At health centres, caste wounds fester

At noon, the CHC is empty except for Dr Balwir Singh Gurjjar, who was sent on deputation from his parent PHC in Dausa in the wake of Sunday’s violence. He has attended to at least 50 cases in the last two days while four doctors posted at the CHC went missing from action when the violence unfolded on Sunday.

Chief Medical Health officer for Dausa region, Dr C.B. Danawat, said Dr Gurjjar was posted to ensure that there was calm in Sikandara, the worst affected place. “I was sent here the very evening the violence broke out. I was asked to rush,” Dr Gurjjar explains.

That is when Kamal Singh Gurjjar, a 21-year-old student who was injured during the agitation, rushed to the CHC for first aid. “I found Dr Gurjjar here and had no problem going to him for treatment,” he says.

Of the CHC’s four doctors, two from the Meena community proceeded on long leave. The other two have turned up intermittently after the violence. “I was sent to Khedla dispensary to attend to the injured coming from Bayana,” said Dr C.B. Sharma, who is in charge of the CHC, adding that the Meena doctors, Dr Ghanshyam Meena and Dr Mukesh Meena, were on “permitted leave”.

At the neighbouring Baandikui CHC, 10 kilometres from Sikandara, doctors say Meena doctors, especially those posted in government dispensaries in the violence-hit districts, went “into hiding”. The only Meena among the 15 doctors at Baandikui, Dr Sualal Meena, didn’t turn up for work on Sunday. “We have been calling him for duty but he very reluctantly turned up on Monday,” said Dr S.N. Sharma at the Baandikui CHC.

Sharma also adds with a grin that a Meena doctor from the Sikandara CHC didn’t join Baandikui despite orders from health authorities. “This despite the fact that Baandikui is not as volatile as Sikandara,” he said.

But a good 35 kilometres away from Sikandara, the Mahua PHC in Mahua, which shares the national highway with Meena-dominated villages like Aantarheda and Semleti, Meena doctors were at work in full strength. Of the five doctors, four belong to the Meena community and none skipped work during the violence. “We didn’t attend to any patients from Sikandara as they were all taken to Khedla. There was no fear here,” said compounder Prahlad Meena.

At Badabujurg, better known as state Food and Supplies Minister Kirori Lal Meena’s village, the Meenas seemed restless. A gathering of men outside the minister’s house is a warning that the calm is not a sign of peace.

“We are in wait-and-watch mode. The moment we see the government yielding to the Gurjjars’ demands, we will start,” said Kamal Prasad Meena. He has taken a few days’ leave from his job in Jaipur just to assess the situation back home.