“We are Ram’s people. Jai Shri Ram is not our exhortation,” (We are followers of Ram. Jai Shri Ram is not our slogan), commented Yudhveer Singh, general secretary of the All India Jat Mahasabha, which claims to be working to strengthen and organize the agrarian Jat community. Singh was addressing the two-day National Jat Centenary Conference on the theme ‘Elevation of the society that shapes the future’ in Pushkar, Rajasthan, a month ago.
In his 30-minute speech, with strong political overtones, Singh had said there is no bigger devotee of Ram than the Jats as most of their names have “Ram” either as a prefix or suffix. However, now, the country is not in the hands of Ram devotees – it has been taken over by people who only used to raise slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”, he claimed.
Singh said, “There is love in the word Ram… You say ‘Ram’ and it feels like you have put your heart into it. You say ‘Jai Shri Ram’, it is a frenzy.” Twenty minutes into his address, he was asked to leave the stage for exceeding the time limit. But organizers were forced to immediately call him back amid uproar from the audience and demanded that he be allowed to conclude.
The conference marked 100 years of an event organized in Pushkar to discuss farmers’ problems and social and educational reforms, which was also organized by the All India Jat Mahasabha at that time. Sir Chhotu Ram, a prominent Indian agricultural reformer and politician then played an important role in organizing it. Organized under the chairmanship of the then Maharaja Kishan Singh of Bharatpur, the objective of this program was to create awareness among the farming community and strengthen the movement against it. Jagirdari (Zamindari) system in pre-independence India.
Exactly a century later, the conference organized by a handful of government officials and lawyers saw the participation of several thousand members of the Jat community: current and former MLAs, government employees, social workers, office-bearers of various community organizations and members of Panchayati Raj institutions. Most of the attendees came from northern India – Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh – but large numbers also came from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and the southern states.
In 2025, attendees deliberated on ways to spread education and curb social ills such as dowry, mrityu bhog (feasting after a person’s death), and drug addiction among youth. Due to the increase in the number of government and private schools, the age-old boarding houses built for the students of the community had now become redundant. It was suggested that these buildings be converted into free online coaching centers or skill-development centres, for which talks are already underway with the government. The community members also decided to encourage industrialists to donate to an education fund that provides interest-free loans to needy students.
political message
However, the shrinking political influence of the Jat community – despite the community constituting a significant portion of the total population in northern India – became the central theme of the conference, influencing discussions on education and social matters. At the gathering, participants expressed concern that Jats were losing their long-standing political dominance, which once enabled them to shape policies and secure representation in government. The representatives said that this is reducing seats, reducing their stake in decision making and giving less benefits to Jat constituents. In response, attendees stressed the need to create a multi-group social coalition that would unite Jats with other communities with similar interests.
In a speech full of political messages, Singh said, “The All India Jat Mahasabha was formed in 1907. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was formed in 1925… It is an organization older than the RSS, but what is our position today?”
Raising the issue of Jat reservation, Singh said the Jat Mahasabha had long felt that it was important for the economic upliftment of the society and fought for it in Rajasthan. Singh said, “Due to reservation in Rajasthan, more than 3 lakh Jat youth have got jobs.” He said that Union Home Minister Amit Shad had promised to give reservation to Jats in 2017. Singh challenged community leaders supporting the BJP to ask Shah to fulfill the promise made to the Jats.
Participating in the National Jat Conference in Pushkar, Ajmer, Rajasthan. Conference organized for discussion. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Calling upon the community leaders to remain united, he said that Jats have got reservation in Rajasthan only because of their unity. He said, “When we fought for reservation, there was only one Jat Sabha; today 17 Jat Sabha leaders are present at the event.”
Prem Singh Sihag, senior nursing officer, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi, one of the organisers, said this is the first time since independence that not a single Jat leader has a cabinet rank in the central government, unlike the days when they had six cabinet ministers. “Even in the smallest gathering of the community, the topic of discussion is always how Jats have been sidelined politically,” he said.
Sihag, who organized the event along with seven other central government employees and two high court lawyers, said he took the initiative to organize the conference when no community organization came forward. He said, “There is a feeling of disappointment and frustration among Jat organizations because they do not have political protection.”
Jats are forming an alliance
Farmer leader Pushpendra Singh, one of the vocal voices for farm rights, said Jats were the largest caste group in northern India but were “systematically suppressed” over the past decade to weaken them economically and politically.
Singh says, “Politics in Haryana has become Jat versus non-Jat. An attempt was made to portray Jats as anti-Scheduled Caste.” He said that similar to the decline in political dominance of Yadavs, Marathas and Patels in other parts of the country, there has been a decline in Jat dominance in Haryana, Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh.
“Whether it is the denial of minimum support price (agriculture), not giving them reservation, the Agneepath scheme, or the acquisition of their lands in and around Delhi at throwaway prices, this is an attempt to weaken the Jats,” says Pushpendra.
There has been a spate of incidents centering on Jat-hood in the last three months. Apart from the Pushkar Jat Shatabdi, a three-day all-caste Sarva Khap Mahapanchayat was held in Jat-dominated Soram in Uttar Pradesh in mid-November to address social ills and uplift the community. “If Jats want to remain relevant, they cannot remain silent. They are looking for direction,” says Pushpendra.
This direction came from the conference, where the Jats said that they needed to build a strong social alliance with like-minded communities. Sihag says, “For this purpose we invited prominent leaders of Gurjar and Bishnoi communities. Jats, Muslims and Meghwals have been united in Rajasthan. We are trying to bring Meenas and Gurjars with us. We have no conflict with them and they are ready to come with us.” These are all farming communities and have common interests.
Sihag says, “Jat Muslims and Jat Sikhs from Panipat also came to participate in the conference. We are trying to bring all Jats together, transcending religious boundaries… If Jats of all religions come together, we can become a big political force.”
coming together of people and agenda
A Jat-Gurjar conference was organized at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sir Chhotu Ram on 23 November. The event, jointly organized by All India Jat Mahasabha and All India Gurjar Sabha, was attended by political and social leaders of both the communities, including former Union Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh.
Dharamvir Singh Khokhar, national organizing secretary of All India Jat Mahasabha, said Jats and Gurjars, both farming communities, share the same culture – food habits, social traditions – and have been politically united in the past. In the 1970s, both Sir Chhotu Ram and later Charan Singh attempted to bring together four farming communities – Ahir, Jat, Gurjar and Rajput – and form a strong social and political alliance, known as Ajgar. “During the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in the 1980s, 11 Gurjar MLAs from Chaudhary Charan Singh’s party won, highlighting the social alliance between Jats and Gurjars,” says Khokhar.
Rajendra Sura, Haryana President of Jat Mahasabha, declared that the event is a historic occasion that will shape the future of both the communities. However, over the years, he said, due to lack of unity and cohesion among the communities they have lagged behind socially, politically and economically. He recalls their joint struggle against the three farm laws, where their united efforts had forced the Bharatiya Janata Party to accept defeat. “This victory is a testament to what can be achieved through solidarity and collective action,” he said.
Khokhar points out that there have been notable instances of tension and conflict between the two communities, especially during events such as the Kavad Yatra and the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, where candidates from both communities were pitted against each other. These confrontations highlighted the urgent need to promote brotherhood, mutual understanding and harmonious relations between communities to prevent further divisions and promote peaceful co-existence.
He further said that Kurmis, Marathas and Yadavs also wanted to be a part of the Delhi Conference. “We held a conference with Marathas at Talkatora Stadium two years ago,” says Khokhar. “The Jat Mahasabha is planning to hold another conference with Gujjars in Uttar Pradesh in January.”
ashok.kumar@thehindu.co.in
Edited by Sunalini Mathew
