Author: Anuradha Nagaraj
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: February 3, 2003
An old, wrinkled man, wearing a
bright yellow turban set the tempo for Sunday afternoon's Brahmin reservation
rally in Alwar. Pulled out from a crowd of around 30,000, the turbaned
man blew into his conch and announced the arrival of the militant Brahmin.
At the third reservation rally of
2003, the demand for 15 per cent reservation for the 60 lakh-odd Brahmins
in Rajasthan grew louder. Sage Parshuram's axe was picked up and waved
in the air as the Brahmins threatened bloodshed if they didn't get their
rights.
Rajesh Kumari spent Sunday afternoon
basking in the sun in Alwar's Company Bagh grounds, listening to all the
fiery speeches. "Everyone is talking about it (reservation) and I was curious,"
she said, adding that the entire afternoon was an eye-opener. "I had no
clue we Brahmins were being discriminated against so much," she said.
Precisely why the 30-odd speakers
raved and ranted about Parshuram and Chanakya, highlighted the unfair treatment
meted out against Brahmins in Kalyug and threatened mayhem if they didn't
get reservation.
"Brahmins in Rajasthan have nothing,
no jobs, no land and no means of survival. We are not doing well economically
and demand 15 per cent reservation on that basis," said Shyam Sundar Vashisht,
one of the men leading the reservation rallies in the state.
Former state deputy chief minister
Hari Shankar Bhawra added: "It is odd that our children don't get jobs
even after scoring over 90 per cent. We are not demanding this for just
ourselves but for all those who are economically weak."
Vashisht and Bhawra were the moderate
voices of the afternoon. BJP MLA Rohitas Sharma made a more fiery speech.
"Our temples have bestir taken over by mafia. We used to impart education
but now there are others doing that. It is time to organize ourselves as
a vote bank and get our dues, "he said.
Sharing the platform were both BJP
and Congress leaders, for once speaking in the same voice. After all it
is an election year. "Everyone realises that if we go the whole hog this
year we have a chance," said president of the Rajasthan Brahmin Mahasabha
Bhanwra Lal Sharma. "We are sure we will get it, this being an election
year, "he added.
Student leader Parvender Sharma
roared: "There are 200 MLAs in the Assembly and they will be made to realise
that the Brahmin vote matters. All those against our demands will lose."
The catchline at the end of the rally was "be like the Jats and take reservation
with brute force".
