yajuvender
February 21st, 2003, 05:51 PM
Farming comes natural to jats and have proved their mettle in politics as well (Salute to Ch. Charan Singh). Lets examine contribution of jats in farms and politics more closely.
Haryana's dominant population is Jats, who claim all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Jats form 17 per cent of the Rajasthan population, and have 40 Vidhan Sabha and at least five Lok Sabha seats.
Further, they are the dominant population in the neighbouring Punjab and also in western UP, called Ganga/Yamuna Pradesh or Harit Pradesh by local Jat organisations. This area covers 21 to 23 Lok Sabha constituencies.
Let's also not forget Delhi, where they dominate another 20 Vidhan Sabha constituencies.
Thus, Jats dominate nearly 60 Lok Sabha constituencies, more than three times that of the Kerala contingent. They have provided one PM in Charan Singh who was equally at home in Baghpat and Panipat and Dholpur and Ludhiana.
Let us not forget the second point, that three of the Jat regions -- Haryana, Punjab, western UP and upper Rajasthan -- are Green Revolution regions, providing most of the food grains for the rest of country. Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 170 million, has a per capita food production of 251 kg.
To compare, per capita food production in Kerala is 161 kg to 177 kg while the national figure is 201 kg.
Thus, the Jats in UP produce food for 137 million of the population. Basically, food produced by UP Jats make up for the Purvanchal, Bengali and Bihari deficits. The excess food from Punjab and Haryana goes a long way in filling those 20 pc empty stomachs of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is good to have technology but we cannot eat it. As someone recently remarked, you cannot grow food on the Net!
Further, Jats are a dominant and unipolar group. Their only differences are religious, but this seldom lends to conflict. Jats and Sikhs get on well together.
- Yajuvender
Haryana's dominant population is Jats, who claim all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Jats form 17 per cent of the Rajasthan population, and have 40 Vidhan Sabha and at least five Lok Sabha seats.
Further, they are the dominant population in the neighbouring Punjab and also in western UP, called Ganga/Yamuna Pradesh or Harit Pradesh by local Jat organisations. This area covers 21 to 23 Lok Sabha constituencies.
Let's also not forget Delhi, where they dominate another 20 Vidhan Sabha constituencies.
Thus, Jats dominate nearly 60 Lok Sabha constituencies, more than three times that of the Kerala contingent. They have provided one PM in Charan Singh who was equally at home in Baghpat and Panipat and Dholpur and Ludhiana.
Let us not forget the second point, that three of the Jat regions -- Haryana, Punjab, western UP and upper Rajasthan -- are Green Revolution regions, providing most of the food grains for the rest of country. Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 170 million, has a per capita food production of 251 kg.
To compare, per capita food production in Kerala is 161 kg to 177 kg while the national figure is 201 kg.
Thus, the Jats in UP produce food for 137 million of the population. Basically, food produced by UP Jats make up for the Purvanchal, Bengali and Bihari deficits. The excess food from Punjab and Haryana goes a long way in filling those 20 pc empty stomachs of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is good to have technology but we cannot eat it. As someone recently remarked, you cannot grow food on the Net!
Further, Jats are a dominant and unipolar group. Their only differences are religious, but this seldom lends to conflict. Jats and Sikhs get on well together.
- Yajuvender