【ariticle】
18 dead in 3 days as India villagers, police clash
JAIPUR, India - Angry villagers blocked highways and railroad lines in northwestern India for a third day Thursday as the death toll from clashes with police rose to 18 after an officer was beaten to death and police shot four protesters in separate incidents, officials said.
The protesters have repeatedly torched police stations and vehicles and attacked government offices to press demands that their community, the Gujjars, be officially classified at the bottom of India’s complex social ladder so members can get government jobs and university spots reserved for such groups.
Apart from the deaths and property damage, the protests have also left hundreds of thousands of people stranded by blocking roads and railway lines in Rajasthan, a major tourist destination. The demonstrations have also disrupted transport to Agra, site of the Taj Mahal.
Although India officially banned caste discrimination decades ago, lower social groups such as the Gujjar, who are traditionally farmers and shepherds in northwestern India, still face widespread disadvantages.
In an attempt to right historical wrongs, India’s federal and state governments have over the past decades established quotas for lower caste groups to ensure they get government jobs and university spots.
Gujjars are already classified as one of India’s thousands of “Other Backward Classes,” which gives them some preferences. They want to be redefined as a “Scheduled Tribe,” an even lower classification that would open up more opportunities.
【words】
torch :to set fire to with or as if with a torch
disrupt: to interrupt the normal course, hinder
Other Backward Classes: OBC, その他の後進諸階級
preference: priority in the right to demand and receive satisfaction of an obligation
quota: a proportional part or share, / immigration quotas 移民の割り当て
【new expression】
Can you update me on what's been happening?
How did you spend your day?
It seems to be persistent.
平等主義: egalitarianism
achieve economic prosperity
【Teacher】vivian. 3
She was just listening and not correcting my error.