Jat leaders put off Delhi protest over reservation

Leaders of the Jat community have postponed demonstrations planned for today demanding the Indian government extend its affirmative action policy for certain castes to their members.
India’s caste system of social stratification is accompanied by a policy that sets down quotas in government jobs and higher education institutions for the lowest castes, members of which have benefited under the system for centuries.
The Jats, a caste of largely well-off land-owning groups, say the government’s reservation policy for members of economically or socially disadvantaged castes is unfair and demand that the benefits be extended to them as well.
A forum that leads the Jats’ movement for quotas in government jobs and educational institutions had said its members would blockade parliament and all highways leading to Delhi today.
Yesterday evening’s postponement of the protest came after administration officials and police in the Indian capital had already boosted security in anticipation of the rally, halting metro rail services in some areas and deploying extra forces at the border entry points of the city.
The Delhi protest was pushed back by at least two weeks after Haryana’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar assured them that several of their demands would be met, Jat forum chairman Yashpal Malik said.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with Jat leaders, Khattar said the process of giving the Jat community quotas would be begun soon by the federal and state governments.
A relieved Delhi, however, still remained on alert with restrictions on exit in place at four metro stations.
Special Commissioner of Police Dependra Pathak said security arrangements at the borders, in New Delhi area and other places will remain intact and that the security situation will be monitored closely.
“The police presence will be there. We are continuously monitoring the situation so that if any situation is precipitated, we are able to handle it,” he said.
The Jat community, which have been demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, among other things, resumed their agitation on January 29.
Federal Minister of State for Law and Social Justice P P Choudhary said that the process for Jat reservation in central government jobs will start after the chairperson and other members of the National Commission for Backward Classes have been appointed.
Malik said the Jats will not undertake the proposed march to parliament today.
However, he said, token rallies at some places in Haryana would continue for the time being.