The reputation of any community is built on toil, hardwork and perseverance of the entire community especially those in the elderly and leadership role. They are the ones who give direction in terms of values to the younger lot.
Unfortunately, for the Jat community after the greats like Ch. Chhotu Ram, Ch. Charan Singh, Ch. Devi Lal, Ch. Bansi Lal in the not too distant past, there has been nobody in the true sense who can donne the mantle of a popular mass leader from the Jat community. All the above mentioned leaders had a mass following not only among Jats, but also across the entire strata of society. They were loved and respected by one and all. Sh. Sahib Singh Verma had that spark in him and I am sure he would have risen to be a national level leader had fate been kind to him.
The last Jat leader in power was Sh. Bhupender Singh Hooda. However it can be said that his tenure in power has done more harm to the Jat community than any good. His govt. (both politicians and bureaucrats) was surrounded by favourites to whom all the fruits of power were given and the common man helplessly looked at the govt. dejected and felt cheated. It became more of a govt. of the, for the and by the rich and the powerful. As Anna Hazare said ' paise se satta and satta se paisa' It fits every political party and politician in India, but more so to the previous govt. in Haryana. While the Congress govt. kept sitting on the demand for reservation FOR FULL 10 YEARS while in power and in fact made the police fire and lathicharge innocent Jat protestors. Many cases were also registered. At the same time, while nothing much was being done for the Common Jat, the near and dear ones to the govt. projected a picture across the general population of the state that this (Congress) govt. favours Jats only. This created a feeling of alienation among the Non Jats and which ultimately resulted in the non-Jats voting for BJP as a viable alternative to a non-Jat leadership party. So, the end result was that Jats have been at the receiving end, both under a Jat and also under a non-Jat CM. Towards the fag end of the previous govt.'s 10 year tenure, when the state and centre elections were nearing, the state govt. formed a rag a tag commission to prepare a report for inclusion of Jats in OBC. It was KNOWN FROM THE START that such a decision would be struck down by the Courts as no proper research and commission report was prepared to back the decision of giving reservation. The Congress govt. had full 10 years to conduct a detailed research report on the condition of Jats in Haryana vis a vis Yadavs, Sainis, etc. But the Congress govt. kept sitting on the demand for full 10 years and in fact created a false impression that only Jats were being favoured when actually the condition of Jats was getting worse even when compared to Yadavs, Sainis in terms of lower landholdings, lesser and lesser representation in govt. jobs, etc. It was an open secret that almost all the parties in power irrespective of the caste of CM, have acted as commission agents where seats in govt. jobs and professional courses were sold or auctioned - the highest bidder getting the job - even a constable post being sold for 15 lacs. Except for temporary benefits such as higher MSP, loan waiver, etc, even Jat CM did not do much for the community except for creating a false impression and alienation among the non-Jats that only Jats are favoured whereas the reality was that the condition of (common) Jats went from bad to worse even under Jat CMs except the condition of those Jats who were the near and dear ones of those in power.
The fact and result of the entire discussion above is that the very mention of the word anywhere in India draws disdain. The word Jat is used for goondas, hooligans, etc. People use the term 'Jat jaise' in a very derogatory manner for anyone who does anything wrong. We boast of a rich history and tradition, but we have spoiled it all instead of building on the foundation of that history and tradition.
There are a few peculiarities of our community:
1. We have huge inflated egos.
2. We do not help fellow Jats reach the position that we have or higher up.
3. We make too much noise if we know someone in high position whereas other communities get their work done silently without anyone knowing of any favour being done.
4. We live in the past and do not think of the present or the future. We boast of the tall Jat leaders of the past. BUT what about the present or the future? No sense of direction or purpose for the community.
5. We generally do not like to adapt or change with the time unlike others. Small example, even if we shift to a town, we will not try to learn English and the one who tries to, would be ridiculed as angrez, sahab, etc. Those who do not change and adapt with time perish for sure. Despite there being so many govt. jobs available in Delhi NCR, Jats have not been able to capitalize on that opportunity despite being so near to the Capital. People from such far off places as Bihar, Bengal, South come and take up those jobs.
For any mass movement towards the improvement of any community is for that community to organise and work together as a cohesive unit without making too much noise. Let us not become all noise and no substance. Rather let our success as a community speak for us!
I disagree with few of my brothers on this site, we do not have to instill fear in the mind of non Jats, but let us be so good as individuals and as a community in whatever we do that others respect us and want to follow us.
:very_drunk: