Police book Hooda's aide for instigating Jats

ROHTAK: The unrestrained, brute violence in Haryana’s Rohtak district between February 18 and 21, which caused massive damage to private property when rioters demanding OBC quotas went berserk, had a dark underside: Fear of one’s identity.Many non-Jats, who claim that their establishments were singled out by violencemongers, now identify themselves only by their first names while introducing themselves. Udayveer Sawhney of Rohtak’s Qila Road gave the reason for the caution.“It’s because of the riots and the way they (rioters) behaved. If the person talking to you is a Jat, he may feel offended by our words. The situation is not good.”Lovleen Tuteja, who is also part of BJP’s media cell, confirmed that people were wary of telling strangers their surname.The way our homes and shops were targeted, we want to be doubly sure that the person in front won’t harm us. It’s only after we are satisfied that we share our surnames,” Loveleen said.Prativindhya Saini, a management student, said differences had cropped up between classmates and that suddenly friends from the Jat community aren’t friendly anymore. “The way things are now, there’s fear regarding even good friends from the community," Prativindhya said.The dropping of surnames is just not restricted to non-Jats — even Jats are uncomfortable about revealing their caste these days.A Jat couple, after initial reluctance to disclose their surname, told TOI: “After the recent violence, we’re not sure what the other person will think about us and what kind of reception we will get.”