A seemingly strange demand by one of India’s lowest castes – it wants to be reclassified even lower on the social scale – has led to a week of bloody protests in the western state of Rajasthan that left 39 people dead.

The Gujjars tribe wants to be formally declared the country’s lowest caste in order to qualify for government jobs and university places reserved for such groups.

Its members even threatened to take their violent protests for job quotas to the national capital last week. The Gujjars have also called for a general strike in Delhi.

The government is worried that the tribe’s violent campaign could spill over into the city, which happened during a similar protest last year.

The protests by Gujjars spread to several states in northern and western India last week as its members blocked railway lines and highways, and stoned police stations and political offices.

The government has filed murder and rioting charges against the Gujjars’ leader, Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsala, and 13 supporters, after he rejected an offer for talks aimed at resolving the dispute, Rajasthan state Home Secretary Vijay Shankar Singh said last week.

The tough-talking leader, a retired army officer, said the protests would continue until the Gujjars’ demands were met.

Federal Home Minister Shivraj Patil held a high-level meeting to review the situation in the capital and its neighbouring states, following the group’s call for a general strike.

He emphasized the need to maintain law and order while his ministry issued a ‘high alert’ to all neighbouring states.