Jat reservation agitation in Haryana, February 2016

What the government did

1. 18 Feb 2016

   Internet shutdownState government, HaryanaShare

   District administrations stopped mobile internet from 18 February.

   MoreLess · 4 sources

   The Rohtak Deputy Commissioner stopped internet services throughout the district by order No. 4011-51/MB of 18 February, to check the misuse of social media for rumour mongering. Orders of 18 February also stopped mobile internet or bulk messaging in Jind, Sonepat and Hisar (in Hisar under Section 144 CrPC), Panipat issued Section 144 orders on 18 and 19 February that included suspending internet, and wireless internet was stopped in Bhiwani, according to the Prakash Singh committee. A senior police official told IANS it was done so that rumours are not spread. The Indian Express reported that mobile internet and SMS were blocked from early on 19 February

   Legal basis: Section 144 CrPC (named in the Hisar and Panipat orders)

   Sources [9][10][3][2]

2. 18 Feb 2016

   Section 144 / 163State government, HaryanaShare

   District Magistrates issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC on 18 February in Rohtak (the committee report gives the order as No. 3018-57/MB in one place and No. 4011-51/MB, the number of the internet order, in another), Jind, Hisar and Panipat, according to the Prakash Singh committee.

   MoreLess · 2 sources

   The Indian Express reported on 20 February that Section 144 had been imposed in at least six districts

   Legal basis: Section 144 CrPC

   Sources [9][10]

3. 19 Feb 2016

   NegotiationState government, HaryanaShare

   The state Cabinet met on 18 February.

   MoreLess · 3 sources

   The Chief Minister called an all-party meeting at Haryana Niwas, Chandigarh, at 11 am on 19 February and offered to introduce a reservation bill in the coming session of the Vidhan Sabha; leaders of all parties then appealed for peace. Violence broke out in Rohtak within hours. On 21 February a group of Jat leaders met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who gave an assurance of a central committee under M. Venkaiah Naidu and of a state reservation bill in the coming Budget Session; the blockades were lifted by the evening of 23 February

   Sources [9][10][3]

4. 19 Feb 2016

   CurfewState government, HaryanaShare

   Curfew orders were issued in Rohtak (order No. 4047-5000/MB of 19 February) and Jhajjar on 19 February, in Hisar city and Hansi and in Sonepat and Gohana on 20 February, and in Kaithal city on 21 February, according to the Prakash Singh committee, which treats them as orders under Section 144 CrPC.

   MoreLess · 5 sources

   The Indian Express reported curfew in Rohtak, Bhiwani and Jhajjar and shoot-at-sight orders in Rohtak and Bhiwani by the evening of 19 February. IANS reported curfew in Hisar, Sonipat and Jind towns on 20 February, and the Hindustan Times reported on 21 February that curfew covered eight districts

   Legal basis: Section 144 CrPC (curfew orders, as described by the Prakash Singh committee)

   Sources [9][10][11][12][4]

5. 20 Feb 2016

   OtherCentreShare

   Army deployment: the state government decided on the evening of 19 February to requisition the Army, and the DGP said a requisition had been sent for eight districts.

   MoreLess · 6 sources

   The agitators dug up roads leading to Rohtak, so troops were airlifted there; the first columns arrived on 20 February, according to the Prakash Singh committee, whose table counts 38 columns on 20 February rising to 74 by 24 February. The DGP said on 20 February that 13 Army columns had arrived with 10 more being airlifted, and 10 paramilitary companies had arrived with 23 more on the way

   • 13 Army columns received by the state by noon on 20 February (10 more being airlifted), said Haryana DGP Yash Pal Singal [13]
   • 38 Army columns deployed on 20 February, said Prakash Singh committee (para 8.11) [9]
   • 74 highest number of Army columns deployed on one day (24 February), said Prakash Singh committee (para 8.11) [9]

   Sources [9][10][11][13][2][4]

6. 20 Feb 2016

   FiringCentreShare

   At Jhajjar on 20 February a crowd set government buildings on fire near the Jahanaara Bagh stadium.

   MoreLess · 3 sources

   Water cannon, tear gas and a lathi charge did not disperse it, and the committee says the crowd fired at the police; a magistrate then ordered the Army to fire. The Prakash Singh committee gives different death counts in different parts of its report, and IANS and the state police gave other figures

   • 6 killed in firing by the Army (with police) at Jhajjar on 20 February, said Prakash Singh committee (para 8.15, table of Army firing) [9]
   • 5 killed in firing by the Army in Jhajjar district, said Prakash Singh committee (para 7.11, use-of-force table) [9]
   • 4 agitators killed when the Army column opened fire at Jhajjar, said Prakash Singh committee (para 5.18) [9]
   • 4 died in Jhajjar on 20 February when armed forces opened fire, said Official release (as reported by The Indian Express) [11]
   • 1 killed when soldiers fired on a mob in Jhajjar, said IANS [4]

   Sources [9][11][4]

7. 20 Feb 2016

   FIRPolice, HaryanaShare

   The DGP said 129 cases had been registered against agitators by 20 February.

   MoreLess · 3 sources

   The Prakash Singh committee recorded 2,122 cases registered across the state in connection with the agitation by 30 April 2016, four of them for murder

   • 129 cases registered against agitators by 20 February, said Haryana DGP Yash Pal Singal [13]
   • 2,122 cases registered in connection with the riots by 30 April 2016, said Prakash Singh committee (Annexure II) [9]
   • 520 arrests made by 23 April 2016, said Prakash Singh committee (Annexure II) [9]

   Sources [4][13][9]

8. 25 Feb 2016

   Commission of inquiryState government, HaryanaShare

   By an order of 25 February 2016 the Home Department appointed Prakash Singh, IPS (retd), to inquire into acts of omission and commission by police and civil officers during the agitation from 7 to 22 February and to report within 45 days, and to suggest improvements to the law-and-order system within a further month.

   MoreLess · 7 sources

   An order of 3 March appointed Vijai Vardhan (IAS) and K.P. Singh (IPS) to assist him. The committee heard 2,217 persons and reported on 13 May 2016, naming officers in its district chapters. Singh told PTI that about 90 officials were guilty of deliberate negligence, a third of them in Rohtak; The Quint, with agency inputs, reported nearly 30. The report was made public on 31 May. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) P.K. Das was moved from the Home Department a day after it was submitted, and DGP Yashpal Singal had been moved a few days before. In August 2016 Singh said the Home Department had written that his second report was not needed

   • 30 killed during the agitation (20 rioters and 10 others), said Prakash Singh committee (para 7.5) [9]
   • 208 injured during the agitation (123 rioters, 15 others, 55 policemen, 11 CAPF, 4 Army), said Prakash Singh committee (para 7.5) [9]
   • 320 injured during the agitation, said The Quint (with agency inputs) [1]
   • about 90 officials found guilty of deliberate negligence, said Prakash Singh (as reported by PTI) [7]
   • nearly 30 officers and officials held responsible for an inadequate response, said The Quint (with agency inputs) [1]

   Sources [9][7][1][6][17][16][8]

Outcome

The Prakash Singh committee reported on 13 May 2016, and its main report was made public on 31 May. Officers were transferred and some suspended. The state government decided in August 2016 to ask the CBI to inquire into arson in Rohtak.

Background

Who governed at the start of the protest. Each action above counts for the party in power where and when it happened.

Centre government

BJPNDA, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

State government

BJP in Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister

Places

Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Bhiwani, Hisar, Jind, Kaithal, Panipat

Cause

Reservation for Jats in government jobs and educational institutions

Organisers

Jat community organisations; described by police and Jat leaders as largely leaderless

Scale

Eight districts particularly affected; 30 dead and 208 injured per the Prakash Singh committee (news reports gave 320 injured); hundreds of trains cancelled or diverted

What they said

Words in quote marks were matched in the source. Everything else is a summary; open the source for the exact words. Each statement says whether the speaker's party was in power or in opposition at the time.

Sources

1. 1Parkash Singh Report on Haryana Jat Riots Blames Police for LaxityThe Quint, 13 May 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 23 Oct 2021
2. 2Haryana tense, army deployed in eight districtsIANS via Moneylife, 20 Feb 2016T5 Secondary
3. 3Internet services blocked in Haryana after clashIANS via Moneylife, 19 Feb 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 22 Feb 2016
4. 4Haryana burns as Jat protest turns into unruly violenceIANS via Ummid, 21 Feb 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 22 Feb 2016
5. 5BJP, Cong spar over Jat stir violenceThe Tribune, Geetanjali Gayatri, 1 Sep 2016T4 Report
6. 6Two Commissions and Various Omissions: The Aftermath of the Jat AgitationsThe Wire, Natasha Narwal, 3 Jun 2016T4 Report
7. 7Jat protests: Inquiry panel finds 90 officials guilty of ‘deliberate negligence’Scroll.in, 13 May 2016T5 Secondary
8. 8Jat Agitation: After Shocking 1st Report, Haryana Govt Scraps 2ndThe Quint, Shambhavi Prakash, 26 Aug 2016T5 Secondary
9. 9Prakash Singh Committee Report on Role of Officers of Civil Administration and Police During the Jat Reservation Agitation (Feb. 7 - 22, 2016), Volume I – Main ReportGovernment of Haryana (Prakash Singh Committee), Prakash Singh, 13 May 2016T2 CourtArchived 14 Jun 2016
10. 10Haryana jat quota protest takes violent turn, 3 killed, shoot-at-sight orders in 2 districtsThe Indian Express, Khushboo Sandhu, 20 Feb 2016T4 ReportArchived 20 Feb 2016
11. 11Jat quota stir: Death toll at 6, curfew in 4 towns, Army out across HaryanaThe Indian Express, Varinder Bhatia, 21 Feb 2016T4 ReportArchived 21 Feb 2016
12. 12Haryana: 10 killed in Jat quota stir, army deployed to quell protestsHindustan Times, Neeraj Mohan and Danish Raza, 21 Feb 2016T4 ReportArchived 21 Feb 2016
13. 13As Jat quota agitation escalates, Haryana seeks more Army, paramilitary personnelThe Indian Express, Sanjeev Verma, 21 Feb 2016T4 ReportArchived 21 Feb 2016
14. 14Jat stir: Chautala wants Khattar govt dismissed, blames Hooda for violenceHindustan Times, 22 Feb 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 22 Feb 2016
15. 15Hooda on hunger strike for peaceThe Indian Express, 22 Feb 2016T5 SecondaryArchived 23 Feb 2016
16. 16Red-faced over first report on Jat stir, Haryana scraps secondThe Indian Express, Khushboo Sandhu, 26 Aug 2016T4 ReportArchived 26 Aug 2016
17. 17It was administrative paralysis: ProbeThe Tribune, Sushil Manav, 1 Jun 2016T4 Report

Similar precedents

Faded actions are ones this precedent does not share.