At the end of the week-long stalemate over the Gurjars’ demand for a Schedule Tribe status in Rajasthan, everyone has heaved a sigh of relief — the public that suffered the most with protesters going on rampage setting ablaze public property and disrupting traffic; the police who were stuck at duty points and barely feeling secure amidst the infuriated mob; and finally the media which had a harrowing experience covering the agitation that turned into a caste war between Gurjar and Meena castes.
   But the protesters don’t seem to have a reason to smile though the talks between Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Monday ended “successfully”.
   For, they launched the agitation with great expectations, but what they have got is just like a lollipop given to a crying child. The retired colonel spearheading the movement sounded tired, with the state government not agreeing to their demand of sending a recommendation letter to the Centre to include Gurjars in the ST category.
Two birds
   By announcing to set up a high-powered judicial committee headed by a retired High Court judge to look into the demands of Gurjars, the chief minister has killed two birds with one stone. It has successfully managed not to displease the powerful Meena community, already on a warpath with Gurjars, and bought time to calm the hurt sentiments of Gurjars.
   Ms Raje and her close aides might be jubilant over the “successful” talks, but the state cannot absolve itself of the guilt. The violence that claimed 26 lives and the unruly scenes that Rajasthan witnessed and the flames which engulfed many other parts of the country only exposed the ugly face of reservation politics.
   Ms Raje had made tall claims before the Assembly polls, but when the Gurjars pressed for the demand, the state tried to pass the buck to the Centre.
   The agitation has destroyed the cordial relations between Gurjars and Meenas who have so far maintained peaceful coexistence in many parts of Rajasthan. At the sacred chariot procession of Shri Mahavirji (a Jain temple) in Sawai Madhopur district, the Meenas accompany the chariot when it leaves, and the Gurjars bring it back to the temple.
   It is hard to say if this type of relations will be maintained in future.