KHAKI BLUES

Last year, 32 youngsters from this village found their way into the state police force. But now, 12 of them are back home without jobs

Just a year ago, Choubepur was brimming with pride — the village is next door to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s native Safai and during his tenure, 32 youngsters had found jobs in the state police force. A year later, that pride has been severely dented — the Mayawati government has sacked 12 of the constables and villagers know it’s only a matter of time before the others come back too.

Choubepur is among the seven villages in the Safai police station limits from where a large number of youngsters were recruited into the Uttar Pradesh police in 2005-06. But Mayawati has now sacked over 1,000 policemen across the state over alleged irregularities in the police recruitment.

Choubepur, about 25 km from Etawah town, has over 1,800 villagers and 98 per cent of them are Yadavs. When we asked them if their caste helped them get jobs one of them, Ram Pal Yadav, shot back angrily, “Netaji ji ke padosi the to sabhi yehan raja nahin hue. Sipahi hi to bane the (Though we are Mulayam’s neighbours, we weren’t all crowned kings).”

And then, they hit out at Mayawati. “Mayawati jatiwadi (casteist) hai. Naukari mein reservation unke logon ko aur jamin ka patta bhi unhe hi chahiye (They get reservation in jobs and also get land from the government),” Ram Pal Yadav said with a snarl.

The villagers felt that Mayawati was being vindictive. “This is nothing but politics. She should attack Mulayam Singh in politics and not target us. It is a crime to snatch the job of youngsters,” said Sheo Kumar Yadav, a college teacher.

Some of the youngsters who returned home with their dismissal letters alleged that Mayawati had been harassing them for the last four months just so that they can be sacked. “We were asked to undergo one test after another. Kabhi medical test to kabhi height,” Rajnish Yadav said. He said his plans had all fallen apart. “I got the job when I was in my first year of college. I couldn’t complete my graduation and now, it is not easy for me to get back into college.”

The villagers say the dismissed recruits had planned to launch an agitation to press the government to reconsider their case. “But the village elders convinced them that they should avoid getting involved in violent protests till the court comes up with a decision,” a villager said.