Jaipur: The Gujjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti has urged the Bhajanlal Sharma govt to restructure the reservation system in Rajasthan’s Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) areas, demanding sub-quotas for three other categories within the existing 50% ‘general/open’ pool. The categories include Other Backward Classes (OBC), Most Backward Classes (MBC) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).Currently, TSP regions reserve 45% seats for Scheduled Tribes and 5% for Scheduled Castes, leaving the remaining 50% unreserved — a system the Samiti argued has led to inadequate representation of OBC and MBC candidates in govt recruitment due to their economic backwardness and poor education.Vijay Bainsla, head of the Samiti, said the demand was based on constitutional equity and data. “In TSP areas, OBC and MBC communities — who form nearly 25%–30% of the population — are forced to compete in the unreserved category without any protective quota, while the same communities are entitled to reservation outside TSP areas. Their share in jobs is less than 10%, which is leaving ‘Mul OBCs and MBCs, with almost nothing in their hands’,” Baisla posted on X.The Samiti has also asked the MPs of Udaipur, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh and Banswara to clarify their positions on the issue.While the Samiti maintains that sub-reservation within the remaining 50% would align TSP areas with the state’s broader structure and ensure what it called “inclusive justice”, tribal groups insist that the current system preserves long-standing constitutional protections.Several tribal organisations, however, have opposed the Samiti’s proposal, arguing that any change in the TSP framework should only follow wide consultation, empirical study and protection of tribal safeguards. They cautioned that altering the reservation matrix without evidence could undermine the original objectives of the TSP policy.Banswara MP and founder of Bharat Adivasi Party, Rajkumar Roat, said the subject needs elaborate discussion before even the slightest change in the system. “Since the tribal community is also demanding the reservation bar to extend as per the percentage of population, which is no less than 70% in core TSP areas, I think a caste-based survey, which is scheduled with the 2027 census, would show an exact picture of the share of castes and communities. Any debate or decision before that would be akin to disrupting peace and harmony,” Roat said.
Gujjar body seeks quota reform in TSP region, tribals oppose | Jaipur News
