Jats in state may intensify agitation

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 20

Taking a cue from the ongoing agitation in Haryana, Jats of Jammu and Kashmir may start flexing their muscles to intensify their unofficially suspended agitation for getting Other Backward Classes (OBC) status.

For the last five years, Jats in Jammu and Kashmir had been agitating for OBC status. Their stir had so far been confined to symbolic protests. The Jat population in the Jammu province is between 5 lakh and 5.5 lakh.

Due to conflict between some leaders of the community, no symbolic protest had been held for the last one year so the agitation appeared to have been suspended.

“A meeting of the community was held today to devise a strategy to intensify our agitation to get OBC status,” said Choudhary Manmohan Singh, state president of the All India Jat Mahasabha.

He stated that the ongoing agitation in Haryana had encouraged the community in Jammu and Kashmir to take the struggle to a logical end.

“We will announce a series of agitation programmes soon to intensify our stir in the state,” he said. The mahasabha decided to start a mass contact programme to mobilise the public for a decisive battle, he said.

Jammu and Kashmir is the only state which has Hindu, Muslim and Sikh Jats. According to a rough estimate, the population of Muslim Jats is between 45,000 and 50,000.

They reside near the Line of Control in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. In the Mendhar Assembly segment of Poonch district, Muslim Jats are a deciding factor.

Traditionally, Jats were staunch supporters of the Congress. Now, the BJP had make inroads in the belts dominated by this community in Jammu province. Suchetgarh Assembly segment of Jammu district is predominately a Jat constituency.