From 7 September 2020, Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates camped on Kankri Dungri hill beside the Udaipur-Ahmedabad highway in Dungarpur, Rajasthan, demanding 1,167 unfilled general-category REET 2018 teacher posts. On 24 September they blocked the highway; three days of arson, stone-pelting and firing left one to two people dead. Talks reopened the road on 27 September, and police booked more than 6,000 people.
Key takeaways
- The sit-in began on 7 September 2020; violence ran from 24 to 27 September.
- PTI reported one death on 26 September; later reports said two.
- Internet was cut in four districts. Police named BTP leaders among alleged instigators.
Background: the 1,167 vacant posts
In April 2018 Rajasthan notified Grade III teacher vacancies through the REET exam, including 5,431 posts in Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) areas, blocks where more than half the population is Adivasi. When recruitment ended, 1,167 general-category posts were left vacant. The government's reasoning, The Caravan reported, was that ST candidates did not reach the cut-offs it had set: 60 percent for the general category and 36 percent for ST The Caravan.
ST candidates, organised under the Bhil Pradesh Aarakshan Samanvay Samiti (BPASS), called the cut-offs arbitrary and said the seats should go to ST applicants. General and OBC groups under the Samanta Manch demanded instead that the posts be filled from all categories with a 5 percent relaxation ETV Bharat (Hindi).
The court cases on the reservation question
In 2019, The Caravan reported, a single-judge bench at Jodhpur, the Rajasthan High Court's principal seat, ruled for ST petitioners, relying on a 2012 order of then Governor Margaret Alva for Fifth Schedule areas The Caravan.
On 6 September 2019 a division bench overturned that ruling. The Caravan reported that the bench held that "only those candidates can migrate to General category, who have higher marks than the last cut-off of the General category." ETV Bharat also reported the division bench order The Caravan ETV Bharat (Hindi).
In September 2020, Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara said candidates "of both general and ST category have moved court" over the posts Free Press Journal. This page could not find a published final judgment that settles the 1,167 posts after the 2020 protest.
How the protest started
After the ruling, activists held a 22-day sit-in at the Dungarpur collectorate. A first camp at Kankari Dungari ended on 10 December 2019 when the government formed a committee and asked it to report in three months The Caravan. The matter then went cold during the Covid-19 pandemic, ETV Bharat reported ETV Bharat (Hindi).
On 7 September 2020 more than 200 Adivasi youth gathered on the hilltop for an indefinite protest, and the number rose to around 500 the next day. Police filed cases under the Epidemic Diseases Act on 9 and 16 September The Caravan. By 18 September ETV Bharat reported that the camp had no permission, that the administration had issued a notice to end it, and that both BTP MLAs, Rajkumar Roat and Ramprasad Dindor, were backing the candidates ETV Bharat (Hindi).
Timeline
Camp on Kankri Dungri
Over 200 ST youth begin an indefinite protest on the hill beside NH-8 The Caravan.
Meeting called off
A promised meeting with Minister Arjun Singh Bamaniya is called off, protesters told The Caravan The Caravan.
Highway blocked
Candidates block NH-8 in the Bichhiwara area. Stones are thrown, vehicles burnt, and police use batons and tear gas; police say 35 personnel, including an additional SP and a deputy SP, are injured Outlook/PTI.
Firing and a death
Section 144 and internet suspension extend to four districts. A man is shot dead and two others injured; police say it is not confirmed whether the bullet came from police or protesters ETV Bharat Tribune/PTI.
Talks and highway cleared
Talks at Kherwara end the blockade; two RAF companies are deployed. Stone-pelting continues in Udaipur district Tribune/PTI.
What happened on the highway
Police said candidates of the 2018 exam blocked National Highway 8 in the Bichhiwara area of Dungarpur on 24 September. By 26 September, according to police, protesters had set more than 20 vehicles on fire, including buses, and vandalised a petrol pump and a hotel. The SP's vehicle and several police motorcycles were burnt. Protesters sat on the hillocks on both sides, and about 25 km of road from Ratanpur to Kherwara was blocked Outlook/PTI.
ETV Bharat reported about 100 houses ransacked in Srinath Colony and seven trucks burnt near Dabella ETV Bharat.
Police injury figures vary: 35 on 24 September per PTI citing police, 11 per the Free Press Journal, and 45 for the whole agitation per eNewsroom Outlook/PTI Free Press Journal eNewsroom.
How many died
Documented PTI reported a man shot dead and two injured on 26 September; police said it was unclear whether the bullet was fired by police or protesters Tribune/PTI Deccan Herald/PTI.
The Quint and eNewsroom later reported two deaths The Quint eNewsroom. The Caravan reported that Director General of Police Bhupendra Singh told the media on 27 September that police had used live fire, killing two young Adivasi protesters, whom it named as Arun Ahiri and Kuldeep Kalasua The Caravan. No second report of the names or of any inquiry was found.
The Gehlot government's response
Government's position As the violence spread, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote on Twitter:
Violence and violent demonstration in Dungarpur is very unfortunate. Constitutional right to protest should be used. There should be peaceful demonstrations but no one has the right to take law into their hands. My appeal to the protesters is to please cooperate in maintaining peace and law and order.
Ashok Gehlot, quoted by the Free Press Journal, 26 Sep 2020
A meeting at the Chief Minister's residence with BTP MLAs took no decision on the demand. Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasara said: "The government is willing to give jobs but no one has the right to take the law in their hands... The 1,167 posts that are pending are from the general quota. Students of both general and ST category have moved court. Thus inciting violence on the issue is unfortunate." Free Press Journal
Gehlot later said his administration was "ready to meet all legitimate demands", PTI reported The Quint. On 26 September the state sent three senior police officers to Dungarpur, and Governor Kalraj Mishra told top officials to bring the violence under control Tribune/PTI ETV Bharat.
On 27 September, at Kherwara, Minister Bamaniya said: "We have appealed to the protesters to stop the violence and restore peace. There was general consensus on this in the meeting." Tribune/PTI Home Secretary NL Meena, appointed to handle the aftermath, told The Caravan: "The main reason for the Dungarpur violence was the lack of communication between protesters and the government." The Caravan
The BTP's role and the "Naxal" charge
The Bharatiya Tribal Party had won two Dungarpur seats in 2018 and backs a separate Bhil Pradesh and local reservation for tribals eNewsroom. Police sources named BTP state president Velaram Ghoghra, BTP leader Kanti Roth, former BJP MLA Devendra Katara and others as allegedly making provocative speeches and instigating the mob. Police were also examining visits to the site by BJP, Congress and BTP MLAs ETV Bharat/ANI.
Claim · Officials Collector Kana Ram blamed people from neighbouring states influenced by "a particular ideology", and BJP leaders linked the BTP to Naxals eNewsroom The Caravan. No evidence No court finding of a Naxal link was found.
BTP MLA Rajkumar Roat said: "The BJP and Congress are terming us as naxals to suppress us because they are fearful of our influence." eNewsroom
Both accounts
Protesters' account
Protesters told The Caravan the blockade began only after a promised ministerial meeting was cancelled. One said police tried to run them over with a jeep, provoking stone-throwing, after which police used tear gas and lathis. They alleged police raided nearby villages and beat detainees, and that FIRs named people who were absent or long dead The Caravan.
Police and government account
Police said protesters attacked officers with stones from the hills, burnt more than 20 vehicles including the SP's and vandalised a petrol pump, hotel and homes Outlook/PTI. Accused were identified from CCTV and viral videos ETV Bharat/ANI. The government said lawful demands would be met and the posts were under court challenge Free Press Journal.
The opposition BJP blamed the state government. Spokesperson Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said it had "made little effort to resolve the crisis" Deccan Herald/PTI.
Outcome
- Cases: 20 cases against 6,019 people, 1,219 of them named, according to a police officer quoted by Hindustan Times The Quint. The Dungarpur SP said 35 cases had been registered at Sadar and Bichhiwara stations by 30 September ETV Bharat/ANI.
- Arrests: 55 by 30 September and at least 97 by 4 October, including government teachers ETV Bharat/ANI ETV Bharat/ANI. The Caravan, citing Hindustan Times, put arrests at over 125 in Dungarpur and 80 in Udaipur by 19 October, with 44 cases The Caravan.
- Bail: BTP worker Umesh Dindor got High Court bail on 23 October The Caravan.
- Suspension and transfers: An electricity department technician, Banwarilal Meena, was suspended; the Dungarpur collector and SP were transferred on 5 October ETV Bharat/ANI The Caravan.
- The posts: No report found of the 1,167 posts being handed to ST candidates.
- Politics: On 11 December 2020 the BTP withdrew support from the Gehlot government over the Dungarpur district council chief's post, which Congress helped the BJP win Deccan Herald.
Where things stand
The Mooknayak reported that more than 60 cases were filed, that in 2022 BTP leaders asked the Gehlot government to withdraw them and a withdrawal process began, and that ministers of the new government spoke in 2024 of reopening the files. In April 2026 a Banswara teachers' union warned a "Kakri Dungri-like" movement could return over TSP school vacancies The Mooknayak. These points could not be confirmed from a second source.
Questions people ask
What was the Kankri Dungri protest?
A sit-in by ST teacher candidates from 7 September 2020 on a hill beside NH-8 in Dungarpur, demanding 1,167 vacant general-category posts. It turned violent on 24 September.
Why were the 1,167 posts vacant?
They were unreserved posts in the Tribal Sub Plan area that stayed empty after the 2018 recruitment. ST candidates below the general cut-off could not fill them, the government said.
How many people died in the Dungarpur violence?
PTI reported one man shot dead on 26 September 2020, with police unsure whose bullet killed him. The Quint, eNewsroom and The Caravan later reported two deaths, and The Caravan said the DGP attributed both to police fire.
Sources
- Tribune/PTI: Dungarpur row: Protesters torch vehicle, vandalise property; Rapid Action Force deployed, 27 Sep 2020
- Tribune/PTI: Rajasthan minister meets agitators, Rapid Action Force deployed, 28 Sep 2020
- Outlook/PTI: Rajasthan ST protest: 35 police personnel injured in stone pelting, 26 Sep 2020
- Free Press Journal: Dungarpur violence escalates, 26 Sep 2020
- ETV Bharat: Protest over teachers' exam turns violent in Rajasthan, 26 Sep 2020
- ETV Bharat: After Dungarpur, tribals protest in Udaipur, 27 Sep 2020
- Deccan Herald/PTI: Rajasthan govt to blame for crisis in Dungarpur: BJP, 27 Sep 2020
- The Quint: 2 Dead, Vehicles Torched: Violent Protest Erupts in Rajasthan, 28 Sep 2020
- ETV Bharat/ANI: 55 arrested in connection with Dungarpur violence, 30 Sep 2020
- ETV Bharat/ANI: Over 90 arrested in connection with Dungarpur violence, 4 Oct 2020
- eNewsroom: Why the tribals of Rajasthan are angry, 4 Oct 2020
- ETV Bharat (Hindi): Teacher recruitment 2018 sparks two movements in Dungarpur, 18 Sep 2020
- The Caravan: Rajasthan government's violent crackdown on protests an attempt to silence Adivasi assertion, 30 Dec 2020
- Deccan Herald: BTP withdraws support from Ashok Gehlot government, 11 Dec 2020
- The Mooknayak (Hindi): Teachers recall the 2020 Kakri Doongri movement, 24 Apr 2026