Clashes erupt amid caste protests in India

Indian policemen in plain clothes walk past vehicles damaged during a clash between two groups in Ahmadabad, India, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015. Clashes were reported in parts of the city after tens of thousands of members Gujarat’s Patel community held a rally demanding affirmative action for better access to education and employment. AP

AHMADABAD, India — Clashes erupted overnight between police and members of a farming caste demanding government benefits in western India. Authorities sent paramilitary forces to help restore order Wednesday, as the group’s leader called for a strike.

Authorities issued a curfew Tuesday night in at least five cities of Gujarat state, after mobs attacked police officers with stones and sticks and burned government and private vehicles. Cellphone communications were blocked in the state’s main city of Ahmadabad to stop both rumors from spreading and gangs from coordinating their movements.

No casualties have been reported, police said.

The Patidars, also known as the Patel community for the last name they share, are demanding the special status given to many minorities in India, guaranteeing them a share of government jobs and school places.

The Patels, which make up about 20 percent of Gujarat’s 63 million population, say their livelihoods based on seasonal farming and small industry have become increasingly difficult amid India’s agricultural malaise and rapid economic growth marked by high inflation.

India’s constitution sets out affirmative action, called reservations, for India’s lowest Dalit and untouchable castes to help them overcome centuries of discrimination. That has been expanded over the years to include several other relatively disadvantaged low caste groups.

Because reservations allow easier access to government jobs, schools and universities, they’ve become a huge political bargaining chip in this country of 1.2 billion, and over the last decade several groups have led often violent protests to demand that they be counted at the bottom of the country’s complex caste system.

On Tuesday, Patel leaders led a rally attended by 500,000 Patels from across Gujarat. Later, police detained the group’s 22-year-old firebrand leader Hardik Patel, prompting members of the community to rampage through cities in Gujarat.

Hardik Patel called for a strike on Wednesday across Gujarat, the state that Prime Minister Narendra Modi administered as chief minister for 12 years.

Schools said they would remain closed, but it was unclear how many businesses would follow the strike call.

Modi’s successor as chief minister, Anandiben Patel, urged members of her own community to maintain the peace.

She has said that giving into the demands of the Patels was not possible because India’s Supreme Court has mandated that state governments can set aside only 50 percent of jobs and school seats for backward groups and that existing low caste groups already fill those spots.

The Indian government has said it was sending paramilitary forces to help restore order in the state.