New Delhi/Patna: The day-long nationwide strike called by several Dalit and Adivasi groups against the Supreme Court’s verdict on the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes affected normal life in Bihar, Jharkhand, and tribal areas across various states.
Police baton-charged and used water cannons on protesters in several districts of Bihar, including Patna, Darbhanga, and Begusarai, to remove rail and road blockades. In Jharkhand and Odisha, public transport services were partially affected.
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The response was tepid in other parts of the country, despite several INDIA bloc parties and other non-BJP outfits extending their support to the bandh.
The Chhattisgarh unit of the Congress stated that the government should consider the “legitimate demands” of the protesters sympathetically. However, the BJP’s prominent tribal leader, Faggan Singh Kulaste, accused the opposition of politicising the Supreme Court’s ruling on the issue.
Twenty-one organisations across the country had called for the Bharat Bandh against the apex court’s order, which they claimed would harm the basic principles of reservation.
Protesters set up rail and road blockades in several districts of Bihar, prompting police to use batons and water cannons to disperse them. Darbhanga and Buxar witnessed disruptions in train services, while traffic was blocked in Patna, Hajipur, Darbhanga, Jehanabad, and Begusarai districts.
The RJD and other INDIA bloc partners extended their support to the bandh. Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, led demonstrations in Patna and other areas, criticising the NDA government’s stance on SC/ST quotas and alleging that it wants to undermine reservations.
In Patna, police chased away crowds who blocked traffic at Dak Bungalow Chowk. Five people were detained in Jehanabad district following clashes between protesters and security personnel.
In other districts, including Madhepura, Muzaffarpur, Saran, Begusarai, Hajipur, and Purnea, protesters attempted to block traffic and burn tyres but were dispersed by security forces.
East Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer, Sharswati Chandra, confirmed that train services were disrupted in Ara, Chausa (Buxar), Darbhanga, Begusarai, and Rajgir, but the situation was promptly controlled.
Public buses stayed off the roads, and schools remained closed in Jharkhand, where the state’s ruling JMM-Congress alliance backed the bandh. The Left parties also extended their support to the strike.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren cancelled his visit to Palamu on Wednesday due to the strike, an official said, adding that security was bolstered at key locations to prevent any untoward incidents.
The practical examination for Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) students at Ranchi University was postponed owing to the strike.
Attendance was thin in offices as several long-distance public buses did not ply. Protesters burned tyres and set up blockades at various places in Ranchi. The bandh supporters urged shopkeepers to down their shutters in the Jharkhand capital. Road blockades were erected in Palamu, Godda, Dumka, Garhwa, and other districts.
“We are not protesting the top court’s verdict. We took to the streets to protect our rights provided by the Constitution,” said Adivasi Jan Parishad president, Prem Sahi Munda.
Rail and road communications were partially affected in Odisha, but government offices, banks, business establishments, and educational institutions functioned normally.
The agitators briefly stopped trains at Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur, while passenger buses did not operate on some routes.
The call for the strike evoked a mixed response in Chhattisgarh, except in its tribal-dominated areas. Transport services largely remained unaffected in the rest of the state.
In parts of Bastar and Surguja divisions, and Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki and Dhamtari districts, several shops and commercial establishments remained closed. Bastar Division comprises seven districts and Surguja Division six districts.
In Dantewada district’s headquarters, a large motorcycle rally was organised by members of Sarva Adivasi Samaj (SAS), an umbrella body of tribal organisations.
The opposition Congress extended its “moral” support to the shutdown and called for addressing the concerns of members of the ST and SC communities.
“People belonging to ST and SC communities and their organisations called for Bharat Bandh for their legitimate demands, which should be considered sympathetically as it is their constitutional right. Congress morally supports their agitation,” said the state Congress communication wing head, Sushil Anand Shukla.
Kulaste, the BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla (ST) seat, said, “The judges have given their opinion. I, along with 60-70 MPs, personally met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue. The PM told us that the creamy layer provision will not be implemented among SCs and STs.”
“Despite such clarity and the government’s decision, people have called for a Bharat Bandh… They are playing politics. The Congress played politics in the name of SCs and STs, and Mayawati is also doing the same,” Kulaste said.
The call for the nationwide strike had some impact in Gujarat’s tribal belts, including in Chhota Udepur, Narmada, Surendranagar, Sabarkantha, and Aravalli districts, where markets in cities and semi-urban areas remained closed.
Protesters briefly blocked a goods train in Wadhwan taluka of Surendranagar district and shouted slogans. At Bhiloda and Shamlaji in Aravalli district, roads were blocked by protesters. Several people were detained in Patan and Aravalli districts while trying to enforce the bandh, officials said.
Umarpada town in Surat district wore a deserted look in the afternoon as shops remained closed.
The strike call had little impact on normal life in Uttar Pradesh as shops were open and it was business as usual in large parts of the state amid tight security arrangements.
The opposition BSP and SP extended their support to the bandh. BSP workers held a demonstration near Hazratganj, briefly affecting traffic flow.
The Bhim Army held protests in pockets of western Uttar Pradesh, where it has a sizeable presence. “Today’s mass movement is a clear message to the central and state governments that the Bahujan Samaj will not allow the conspiracy of divide and rule to succeed,” Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) president and Lok Sabha MP from Nagina, Chandra Shekhar Aazad, said in a post on X.
Other northern states, including Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana, remained largely unaffected, barring a few places where markets remained closed and public transport services were partially affected.
Rajasthan police chief, U R Sahoo, said, “Barring two to three minor incidents at different places, the bandh was peaceful across the state.” Rallies and protest marches were held in all districts.
In Jaipur, the SC/ST Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti held a rally against the August 1 Supreme Court order. “During the rally, the markets remained closed and reopened after 3 pm. The bandh was peaceful,” said Suresh Saini, general secretary of Jaipur Vyapar Mahasangh.
Shops and other commercial establishments functioned normally in Punjab and Haryana, as police in both states made elaborate security arrangements to maintain law and order.
In Phagwara, some educational institutions were closed by their management as a precautionary measure. Protest marches were held in Phagwara, Jalandhar, and Hoshiarpur districts. Schools functioned normally in Ludhiana.
The bandh had no impact in Assam, where schools, offices, and business establishments functioned normally, with almost full attendance across the state.
The August 1 Supreme Court order held that states are constitutionally empowered to make sub-classifications within SCs, which form a socially heterogeneous class, for granting reservation for the uplift of castes that are socially and educationally more backward among them. PTI
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