Image: NDTV
The discontent amongst the Bakerwal and Gujjar nomadic tribe community has been simmering ever since became cognizant of Centre’s decision to declare Paharis as Scheduled Tribe (ST). The Tribal Bachao (Save tribals) March, is a 500 km march from Kupwara to Kathua covering all the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The rally, which started from Kupwara on November 4 under the banner of All J&K Gujjar-Bakerwal Joint Action Committee—an amalgam of various tribal organisations headed by president Haji Mohammad Yousuf in the Union Territory—reached Hill Kaka in the border district of Poonch on Monday—after passing through tribal areas of Baramulla, Srinagar, Pulwama, Ganderbal and Shopian districts, reported Indian Express. Holding placards and raising slogans like “Markazi sarkar, Hosh mein aao, Hosh mein aao” and “ST status se chher-chhar, Nahi chalegi, Nahi chalegi”, the protestors took out a rally in areas pre-dominantly inhabited by Gujjars and Bakerwals.
The All J&K Gujjar-Bakerwal Coordination Committee has also given a call for protests during visits by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda in Udhampur district and other places during November 17-18.
After the delimitation exercise culminated in the Union Territory, Shah had, at a rally in Rajouri on October 4 said, “The Jagdish Sharma Commission had recommended that reservations be granted to Paharis, Gujjars and Bakarwals. Prime Minister Modi has a large heart and he will ensure that as soon as all formalities are completed, Gujjars, Bakarwals and Paharis will get all benefits of reservation”. In an attempt to allay the fears of the Bakerwal-Gujjar communities he continued, “I assure you, Paharis getting their due will not affect Gujjar Bakarwals by even one percent.”
After the delimitation exercise was carried out in the aftermath of the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, the Delimitation Commission reserved nine assembly seats for the ST population. It included three assembly seats of Poonch, two out of five in Rajouri, and one each in Reasi, Anantnag, Ganderbal and Bandipore districts. Since then, the Pahari-speaking
Implications of ST status in J&K
ST status paves the way for 10 percent reservation in government jobs and access to a host of social welfare schemes. Pahari Speaking People (PSP) already enjoy 4 percent reservation in some select social schemes. But Gujjars and Bakarwals are reportedly opposed to the move to grant them ST status, as they say Paharis are a linguistic group and don’t hail from any single tribe or ethnicity, and granting them Scheduled Tribe status would dilute the nature of the ST tatus and related welfare schemes. They further argue that Paharis, unlike Gujjars and Bakarwals, do not belong to socio-economically backward communities.
Who are Paharis?
Paharis are a heterogenous socio-linguistic group of people residing in the Pir Panjal range, mainly in Poonch, Rajauri, and even some parts of Kashmir Valley including Baramulla, Kupwara and Uri. While over 55 percent are Hindus, rest are Muslims. They engage in agriculture and animal husbandry. They have been seeking ST status as they too live and work amidst harsh conditions in a rugged terrain just like Gujjars and Bakarwals. It is also noteworthy that Gujjars and Bakarwals form the third largest ethnic group in Jammu and Kashmir after Kashmiris and Dogras.
As per Gujjars and Bakerwals, Paharis are a group of over 50 religious communities, including upper castes from both Hindus and Muslims, like Brahmins, Rajputs, Syeds and Mirzas.
The granting of ST status to Paharis has been so contentious, that in the recent past some of the senior most Pahari political leaders including Mushtaq Bukhari, a senior National Conference leader from Rajouri, Mohammad Ehsan from Peoples Democratic Party, and several others, have resigned from other parties to support BJP’s bid to grant the community ST status.
Woes of the Bakerwal-Gujjar community
According to the 2011 Census, Gujjar and Bakerwals constitute as many as 15 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir and were included as ST in 1992. They are found residing in districts of Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Kishtwar, Anantnag, Bandipora, Ganderbal and Kupwara. They currently 10% reservation in education and government jobs and post the recent delimitation of Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies, nine reserved seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
Despite having reservations, the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities claim that they are facing harassment from the authorities as many of the members have been forcefully evicted from their residential areas since last year. Many have also accused the government of delaying the implementation of the Forests Rights Act (FRA) that empowers them.
After recommendations by a commission to grant ST status to Pahari-speaking people, Kohlis and Gadda Brahmins, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has reclassified “Pahari-speaking people” as “Pahari ethnic group” to pave way for their inclusion in the ST category. The reclassification will avoid any legal hurdles since no reservation can be given on linguistic grounds, reported NDTV.
In late October, the J&K government amended its Reservation Rules, extending the benefits of 4 per cent reservation in jobs and admissions in professional colleges of the UT to the “Pahari Ethnic Group”, in place of the “Pahari Speaking People”. The amendments have been ordered by the Lt Governor in exercise of the powers conferred by the first proviso to clause (o) of Section 2 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act-2004. This was followed by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) approving inclusion of Paharis in the list of STs in J&K, reported IE.
While the government has been trying to placate them by saying that giving ST status to Paharis wil not dilute their reservation, the Gujjars and Bakerwals have their concerns and rightly so. Their apprehension is that since Paharis are ahead of them in literacy and economic conditions, they will usurp the reservation benefits, leaving nothing for the rightful benefactors as themselves.
Javed Rahi, founder secretary general of the Tribal Research Foundation – an organisation working for the welfare of Gujjars and Bakerwals in J&K — said that granting ST status just on the basis of ethnicity, ignoring other associated factors like socio-economic and literacy factors will open a Pandora’s box, as there were nearly 48 ethnic groups in Kashmir and almost an equal number in Jammu division such as Kashmiris and Dogras. “They, too, may demand similar reservation,” he told IE.
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