Kirori Singh Bainsla

Col Bainsla passed away on 31 March 2022 due to a prolonged illness. He was 82 years old. He was taken to a private hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, family sources said. He was cremated with military honors at his home village Mundia on 1 April 2022, with large numbers in attendance.

Bainsla was charged for his involvement in the protests. Following one major protest, Rajasthan High Court issued a notice of contempt against him for allegedly violating a previous order to keep the protests within lawful bounds. After 25 days of protest and five days of negotiations, Bainsla's meetings with representatives of the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje, resulted in the Gurjar, Gadia Lohar, Banjara, and Rebari, and Gadaria communities being awarded the status of Special Backward Class. The legislation was challenged in the Rajasthan High Court, and benefits under the legislation were restricted. Under Bainsla's leadership, Rajasthani gurjars continued to campaign for special reservation (5%), which finally was provided in February 2019 with the passing of The Rajasthan Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutes in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Amendment Bill 2019.

In February 2019, the community again protested by blocking the Delhi-Mumbai Rail route at Malarna Dungar, Sawai Madhopur by demanding a 5% quota after Congress came to power in Rajasthan. During the election campaign of the Congress party, the PCC Chief and Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, who is also a Gurjar from Uttar Pradesh, made a commitment in the election manifesto to give a 5% reservation to MBCs along with all backlog jobs for the MBC community. During this agitation, the Government of Rajasthan passed the bill in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly granting 5% reservation exclusively to Gurjar, Gadia Lohar, Banjara, Rebari, and Gadaria communities within the state. This 5% reservation is applicable to education and state government appointments.

Kirori Singh Bainsla contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from the Tonk–Sawai Madhopur Lok Sabha constituency on the Bharatiya Janata Party ticket, securing a total of 375,255 votes, losing by 317 votes to Namo Narain Meena. Bainsla and his son Vijay Bainsla joined BJP in the presence of Party President Amit Shah on 10 April 2019, accompanied by BJP Rajasthan-in-charge Prakash Javadekar.

Bainsla was appointed the lifetime founder chairman of the Society for the Upliftment of Youth and other Groups (SUYOG), registered in 2013 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. SUYOG aims to promote education and create awareness about employment opportunities, especially government related, for youth within the rural and backward regions across India. Members conduct workshops for the benefit of students and promote the establishment of local libraries in rural areas. SUYOG supports a small educational facility for the children of shoe laborers in Agra.

Based on information obtained from the Rajasthan state government, 787,194 and 356,305 students have availed themselves of the benefits of pre-metric and post-metric scholarships respectively. 14,359 students are studying under the Gurukul Yojna where education, lodging, and boarding are provided free of cost. Under the Scooty Yojna, girls who score over 75% in class 12 exams are awarded a Scooty, functioning as an incentive and a utility to pursue higher education. During the first year of the Scooty initiative (2011), 280 Scootys were awarded, 220 short of the allocation of 500 and the cut off merit percentage was reduced to 53%. In 2017, 1000 Scootys were awarded against 11,000 applications and the merit cut off was adjusted to over 80%. An additional 7,589 girl students were awarded consolation financial awards.

During the agitation movement of 2008, Bainsla once said, "Only a bullet or a letter (granting the demands) can remove me from here." He said that one of the reasons he was engaged in this cause was because his children are settled and so he could think of his "greater family".

Protest marches organised by the movement have at times led to violent clashes with civil authorities and have been accompanied by extensive property damage. In 2007, Bainsla led a protest in which 27 people were killed in clashes with police, and as of May 2008, a total of 43 people had died in such clashes, most of them protesters. Bainsla blamed police for the violence. In May 2015, a similar protest was organised by thousands of gurjars under the leadership of Bainsla. 73 people from the community have been killed in the agitation for reservation.

In 2007, he withdrew the demand for ST status for Gurjars after talks with the Rajasthan Government. However, some sections of the community felt betrayed and accused him of being an agent of the government. In 2008, he renewed the call for ST status, and a new wave of Gurjar protests have since captured the attention of the whole country and put Rajasthan on standstill. Some media outlets have accused other Gurjar leaders of hypocrisy for their alleged lavish lifestyles, but Bainsla largely avoided these accusations.

As per prevailing traditions, Bainsla married at the young age of 14 to Resham (Hindi: रेशम) of village Deolen (Hindi: देवलिन), around 12km from Mundia. She was sarpanch of Mundia at the time of her demise on 16 November 1996. They have a daughter and three sons.

Bainsla fought in the Sino-Indian war of 1962 and received an emergency commission as a Second Lieutenant on 2 August 1964. As an infantry officer in the Guards regiment, he fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and became a prisoner of war. Promoted to Lieutenant on 2 August 1966, Bainsla received a regular commission as a Second Lieutenant on 1 April 1970 (seniority from 20 January 1966), with promotion to Lieutenant from the same date (seniority from 20 January 1968). Dubbed the "Rock of Gibraltar" by his seniors in the army, Bainsla was promoted to Captain on 20 January 1972 and to Major on 20 January 1979. On 3 April 1988, now in the Indian Army Pioneer Corps, Bainsla was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by selection, denoting him as an officer suitable for higher command. He however voluntarily took early retirement from the Army on 10 June 1991, transferring to the reserves.

In 1960, Kirori Singh Bainsla started teaching English at the Government Multi Purpose Higher Secondary School in Gangapur City, Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. Following in the footsteps of his father who served in the British Indian Army and two older brothers already enlisted, Kirori Bainsla joined the Indian Army in 1962. Being ineligible for joining as a commissioned officer due to his marital status, Bainsla enlisted as a sepoy. It is speculated that his military background enabled him to organise the Gurjar agitation movement with precision and on the large scale which characterized it.

Kirori Singh Bainsla (12 September 1939 – 31 March 2022) was a Lieutenant Colonel of the Indian Army and in 2007 led a caste protest movement in the state of Rajasthan, demanding reservation as Scheduled Tribe for the Gurjar community in Rajasthan. He headed the Rajasthan Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti which led the wave of protests across the state. Col Bainsla is known for his trademark red pagri (turban) and white dhoti and kurta. He is popularly known as पटरीवाले बाबा (Patriwale Baba).