THE
RECENT AGITATIONS OF FARMING AND TRADING COMMUNITIES
The
Patel agitation (based
on an article written by Prof Ghanshyam Shah)
The vast and unprecedented mobilisation of young, middle-class Patels, or Patidars, as seen at the Kranti Rally on August 25, is a symptom of the unrest simmering in a globalised Gujarat. Patidars from all parts of the state came together to demand that the government either extend OBC reservations to Patidars or abolish the caste-based reservation system altogether. It should be noted that the Patidars were the first community in India to launch anti-reservation movements against the Dalits and Adivasis, and later against Gujarat’s OBCs, in 1981 and 1985. Later, community leaders, under the guidance of the RSS and VHP, shrewdly diverted the agitation, so it morphed into one against Muslims. Non-resident Gujaratis who live abroad have also extended moral and material support, much as they did to the Sangh Parivar’s Hindutva agenda.
The upsurge comprises the well-off and dominant Leuva and Kadva Patidars. They constitute around 12 per cent of the state’s population and are the single-largest community among rich and middle-class peasants. Since the last quarter of the 19th century, well-off Patidars have been investing their agricultural surpluses in business, industry and also in skill development. High rates of migration in the community, first to Africa and later to the UK and the US, have added to their prosperity. However, in urban areas, except for a few well-established professionals and entrepreneurs, the majority are white- or blue-collar employees, or self-employed or casual, skilled labourers in textile or diamond factories. The diamond industry has been a mainstay of the community. But for the last several months, the industry has been in deep crisis. Several units have closed down, and a large number of diamond workers have been retrenched, which has contributed to the current unrest in the Patidar community.
Similarly, though advances in irrigation have meant that agricultural growth in Gujarat over the last decade has been high at around 8 per cent per annum, this growth has not been inclusive. Small and marginal farmers have been left behind, and the head of every third Patidar household is a small and marginal farmer, and/ or a landless labourer. He grapples with the constant tension of high aspirations and wretched living conditions. Poor farmers don’t have enough resources to invest in farming and incur debt. The poor have desperately tried to get non-farm employment in nearby urban areas and dream of joining the urban middle class. But urban growth, though impressive, has been unable to absorb and accommodate these rising aspirations. It is true that economic growth, largely in the manufacturing sector, is higher than in many other states. But the quality of available employment does not meet the expectations of young people. The growth in employment comes largely from the informal sector, where there is no social security. Wages in Gujarat are lower than in most other states. Even in the formal sector, more often than not, employment is casual or contractual. Insecurity haunts most young employees. In such a situation,
government employment is perceived by frustrated young Patidars as the only secure and dignified position available. (emphasis added)
Gujjar Agitation(extracted
from Wikipedia)
Gujjars(Gurjar)— a farming and
trading community— are classified by the government as an "Other
Backward Class". They are part of the caste system that do not
face as much exclusion or discrimination in society. The Gujjar
community feels it has been economically and educationally left
behind and it wants to be reclassified as a Scheduled Tribe. They
demand scheduled tribe status so that they can qualify for government
jobs and state college seats reserved solely for such groups.
Violence erupted in the state of
Rajasthan in India on 23 May 2008 when police fired on protesters
belonging to the Gujjar caste who were demanding a lower ST
status,instead of their current, higher OBC (Other Backward Class)
status. On 24 May, the army was called in to help calm the
violence as another 15 people were killed when police shot at a mob
protesters trying to torch a police station in Sikandra. Thousands of
protesters blocked a rail route between Delhi and Mumbai. Highways
had also been blocked, and state authorities cancelled many buses.
Getting almost no from government for their 5%
quota demand,Gujjars again went onto agitation in 2010.They jammed
trains on Jaipur-Delhi and Mumbai-Delhi route.Unlike 2008 unrest,
there was no violence in 2010. In May 2015, a similar protest was
organized and over 1000s of Gujjars blocked railway tracks halting
train traffic.
Jat Agitation(extracted
from Wikipedia)
The All-India Jat Mahasabha held a
convention in Delhi on 9 March 2007 under the chairmanship of its
president, ChaudharyDara Singh. One of the main issues taken up at
the convention, which was attended by several Central and State
Ministers and MPs, was reservation for the Jats in State and Central
Government jobs. The Jats are a community which has its
origins in pastoralism. The Jats are a traditionally
agricultural community in North India and Pakistan, primarily of
Hindu, Muslim and Sikh faiths,and live mostly in the States of
Haryana, Punjab, rajasthan, Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh and the
Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh.
Akhil
Bhartiya Jaat Aarakshan Samiti has recently warned of lodging the
"biggest ever agitation of the century in North India" if
the promise of reservation was not fulfilled towards the community.
Lessons from these agitations
The
common demand thrown up by ALL these agitations, is an assured access
for their communities to secured employment and wages. The ONLY way
possible, it appears to all of them, is through reservations in
Education and Government employment.
The
idea of 'backwardness'
It is
clear from these agitations why these sections of farmers and traders
consider themselves as 'backward' relative to the
urbanised/educated/salaried/industry-based section of the
population.
The
agitating communities constitute large sections of Lokavidya Samaj
(though they don't yet call themselves that). Those of them who are
relatively well off (i.e. shifted their primary economic and
livelihood activity to urban and industrialised centres and/or
foreign lands) and those who hold important political positions in
various parties, are pricisely those who have 'migrated' from
Lokavidya Samaj to Paschimkrit (Urbanised) Samaj by virtue of their
'success' in modern education, industry or market activity. The vast
majority, however, continue to primarily depend on 'traditional'
(Lokavidya-based) livelihoods find that they are not able to meet
ordinary life aspirations ( a number of farmers in Gujarat and
Haryana have committed suicide due to indebtedness)- and very
specifically an assured income to lead a nominally dignified ordinary
life.
There has
been a debate on the definition of 'backwardness' for quite some time
now. Many have suggested that economic and not social criteria(caste)
be used to determine backwardness and some have used an intersection
of the two (creamy layer concept) to arrive of who exactly are
relatively backward and in need of special assistance(reservation) in
education and employment. Even after 60 years of independence, growth
of modern education and employment and implementation of a policy of
reservations, we find a vast section of people seeing themselves as
backward and deserving of special assistance(reservations etc). This
section now includes a number of communities hitherto considered as
the 'rural rich' now also ('unashamedly') demanding a 'backward' tag
and seeking special assistance(reservation) through a
reclassification/ recategorisation of the backward classes and their
inclusion in that list. However, the current criteria for
determination of backwardness; will not permit the classification of
these communities under backward classes/castes or scheduled castes.
Moreover, the cap on percentage of population permissible under all
reserved categories viz 50% would lead inevitably into a conflict
between various 'backward' caste/class groups.
The
reality(and what is easily perceivable without resort to historical
facts) is that ALL sections/communities/castes that are involved in
'traditional' productive , trade and/or service activity i.e
dependent on Lokavidya-based livelihoods for their ordinary life
needs(constituting more than 80% of the poplution) are relatively
backward and disadvantaged compared to the urban/industrial/
educated/ salaried class of people(constituting less than 20% of the
population).
We also
notice that every such section/community has been sustaining itself
under equally debilitating and deteriorating conditions over the
past century( and severly accentuated during the past two decades);
consider themselves to be relatively backward largely because such
livelihoods have become unremunerative and leading to indebtedness
and loss of 'dignity'.
That is,
the perception of these sections/communities from the outside and
from the inside is that they are 'backward' and forced to lead
undignified lives (or commit suicide). This is because of the
dominant hierarchy in the perception of knowledge. All
knowledge/skills acquired through modern education(which is capable
by definition i.e merit criteria, of sustaining only a small section
of the population while destroying the natural environment) is
considered prima facie to be 'superior' and therefore, more
desirable, to all other knowledge/skills (which exists with the
people i.e Lokavidya which has been sustaining them through
ages while protecting the natural environment) and is deemed to be
'backward'( members of these sections/communities are all classified
as 'uneducated' and by deduction, 'unskilled' and capable only of
manual labour as coolies by
modern economics and polity).
The
resolution of the current conflict in society can happen if there is
a change in perception about the hierarchy
of knowledge. Any knowledge that is capable of sustaining dignified
ordinary life and livelihood is legitimate and should not be
considered backward, inferior or outdated. In today's context,
this means that the definition of what constitutes legitimate
knowledge must be reversed in favour of Lokavidya Samaj using a
knowledge perspective. Instead of asking for global reservation the
demand should be for global recognition of all knowledge/skill
streams as equal and for equal remuneration / wages/pay for all
practitioners of these knowledge/skill streams. The vast majority of
people are engaged in productive/service activities and strive to
lead dignified ordinary lives and the demand for equal pay for all
such labour would transcend the need for special assistance in
education and /or government employment.
The
'threat' put forth by the Patel agitation i.e. (i) withdrawal of
money from banks (ii) stop supply of milk and vegetables to the urban
market; seem to indicate that
(i) the accumulation and control of
capital(which is generated by these sections/communities) in the
hands of Finance Managers(of the urban capitalist economy), which
forms the basis of political power of the ruling classes, is being
challenged through a new form of 'non-co-operation'.
(ii) the
corollary of non-support to the urban market means that they have an
idea to strengthen local market activity (as they have NOT stated
that production will be regulated or stopped), which means economic
control is being wrested back in favour of local areas i.e money
generated locally will remain local . In political terms this means
"more power to the panchayats".
If the
other sections/communities, including those categorised as SCs and
STs, of Lokavidya Samaj have to lend support, the 'terms of trade' in
the local market have to change and become more locally-favourable
leading to the possibility of sustained unity through a recasting of
the relationship between different sections of Lokavidya Samaj.
This would be in
line with the perspective of Lokavidya Jan Andolan and articulated in
the Multai resolution of 2014 that:
(i) it is
the fundmental right of every individual to live a life of
dignity based on his/her knowledge/skills
(ii)
everyone gets a pay at least as much as a Government employee
irrespective of what job/work she/he does.
Krishnarajulu
August
2015
