page_title: Jat reservation agitation
hierarchical_section_title: Jat reservation agitation
caption_attribution_description: English: Rohtak riots aftermath
context_page_description: The Jat reservation agitation was a series of violent protests in February 2016 by Jat people of North India, especially those in the state of Haryana, which "paralysed the State for 10 days." The protestors sought inclusion of their caste in the Other Backward Class category, which would make them eligible for affirmative action benefits. Besides Haryana, the protests also spread to the neighbouring states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and also the National Capital Region.
  Police and onlookers describes the initial phase of the protests as "peaceful" but it later transformed into violent riots lead by Jat community, especially in the city of Rohtak. Starting on 12 February, the Jats organized non-violent protests for reservation by blocking railway lines and roads, while non-Jats opposed to their demands organized counter-protests. On 18 February, a group of non-Jats protesters clashed violently with a group of lawyers protesting against 2016 JNU sedition controversy, mistaking the lawyers for Jats. Later on, they also came into conflict with the Jat students. On the same day, the police allegedly beat up some Jat students in Rohtak, while trying to open a blockade.
context_section_description: The Jat reservation agitation was a series of violent protests in February 2016 by Jat people of North India, especially those in the state of Haryana, which "paralysed the State for 10 days." The protestors sought inclusion of their caste in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, which would make them eligible for affirmative action benefits. Besides Haryana, the protests also spread to the neighbouring states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and also the National Capital Region.
  Police and onlookers describes the initial phase of the protests as "peaceful" but it later transformed into violent riots lead by Jat community, especially in the city of Rohtak. Starting on 12 February, the Jats organized non-violent protests for reservation by blocking railway lines and roads, while non-Jats opposed to their demands organized counter-protests. On 18 February, a group of non-Jats protesters clashed violently with a group of lawyers protesting against 2016 JNU sedition controversy, mistaking the lawyers for Jats. Later on, they also came into conflict with the Jat students. On the same day, the police allegedly beat up some Jat students in Rohtak, while trying to open a blockade. Police also raided a Boy's hostel, and reportedly assaulted the Jat students, an occurrence which was "captured on camera and circulated over social media". Following these incidents, several incidents of inter-caste violence took place across Haryana.
  By 25 February, the riots were estimated to have caused a loss of ₹340 billion (US$4.8 billion) in northern India. Railway Minister told in Lok Sabha "The total loss suffered by Railways on account of damage to property and cancellation of tickets during the agitation is about Rs 55.92 crore. By 26 February, 30 people had been killed in the violence.
  The government of Haryana had approved the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill on 29 March 2016, and notified the Act on 13 May 2016. The enacted Bill enlists the Jats of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim jats, Bishnois, Tyagis, and Rors in the recently sculpted Backward Classes (C) category, making them eligible for 10% reservation in class 3 and 4, and 6% reservation in class 1 and 2 jobs. On 26 May 2016, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled out against the Bill.
caption: Rohtak burning - McDonald's burnt down
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 7D Mark II", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2016:03:10 23:23:50", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "222", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "9812", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9924", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "15034", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/30", "EXIF FNumber": "7/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "500", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "500", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:03:10 23:23:50", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:03:10 23:23:50", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5", "EXIF ApertureValue": "29/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "22", "EXIF SubSecTime": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5472", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3648", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1746901/287", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1175399/193", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "3", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "068021001059", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 135, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "00000d07a1"}