had laid siege to Patoli town, near Lalsot, where some Gujjars have been on a dharna since Tuesday. There were fears of violence in Patoli where the Gujjars have dug war-like trenches, but officials said the situation was peaceful.

Ramesh Gujjar, one of those involved in the blockade, said: “One man in every trench would carry a pistol to retaliate in case the Meenas attack.”

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/St...han%2c+8+killed

Isn't Rajasthan the "R" of "BIMARU"?

Is there no end?

Centre not to intervene in Rajasthan crisis for now

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, JUNE 03, 2007 01:00:32 AM]

NEW DELHI/JAIPUR: The Centre, which is not in favour of direct intervention in Rajasthan, has asked the ruling BJP government in the state to resolve the Gurjar-Meena crisis through negotiations.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Jaswant Singh at his 7, Race Course Residence on Saturday to discuss the situation in the state. After the meeting, he appealed to the people to “desist from actions which may lead to further violence and distress”. He also expressed grief over the loss life in the state. Mr Singh had earlier spoken to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the unrest in Rajasthan.

BJP chief Rajnath Singh told mediapersons that the PM had emphasised the need for restoring law and order in the state and asked for efforts to be made to secure the release of dead bodies from the protesters. The BJP chief added that his party’s leaders had made no demand from the PM during their discussions.

The Centre’s bid to let the Rajasthan government get its act together comes in the wake of the Congress’ refusal to be seen as taking sides in the caste clash. The numerically stronger Meena community in the state has opposed the Gurjar demand for inclusion in the scheduled tribe (ST) list.

The issue is proving to tricky for the ruling BJP in the state with the Meenas, who are already in the ST list, forming 12% of the state’s population. The Gurjars constitute about 2% of the state. With elections due in Rajasthan in late 2008, the issue is proving to be a political hot-potato for both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

Meanwhile, deadlock between the state government and Gurjar leaders continues as uneasy calm prevailed in Rajasthan. Though, tension is still running high in Karauli, Sawai Madhopur and Bharatpur districts, no violence was reported. It is believed that the impasse is over the written assurance by the state government to recommend Central Government for the inclusion of Gurjars in ST category.

In keeping with the Centre’s stand, the Home (MHA) on Saturday issued an advisory to the state government to initiate dialogue with eminent persons of both communities. It also asked the state government to widely publicise joint appeals from leaders of both communities. It also issued an advisory to the neighbouring states of UP, MP, Haryana and Delhi to “remain alert” and to see that the violence did not spread.

On Friday, the Centre had made it clear that it was for the Vasundhara Raje government to contain the violence in the state and then take a call on the Gurjar community’s demand for ST status. The Congress party had described the issue as a “complicated” one and said the question of reservation needed to be discussed by all political parties at the national level in order to reach a consensus.

wow

A lot of crazy stuff has been going on in India lately. Yeah, it is sadly a mess.

not lately, always - rediff.com and hindustantimes.com and timesofindia.indiatimes.com and sulekha.com just make it seem like it's lately

true!