Even though there were minor protests throughout Punjab and Haryana on Wednesday, the day-long Bharat Bandh called by some Dalit and Adivasi groups in opposition to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the subclassification of Scheduled Castes failed to elicit much response.
The bandh had not affected vital services, the stores and other business establishments, as well as public transportation, continued to operate as usual.
According to officials, the two states have implemented sophisticated security measures to uphold law and order.
The markets and shops in Phagwara, Punjab, were open as normal.
Activists from a few organizations that support the welfare of Schedule caste communities marched in protest from Ambedkar Park in Guru Hargobind Nagar to the underpass of a national highway 44 in Phagwara, where they staged a dharna.
There was also a protest march in Jalandhar. In Ludhiana, stores and other business organizations as well as schools ran smoothly.
In the Hoshiarpur district, everything was operating as usual, including all businesses and educational institutions. A demonstration was organized by Bahujan Samaj Party workers and a few Dalit organizations next to the local bus stop.
Some Dalit community members marched in protest from Krantiman Park to the Mini Secretariat in Hisar, Haryana. In Ambala, there was no reaction to the bandh.
Twenty-one organizations across the country had called for the Bharat Bandh against the Supreme Court order, which they have said will harm the basic principles of reservation.
According to the Supreme Court’s ruling on August 1, states are allowed under the constitution to create socially diverse subclassifications within the SCs in order to provide reservations for the advancement of castes that are less developed socially and educationally.