Members of an Indian minority community will begin talks with local government authorities on Monday about ending their sometimes violent protests over job quotas which have disrupted train services, both parties said. Members of the Gujjar community are demanding that their place in the Indian caste system be downgraded so they can qualify for government jobs and university places reserved for such groups. Government officials are to travel to the town of Bayana on Monday for a first round of talks with the protest leaders, said S.N. Thanvi, a senior official of Rajasthan government. “We have agreed for final talks in Jaipur only if the first round talks prove to be fruitful,” said K.S. Bainsla, a Gujjar leader, who, with his loose red turban and white cotton robes, has come to be the face of the protests.
