Jaipur, May 30 (IANS) Amid tight security and administrative vigilance, statues of Gurjar leader Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla and other reservation agitation martyrs were unveiled on Saturday at Kushalipura in Sawai Madhopur district, Rajasthan, following a call by the Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti.

The unveiling ceremony took place in the afternoon, with Colonel Bainsla’s son, Vijay Singh Bainsla, leading the event in the presence of Gurjar community members and families of the martyrs. Religious rituals were performed amid Vedic chants, followed by a havan conducted by the martyrs’ families.

The administration maintained a close watch throughout the programme due to ongoing tensions surrounding the installation site, located within the Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH) zone of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

Arriving at the martyr memorial site, Col Bainsla’s Son Vijay Singh Bainsla invited the families of the martyrs onto the stage and declared that the statues would be unveiled collectively. “We will unveil these statues together. Every martyr’s family must be part of this moment, even the youngest child in their arms,” he said.

On behalf of the Gurjar community, statues of Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla, Martyr Radheshyam, and Martyr Kanhaiya Lal were formally unveiled, after which community members paid floral tributes.

Given the possibility of large gatherings and tensions following Friday’s confrontation between the Gurjar community and the police administration, security arrangements were significantly strengthened.

Around 1,000 additional police personnel from Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, and Dausa districts were deployed. Senior administrative and police officials remained stationed at the site, while surveillance around the memorial area was intensified. District Collector Kanaram said that several rounds of discussions had been held with Gurjar leaders and that efforts were underway to maintain the status quo while exploring a consensus on an alternative location for the statues.

The controversy stems from the community’s demand to install statues and establish a martyr memorial at the site where Gurjar community members lost their lives during the reservation agitation. The administration has maintained that permanent construction or statue installation cannot be permitted at the location as it falls within the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve’s protected CTH zone. However, community members remain firm on their demand. Bainsla, meanwhile, referred to the deaths at Kushali Darra and criticised the administration’s reported objections to installing a statue in the Tiger Reserve area.

Speaking to IANS, he said, “People were martyred at Kushali Darra. Now the administration says a statue cannot be installed there because it falls within a Tiger Reserve. If that is the case, then when bullets were fired at Gurjars, they should have first been taken outside the forest area before being killed.”

Drawing a comparison with the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Bainsla said, “Why was the temple in Ayodhya built at the site of the Babri Masjid? Why was it not constructed somewhere else? There, it is a matter of faith. Here too, our people sacrificed their lives. This is also a matter of faith for us.”

He asserted that the statue would be installed only at Kushali Darra, saying, “The statue will be installed there itself.”

Late Friday night, members of the Gurjar community brought the statues to Kushalipura, and since Saturday early morning, supporters continued to gather at the venue, where a three-day Lord Devnarayan fair and tribute programme is underway.

Songs dedicated to Colonel Bainsla echoed through the gathering as community members reiterated their demand for a memorial at the historic protest site.

–IANS

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