For Gurjjars,conversion better than humiliation

None of the candidates have come here so far and why would they? Their vote bank demands they not support Gurjjars, rues Vikram Gurjjar. If any of the candidates are even seen canvassing in the Gurjjar majority areas,they will lose their own community votes en masse,he explains.

Thus the irony,that the Gurjjars seek refuge only in an other Gurjjar,Qammar Rabbani Chechi,an import and a Muslim at that from Jammu and Kashmir,where Gurjjars enjoy ST status. The last person who came here to speak to us was Rabbani,three days ago. I doubt he will come back. He knows all Gurjjars will vote for him so he only needs to work on votes from other communities to win, asserts Vijay Singh. According to Singh,the community will back the Gurjjar to the hilt,only because they have lost faith in all other political leadership. Even Sachin Pilot,who we still hold in high regard,has not actively worked for our cause, Singh added.

It was near a large brick building,just a few metres inside Patoli village,that the first police bullets brought down crusading Gurjjars on May 29,2007. We had just returned from a meeting two km away and were eating food around the brick house when the police trooped in. We were about 100 in number and they easily outnumbered us,but still fired round after round, recalls Kailash Gurjjar,a 23-year-old who will carry a limp in his right leg for the rest of his life. He tells us six Gurjjars were martyred in Patoli,whose last rites were witnessed by hundreds from the community,under the watchful eye of even more police personnel,Rapid Action Force and even the Army.

The memories only result in a silence that soon gives way to palpable anger as news spreads that another reporter is asking questions in the village. The crowds around the same brick house build up as several men,mostly young and angry,from the Gurjjar community arrive and want their voice heard as well. What do they think? That we will suddenly turn violent while performing the last rites of our martyrs. There were three Army squads present for the ceremony, says a visibly agitated Budhram Gurjjar.

The rebellious mood is only quelled when the village priest,referred to only as Mahantji,issues a word of caution: It is not our nature to be violent,so let us not be. Col Bainslaji has been with us and now he will take our voice to Parliament. It our vote that is important.

Though the older generations grudgingly agree,the youths have other ideas. We Gurjjars are a proud community and have never felt this let down by everybody,the establishment,politicians,community leaders and the populace. If nothing,the two agitations and the death of more than 70 of our brethren has brought us closer together, asserts Vikram. He adds that conversion of faith was not the least disregarded idea. Vikram maintains,The community shed blood for five per cent reservation,but 14 per cent reservation was granted to economically backward upper castes,where is the justice there. This is why we contemplate converting our religion.

Buddhram,who has also served the Indian Army puts it bluntly,If converting to Islam or Christianity works or does not work,we do know that our life will be better than what it is now and politicians will not ignore us then. But,the anger that courses through the younger generation is getting harder to control on a daily basis and could manifest itself in any manner.