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| Tribal group drops India protest | Tribal group drops India protest |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Leaders of an Indian tribal group have called off protests over affirmative action policy after the authorities agreed to look into their demands. | |
| Gujjar community leaders met Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia on Monday after a week of clashes in the state left at least 23 people dead. | |
| Ms Raje said that an inquiry panel would look into the Gujjars' demands and report back within three months. | Ms Raje said that an inquiry panel would look into the Gujjars' demands and report back within three months. |
| Gujjar community members want access to government jobs and other benefits. | Gujjar community members want access to government jobs and other benefits. |
| On Monday, hundreds of Gujjars blocked main roads into the capital, Delhi, as the protests spread from Rajasthan, where the unrest started. | |
| Demands 'met' | |
| The decision to end protests came after Rajasthan's chief minister met Gujjar leader KS Bainsla in the state capital, Jaipur. | |
| We are ending our protests - we have got the results that we wanted Gujjar leader KS Bainsla Grief of the Gujjars | |
| Afterwards, Ms Raje told a joint news conference that a panel headed by a retired judge would look into the Gujjars' demands... "and will submit its report in three months". | |
| "The Gujjars have decided to call off their campaign." | |
| Mr Bainsla said: "We have got whatever we have been demanding." | |
| Several earlier rounds of negotiations had failed to break the deadlock as violence worsened. | |
| Monday's protests saw vehicles set on fire on roads leading into Delhi, with much disruption to commuters and other traffic. Some trains on their way to Delhi were halted or diverted. | |
| Paramilitary troops and extra policemen were deployed in force and there were many arrests. | |
| In the suburb of Ghitorni, police fired tear gas to disperse a stone-throwing mob. | |
| Violent protests started last Tuesday in Dausa district in Rajasthan when police fired on Gujjar protesters blocking the road between Jaipur and Agra where the Taj Mahal is located. | |
| Over the next few days, the unrest spread across the state. | |
| Tribal rivals | |
| The Gujjars - a large and politically-influential nomadic tribe spread across north India - want to be categorised as an official tribe to benefit from affirmative action quotas which will give them access to government jobs as well as places in state-supported schools and colleges. | |
| Gujjars are a large and politically-influential tribe | |
| Members of the rival Meena tribe in Rajasthan, who at present corner most of the quota benefits, have threatened their own protests if Gujjar demands are met. | |
| Gujjars comprise about 6% and Meenas 10% of Rajasthan's 56 million people. | |
| The issue of affirmative action is a sensitive one in India, with many poor communities arguing that it is the only way millions of under-privileged people can benefit from India's economic boom. | |
| But those opposed to it say it is a cynical move by politicians to gain more votes from politically influential communities who make up a large percentage of the country's population. |