14 Die in Indian Race Riots

Minority group pushing for affirmative action clashes with police
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted May 30, 2007 4:24 AM CDT
14 Die in Indian Race Riots
Civilians take out a protest demonstration against the violence and killing of innocent people allegedly by the separatist rebel group, United Liberation Front of Asom, (ULFA) in Gauhati, India. Wednesday, May 30, 2007. ULFA, which has been fighting since 1979 for an independent homeland in Assam, has...   (Associated Press)

An ethnic minority in Northwest India clashed with police yesterday during a demonstration, leaving 14 people dead. The Army has been called into Rajasthan to restore order, after tens of thousands of Gujjars blocked a key highway and fought with police trying to break up their protest.

The Gujjars, a nomadic tribe which the BBC describes as large and politically influential, are demanding inclusion in an affirmative action program that would give them access to government jobs and spots in schools and colleges. Police opened fire on the group after they blocked the highway connecting Rajasthani metropolis Jaipur with Agra, site of the Taj Mahal. (More Gujjars stories.)

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