All Out Caste-War In The Name Of Reservation

The Jat reservation stir soon took the shape of caste violence in Haryana. The state machinery looked on as non-Jats were looted, abused and killed in a planned manner, writes Amit Bhardwaj.

- Amit Bhardwaj

The silent lanes of Jhajjar’s non-Jat colonies, the charred houses in Chavanni Mohalla and the wreckages of motor bikes, trucks tractors and life resemble a scene from a war movie. While reports of the gang rapes in Murthal are yet to be confirmed, different versions are surfacing on social media and news dailies. Pressure is building on the investigating team to come up with something concrete.

A rampaging mob of over 3,000 Jat protestors hit Jhajjar on 20-21 February and burnt down several houses and looted several stores. Most of the looted and destroyed property belongs to non Jat castes — Saini, Punjabi, even Bramhin. Rohtak, the epicentre of the reservation stir too, has the same story to tell. On the ground, people speak of large scale violence of an extremely caste based nature. This is not merely an agitation for reservation. Have the Jats of Haryana waged a caste-war?

Initial reporting on the Jat agitation gave the picture of a spontaneous burst of violence with a sense of aimlessness. But, upon a closer look, this random burst also has a pattern to it. One of the only shops not ransacked in Chavanni is ‘Hooda Store’ — Hooda is a Jat surname. Nearby, three stores are lined up after one another. They belong to a Punjabi, a Jat and a Saini respectively. The First and third one, an electronic showroom and a shoe store, have been reduced to ashes. However, the store in the middle — Haryana Book Store — has been left untouched by the mob as the owner is Jat.