The Gujarat government yesterday said it will reserve 10% of government jobs and university spots for people whose income falls below a certain threshold after deadly caste protests last year.
At least 10 people were killed when thousands of Patidars, a relatively well-off caste of farmers and traders, took to the streets in Gujarat to demand they be included in quotas. They argue that they are struggling to compete with lower castes who are given preferential access to government jobs.
Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel yesterday said a new quota system would be set up to cover those with a household income lower than Rs600,000 a year, regardless of their caste.  
“People from general category having an annual income limit of Rs600,000 will get 10% EBC reservation in education institutions and government jobs,” tweeted Patel, referring to the category of economically backward class.
However the Patidars, who waged fresh protests in Gujarat earlier this month, say they should be included in the Other Backward Castes (OBC) category, whose members have their own, more generous quotas.
Community leader Lalit Vasoya accused the Gujarat government of a “political move” to end the divisive protests ahead of elections for the state assembly next year.
“Our demand for inclusion under OBC will remain as it is. We do not accept this decision of the government,” Vasoya said.
Gujarat, the birthplace of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is one of India’s most prosperous states, but still suffers from high levels of youth unemployment in its rural areas.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party rules in Gujarat, but has performed poorly in a number of recent elections in other states.
Similar caste protests have been held elsewhere in India.
Earlier this year around a dozen people were killed in Haryana when members of the Jat caste waged violent protests to demand similar quotas. Thousands of troops had to be deployed before the violence could be brought under control.