By IANS
Jaipur/New Delhi : After four days of violence, Rajasthan was mostly peaceful Saturday with Gujjar leaders sounding hopeful as they opened crucial talks with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on their demand for tribal status aimed at improving the community's economic condition.
But with unprecedented social unrest affecting the desert state, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped in with an appeal for calm while a rattled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a meeting at former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's residence to discuss a crisis that has claimed 25 lives, derailed train traffic in north India and badly hit the state's booming tourist industry.
All eyes were focused on Jaipur where over 10 leaders of the Gujjar community, which is on a virtual warpath, went into detailed discussions with Raje, who is leading a team of ministers and officials.
"We are hopeful of a positive outcome," Gujjar leader Roop Singh told IANS before going into the chief minister's residence. But he warned: "This will be the final round. If nothing comes out of this, the government will be to blame for the consequences."
But with Rajasthan reporting no violent incident Saturday save the burning of a police post in Tonk district, officials expressed the hope that there were signs of ending the crisis soon.
At least 25 people have been killed in Rajasthan since the trouble began May 29, mainly in police firing on Gujjar mobs and in clashes between the Gujjar and Meena communities.
The Gujjars, who are now classified as other backward class (OBC), want their community to be recognized as a lower-category tribal group like the Meenas who they allege are now cornering most of the benefits given to Scheduled Tribes in government jobs and educational institutions.
Once the police fired at Gujjar mobs killing 14 of them following clashes with the police in Rajasthan's southeast, the violence quickly spread to several more areas of the state as well as to Uttar Pradesh, Harayana and New Delhi.
The violent streets protests have badly disrupted train traffic passing through Rajasthan as well as to New Delhi, the biggest railway hub in northern India, besides tourism in the sprawling state. Thousands of Indian and foreign tourists as well as Hindu pilgrims are stranded in the state.
Thousands of Gujjars have blocked both the Jaipur-Agra and Jaipur-Delhi highways, dealing a blow to the tourist traffic in what is known as the "golden triangle".
An anguished Manmohan Singh stepped in Saturday.
"The events of the past few days in parts of Rajasthan have caused a great deal of pain and distress to large numbers of people. Sadly, many lives have been lost, plunging their families into grief," he said in a statement.
"I appeal to all the people of Rajasthan and also those in neighbouring states to maintain peace and calm. I appeal to all sections of society to desist from actions which may lead to further violence and distress and which will disrupt the lives of ordinary citizens," he added.
But despite his appeals, sporadic incidents of violence erupted in parts of the Indian capital as well as neighbouring areas such as Gurgaon district in Haryana and Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh Saturday.
Delhi Police said they had the situation under control.
The authorities also cancelled 20 trains and said 27 others were delayed for varying hours in northern and central India. The main train network between New Delhi and Mumbai runs through Gujjar-dominated areas of Rajasthan.
"We have cancelled 20 passenger trains to avoid any damage to life and property," said Rajesh Khare, a Northern Railway spokesman said in New Delhi.
These include the Gujarat Sampark Kranti Express, Ashram Express, Jaisalmer Express, Mewar Express, Dehradun Express and Bandra Terminus Express. However, services were to resume on the Delhi-Mumbai line soon, one official said.
Nearly 50 metres of tracks were damaged between Dadri and Azadpur on the Delhi-Kanpur line. This is one of the busiest railway routes in northern India.
The previous talks Friday night between the government and representatives of the Gujjar Sangharsh Committee, which is leading the community's campaign, ended inconclusively.
The continuing unrest has led to a sharp rise in prices of vegetables and fruits in Jaipur, which used to get large supplies from New Delhi and Agra.
The prices of potatoes have gone up from Rs.250-280 to Rs.325-350 per 40 kg, said Radheyshyam Fatak of the Rajasthan Fruits and Vegetables Wholesale Association. Similarly, ginger, garlic and onion prices have also gone up by Rs.10-15 per kg and prices of green vegetables are up by over Rs.4-7 per kg.