Along the scenic Hindon road leading to Pinglupura village in Bayana, the young Gurjjar generation angrily whizzes past on motorcycles, carrying metal rods and wooden sticks.

Since Monday morning, the mobile network in the area has been jammed. So is the supply of essential items to the agitators — about 40,000 in number, huddled like a thick congregation along the Delhi-Mumbai rail route near Dumria Railway Station.

By afternoon, as the news of the state Government recommending 4-6 percent reservation for the Gurjjar community as a denotified tribe to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh trickled in, the anger of the community sharpened.

Col Kirori Singh Bainsla, speaking to The Indian Express, said the community would only agree to a Scheduled Tribe status. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Let them show us the letter where they recommend ST status for our community and we’ll call off the strike,” he said.

At a press conference in Jaipur, Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore announced that Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had written such a letter to the PM, and said she was also in the process of asking for a conference of Chief Ministers of all Gurjjar-populated states to work out an amicable answer to the community’s demands.

“This is a sensitive issue and the UPA Government should decide whether to accord and shift Gurjjars from OBC category to Scheduled Tribe (ST),” Rathore said, quoting the Cabinet’s decision.

Rathore added that the government was ready for dialogue wherever Bainsla wanted, but ruled out holding it on the rail tracks where Bainsla and his men have been camping for the last four days.

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