Akriti Bhatia, the co-founder of Jan Ki Baat streamed live from Jantar Mantar New Delhi as Jats from Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh staged a protest headed by Yashpal Malik, the president of the All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) to extend the propaganda for reservation and put forth their demands in-front of the government.
Lakhs of people gathered as community members from the northern states descended at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to extend support to the movement in Haryana. The community members will submit a memorandum on the quota issue to the President and the Prime Minister and take out a march to Parliament. The protesters want the same quota as the OBCs in employment and education sector. The Jats are of the opinion that they have been non-violent throughout the protest and the outrage was carried on by BJP. They say that the BJP government carried out violent protests and blamed it on the Jats. The Jats would follow the order given by Yashpal Malik and take further action.
The Jats demand equality in the name of brotherhood and hence a chance to get into colleges and job sector via reservation. They allege that the Jat farmers are suffering because the price of the crops they reap in their fields is decided by the government. The farmers provide food to over 90% of the citizens in India and yet they are the most underpriviledged section of the society. It is said that Jats have large acres of farmland but the truth is their land is under the President of India and the farmers are merely the caretakers of that land. The farmers are also responsible to maintain the greenery of the land for which they should be paid, like the other countries are. The sad reality is that they are kept deprived. This is the state of the democracy in India.
They are of the opinion that Jats in Haryana are still a minority and should be given reservations like the Jats in Delhi and UP. Jats have never been violent. On the other hand, they are the ones who fight for us at the borders when we celebrate festivals like Holi and Diwali in our homes. To envigour the independent India, we must go to Lal Bahadur Shastri and his slogan- ‘Jai Jawaan, jai Kisaan.’ An old man at the protest said that the next time, they would release the cows from the Haryana farms and bring them along to protest for their rights. Besides seeking quota in education and government jobs under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, Jats are also demanding rights for their farmers.
So, how will the Parliament respond to the Jat rally? We have to look forward and find out if their demands validand will the government be favorable to them.
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