By Anil Sharma
IANS
Jaipur : It started with a bang and ended with a proverbial whimper. The Gujjar community's climbdown after a week of violence only on the assurance of a committee being formed to look into their demand for tribe status is being seen as a major victory for Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
After seven days of ceaseless caste clashes in which 25 lives were lost, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to get the Gujjars to withdraw their agitation without giving anything in writing.
"Initially, Raje floundered in tackling the situation. But help from the BJP's central leadership helped her reach an understanding later," said Ashok Kapil, an analyst and professor of political science.
BJP national president Rajnath Singh was in constant touch with the chief minister and deputed Gopinath Munde, the party's in-charge of the state, as well as spokesperson Prakash Javdekar to help her out.
The government put constant pressure on the Gujjars.
It told community leaders during the talks that the ground reality did not support their contention of Scheduled Tribe status. Negotiators said the report being prepared by the district collectors did not favour them and it would be in the interests of the community to accept the formation of a committee.
According to sources in the government, at least 20 of the 26 collectors' reports — of the 33 districts of the state — received so far are negative on giving the Gujjar's tribe status. The reports were shown to the Gujjars in the hope of whittling down their resistance.
Behind the scenes, Raje's daughter-in-law Niharika, also a Gujjar, played a key role in persuading community leaders to call of the stir.
It was a fine balancing act.
While it was cajoling the Gujjars, the state government was also staving off a caste conflict with the Meenas.
Meena ministers in the Raje government were busy in creating a consensus in the community to oppose any concession to the Gujjars.
Gujjars, classified as other backward classes (OBCs), constitute around four-seven percent of Rajasthan's population while Meenas, who comprise 12 percent and fall under the Scheduled Tribe category, are vehemently opposed to sharing the quota pie.
Faced with reports of clashes between the Meenas and the Gujjars and food supplies being cut by angry Meenas, the protesting Gujjars started feeling the pressure to break the deadlock and work out a face saving device.
They had earlier insisted on a written commitment from the government that it would send a recommendation to New Delhi to grant them tribe status.