Thousands of troops patrolled India’s Gujarat State yesterday after at least nine people died in the worst violence to hit the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in more than a decade.
Schools were closed as authorities imposed a curfew in the worst-hit areas after nearly two days of rioting following a rally in the main city of Ahmedabad by an estimated 500,000 members of the Patidar caste.
Protesters torched cars, buses and police stations after the detention late on Tuesday of Hardik Patel, the firebrand leader of a mass movement to demand preferential treatment for jobs and university places for the caste.
Photo: Reuters
The Patidars — or Patels — are one of the state’s most affluent communities, but they say they are struggling to compete with less privileged castes for jobs.
India sets aside a proportion of government jobs and university places for some castes under measures intended to bring victims of the worst discrimination into the mainstream. However, the policy causes resentment among others who say it freezes them out.
The streets of Ahmedabad were calm yesterday, with shops and businesses beginning to reopen in some areas and large numbers of security personnel on the streets.
Many of the victims were killed when police opened fire on rioters, but one police officer died in hospital late on Wednesday from injuries sustained in the clashes.
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