No April Fool Message : Now Brahmins want reservation in Haryana

This might sound like a April fool joke or message but it is not. After Jats, now bramins wants rservation in Haryana which is a reserved state. And no one doubts how boisterous its inhabitants are! Virtually everyone wants a piece of the reservation pie. After the Jats suspended their stir for reservation in central and state government jobs, the Brahmins have joined the party.

The community has scheduled a peaceful protest at Panipat on April 4 and have decided to hand over a memorandum to Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to consider their demand. They would hand over the memorandum addressed to the CM to Panipat’s deputy commissioner.

Pundit Umesh Sharma — a former AICC member turned Congress detractor — said the Brahmins are a minority in the state.

“ We are seeking reservation on the economic criteria. We want that poor Brahmins and other economically weaker sections of society in Haryana should also get reservation in jobs,” Umesh said.

They had raised the issue four months ago and their delegation had met AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi. “ We have apprised him of our demand,” he added. Umesh said the community has formed the Brahmin Aarakshan Samiti which would pursue the issue with the state and Union governments.

Unlike the Jat agitation, the Brahmins pledged against damaging public property and causing any inconvenience to the public. Samiti president Surender Mohan Sharma would lead the protest in Panipat, Umesh added.

The community called the CM’s caste- based reservation policy and support for the Jat agitation unfair. Hooda supported reservation for the community that has “ votes and might”, they alleged.

Dr S. S. Chahar, director for Centre for Haryana Studies at Rohtak’s Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU) said the Brahmins were in minority. But, members of the community hold major positions in the government sector. They also held agriculture land, he said.

“ There are about five per cent Brahmins in Haryana. A majority are farmers. The remaining hold high positions in government and the social setup,” Chahar said. Brahmins, like Jats also hold political power and influence decision making in the state.

“ Poverty is in all communities. But, Brahmins as a caste are not marginalised or suppressed,” he added.