At health centres, caste wounds fester

The only Govt-run health centre in Sikandara tells the story of a divide between the Gujjars and the Meenas that runs deep.

Seated inside a makeshift tent on National Highway 11 in Sikandara, where he has been guarding his son Mukul8217;s corpse for the last five days, Yogendra Ram Karsana fumes at the mention of Meenas, the community that enjoys ST status but doesn8217;t want Gujjars to be granted the same. 8220;We have nothing against Meenas. We are only asking the government for ST status,8221; he says.

But a few kilometres away from where Karsana is sitting8212;with hundreds of his community members and six corpses8212;the Community Health Centre, the only government-run health centre in Sikandara, tells the story of a divide that runs deep.

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 Sunday8217;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. 8220;I was sent here the very evening the violence broke out. I was asked to rush,8221; 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. 8220;I found Dr Gurjjar here and had no problem going to him for treatment,8221; he says.

Of the CHC8217;s four doctors, two from the Meena community proceeded on long leave. The other two have turned up intermittently after the violence. 8220;I was sent to Khedla dispensary to attend to the injured coming from Bayana,8221; 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 8220;permitted leave8221;.

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 8220;into hiding8221;. The only Meena among the 15 doctors at Baandikui, Dr Sualal Meena, didn8217;t turn up for work on Sunday. 8220;We have been calling him for duty but he very reluctantly turned up on Monday,8221; said Dr S.N. Sharma at the Baandikui CHC.

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Sharma also adds with a grin that a Meena doctor from the Sikandara CHC didn8217;t join Baandikui despite orders from health authorities. 8220;This despite the fact that Baandikui is not as volatile as Sikandara,8221; 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. 8220;We didn8217;t attend to any patients from Sikandara as they were all taken to Khedla. There was no fear here,8221; said compounder Prahlad Meena.

At Badabujurg, better known as state Food and Supplies Minister Kirori Lal Meena8217;s village, the Meenas seemed restless. A gathering of men outside the minister8217;s house is a warning that the calm is not a sign of peace.

8220;We are in wait-and-watch mode. The moment we see the government yielding to the Gujjars8217; demands, we will start,8221; said Kamal Prasad Meena. He has taken a few days8217; leave from his job in Jaipur just to assess the situation back home.