Friday, 19 February 2016

Why Jats are protesting in Haryana: All you need to know..

Jat quota protest

Railway station, mall, several police and civilian vehicles and a minister's house set on fire, an armoury looted, highways dug up, rail tracks damaged. Jat protesters demanding reservation in jobs and education in Haryana have unleashed a reign of violence across the state.
Here is all that you need to know about Jat quota stir:
The Jat quota agitation has crippled Haryana for the second time in less than a year. The latest protest, however, has been more violent. This quota issue goes back to the 1990s.
Jats: The Jat community is primarily into farming. Traditionally, they are not considered backward. They are economically and politically well off. 29 per cent of Haryana's population comprise of the Jats.
Demand: Jats are demanding to be declared OBC (other backward class, which will help them secure the 27 per cent OBC reservation in government jobs.
What the Haryana govt offered them: Jats have rejected the Special Backward Class quota offered by the Khattar government on the basis of their economic status.
The Supreme Court's take: Hearing a plea of the Jats, the Supreme Court had made it clear that caste alone cannot be the reason to approve reservation for a certain community. The top court had said that to determine backwardness of a community, social backwardness should be the prime concern. The Supreme Court has capped caste based reservation upto 50 per cent and if the Haryana government succumbs to Jat pressure and add Jat quota to the present OBC reservation (27 per cent plus SC, ST quota of 22.5 per cent) it will be flouting Supreme Court's rules. 
Jat quota demand - History in brief
Ever since the controversial 1991 Mandal Commission report, Jats have been opposing to be mentioned in the OBC list of the Union government and other states.
In 1997, Jats in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh demanded them to be included in the central OBC list. It was reject by the National Commission for Backward Classes.
In 2012, a survey was conducted in six states on the directives of the commission to review the economical and social status of the Jats. States like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were also included in the survey. In Haryana, the survey conducted compared the Jats to higher castes.
During 2004 Haryana Assembly election campaign, Congress's Bhupinder Singh Hooda promised Jats a quota. Hooda won the election.
Ahead of Assembly election in 2014, Hooda included Jats and four other castes in Specially Backward Class (SBC) quota.
However, in July 2015, the Punjab and Haryana High Court rejected the Hooda government's plan to give 10 per cent reservation to the Jats after the Supreme Court refused the state government's quota recommendations.
Centre's decision to include Jats from 9 states - Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar - in OBC list rejected by the Supreme Court in March, 2015.

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