“The (Haryana) government has deployed 55 para-military companies in the State, but we are equal to a division. We are all for peace, but we are also prepared to make the supreme sacrifice. It is a do-or-die battle for us,” declared one speaker from a makeshift stage at the ‘Jat Naya Dharna’ in Jassia village here on Monday.
The audience, which included a handful of women in the front, raised their hands in affirmation.
But even as the speaker raised his pitch and tried to evoke the community pride, members of the audience at the back, which included both young and old, remained pre-occupied with playing cards and hookahs.
A round-the-clock community kitchen has been set-up at the site on National Highway 71-A and beddings made available for those staying overnight, but the small number of protesters has left the organisers worried.
As several speakers conceded that the turnout was less compared to last year, Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (ABJASS) general secretary Ashok Balhara made a passionate appeal to the crowd.
‘Turn up on February 1’
Asking them to turn up in large numbers on the occasion of Basant Panchami on February 1, Mr. Balhara said, “Raise your hands and promise me that each one will bring along at least 10 people on February 1. Finish your chores early on Wednesday, and bring your children too. We will hold a cultural programme, distribute prizes to winners and our leader Yashpal Malik will also be present.”
However, the ABJASS leader also sounded a word of caution against “fake” leaders playing into the hands of the government. Urging protesters to remain loyal to Yashpal Malik, who is national president of the ABJASS, Mr. Balhara said, “The real Khap leaders are with us. Those enjoying the hospitality of the Khattar government in Chandigarh are fake.” This was in reference to a faction of the Jat leaders who are not supporting the agitation.
“The BJP will fail to even open its account in the Saharanpur-Agra belt, which will be dominated by Jats in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party can win with support of the Muslims, Yadavs and Dalits, but the BJP cannot win without support from Jats,” said Mr. Balhara as he received a loud applause from the crowd. He added that after the agitation for reservation, the community would teach ‘Ministers in the Khattar government a lesson’. “We will not allow them to enter villages,” said Mr. Balhara.
The dharna at Jassia village in Rohtak, which was the epicentre of the protest last year, and another at Mayyar in Hisar are the two major protest sites and co-ordination points for the ongoing agitation in Haryana.
Sitting next to a board displaying pictures of those killed during the agitation last year is Ram Kumar, the father of Rahul Dangi who died of a bullet injury.
‘Will take battle to an end’
“My son was among the first to be killed. He was not even part of the agitation. But the government labelled him as a rioter and refused any help. Out of the 18 killed, only 10 families have got the ex-gratia, but no jobs. The government has failed to keep its promises. I have lost my son and am ready to sacrifice the other two as well, but I will take this battle to a logical end this time,” sighed Ram Kumar, betraying the prevailing mood of the crowd at the site.
