Meerut: With an aim to include Jats under the Other Backward Class (OBC) in the Centre, the International Jat Parliament was organised in Meerut on Sunday. Over 3,000 persons from various states and delegations from over 10 countries were at the event, attended by prominent Jat leaders including Union minister Sanjeev Balyan and BJP state vice-president Mohit Balyan. A functionary of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (non-political), Dharmendra Malik, emphasising the need for political pressure to achieve reservations, said, "We would not be able to take reservations through protests, but we can make it possible with political pressure. What time can be better than this? We should convince Jat leaders in the central government that reservation is a necessity for the growth of our community." Jats urged the central government to bestow the Bharat Ratna to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, Sir Chotu Ram, and Mahendra Pratap. They requested renaming a Meerut Metro station after Chaudhary Charan Singh. They urged the government to incorporate Jat history into the education system and install a statue of Maharaja Surajmal at the new Parliament. About FIRs lodged during the violent protests, Jat leaders said, Cases against Jats must be withdrawn. District panchayat president Gaurav Chaudhary told TOI, Jat reservation was the events primary objective and leaders from different parties put forward this message -- we are Jat first and then comes party allegiance. Well take the issue of reservation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sanjeev Balyan said, I wish to make Western Uttar Pradesh a separate state, and its capital should be Meerut. In February 2016, Jats in North India, especially in Haryana, staged a violent protest demanding reservation at the Centre, which stopped the state for about 10 days. They sought inclusion of their caste in the OBC category to access affirmative action benefits at the national level. There were similar protests in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.We also published the following articles recentlyNeed to be vocal about demand for reservation, says BhujbalMinister for food and civil supplies, Chhagan Bhujbal, has stated that politicians are hesitant to demand reservation for their community due to fear of repercussions during elections. He emphasized the need for politicians to be vocal about reservations and defend them. Bhujbal also noted that people from the OBC community are afraid to raise their voices, despite comprising 54% of society. Bhujbals comments were made at the conclusion of a state level convention.Why Congress lost its reservation on reservationsThe Congress party in India has shifted its political strategy towards a social justice approach, as it seeks to regain support lost after the decline of its traditional base. This shift has been in the making for several years, with the party emphasizing populist measures and making promises to win over poorer classes. More recently, the party has recognized the importance of combining class with caste, leading to the support of demands for caste census and an OBC sub-quota. This shift aligns Congress with social justice parties and marks a departure from its previous stance on reservations.Syllabus should not be politically motivated: Union ministerUnion MoS for Education, Subhas Sarkar, stated that changes to academic syllabus chapters should not be politically motivated. This comes in response to the removal of chapters on RSS founder K. B. Hedgewar and Veer Savarkar from the school syllabus in Karnataka after the Congress came to power. Sarkar also criticized the Chhattisgarh government for organizing an Awas Sammelan, accusing Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel of seeking name and fame. He further highlighted the state governments blocking of central schemes, including the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

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