GADAG: A protest by the Banjara community entered its sixth day on Saturday, as members continued to draw the attention of the government to their demands using symbolic campaigns with brooms, drums, and so on.
Protesters have been staging a continuous day-and-night sit-in stir in front of the deputy commissioner’s office here.
Hundreds of Banjara community members from a host of villages, including Beladadi (Gadag taluk), Bidanal (Mundaragi taluk), Jalligeri (Shirahatti taluk), Undenahalli (Laxmeshwar taluk), and Lakkalakattee Tanda (Gajendragad taluk), have joined the protest, warning that if their demands are not met soon, they will be forced to celebrate Deepavali in front of the DC’s office itself. They are opposing what they describe as an “unscientific” internal reservation.
The Karnataka Banjara Rights Protection Committee, along with various district-level Banjara organisations, launched the protest a week ago. Since then, they have been holding an indefinite dharna and satyagraha at Gandhi Circle in Gadag, lighting traditional Banjara incense and beating drums.
The protest is set to intensify further, with a massive rally planned for October 17, where other communities that feel deprived of reservation benefits are also expected to join.
“People from across the district are coming forward in solidarity. We want justice and demand that the government reconsider the unscientific internal reservation system. If not addressed, we will intensify our agitation,” Banjara Rights Protection Committee state general secretary Ravikant Angadi said.