On Wednesday, as a Gurjjar delegation led by Kirori Singh Bainsla thrashed out details of a possible deal with representatives of the Rajasthan government, back in Bayana, the man holding fort was Advocate Attar Singh, someone the community leaders “trust the most”.Now with the Gurjjars pulling off what they call a “historical breakthrough”, Gurjjar leaders say Advocate Singh is emerging as the new face of the Gurjjar agitation. That’s a fact Colonel Bainsla acknowledged a few days ago: “He’s the man who made the protests possible.”And on the ground, Singh looked every bit the ‘leader’ Gurjjars looked up to. “Teen trolley roti aur mangvai leyo,” Attar Singh ordered before turning around to give a “newsbyte” to TV reporters at Pilupura.The practising lawyer, who “left an almost flourishing career to be a revolutionary”, said, “It was the appalling state of people from my community that led me into this. Most of the people here have never even been to a city and they only want a fair chance.”Advocate Singh claims that like him, many educated members of the Gurjjar community have given up careers to join the protests. While leaders in Jaipur will soon be “fighting the elections”, he says he isn’t interested in being a politician. But his supporters say he is unlikely to get away that easily. “He will have to take to politics for the sake of the people. He is the educated face of a largely illiterate community,” said Murari Harsana, a retired senior engineer in the Military Engineering Services and now among the emerging Gurjjar leaders.Originally from village Chandangaon near the famous town of Shri Mahavirji in Karauli district, Singh says he gave up his legal practice when he saw “caste-based prejudice even at the level of judiciary”. “That led to a distrust in the state machinery and I decided to give it all up to be here.”
