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Three years after the abrogation of Article 370, Union home minister Amit Shah conducted two rallies in Jammu & Kashmir in 2022, one in Rajouri and another in Baramulla. The turnout in both was tremendous. Present in massive numbers were members of the Pahari community — thousands came to cheer for Shah.
It has been a long pending demand of the community to be made part of the Scheduled Tribe list.
Amit Shah, during his Rajouri rally on October 4, had promised to provide the ST status to the Pahari community and had also assured that “even one per cent share of Gujjars and Bakerwals won’t go to the Paharis.”
He said, “There was no reservation to Pahari community and Gujjars and Bakerwals were also neglected by three families for decades but Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed Article 370 that paved the way for development and reservation to the neglected and marginalized sections.”
Shah added that Justice GD Sharma’s commission has sent its recommendations and has recommended reservations to all three communities.
“Prime Minister also wants to implement them at the earliest. Once the administrative process gets over, these communities will get the benefits of reservation,” the Union home minister said.
Two years on, the Centre has kept its promise despite strong opposition from the Gujjar and Bakarwal community who see Paharis as an empowered community. Gujjars live in remote parts of the region and don’t have access to the basic facilities in their lives. However, the largely nomadic community are also influential in 10 to 12 assembly seats including Uri, Poonch Haveli, Surankote, Darhal, Rajouri, Budhal, Nowshera, Sunderbani, Reasi, Kangan, Inderwal and Reasi.
On January 6, when Lok Sabha cleared the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024 to grant Scheduled Tribe status to Paharis, Padari Tribes, Koli & Gadda Brahmin — the decision will benefit 1.5 million Paharis.
Senior BJP leader and prominent Pahari, Raja Waqar said the party will benefit from this decision — the community holds sway over eight to 12 assembly segments, such as Uri, Tanghdar, Baramulla, Rafiabad, Bandipore and Kupwara, Rajouri and Poonch. “Every member of our community is indebted to party leadership for fulfilling this long pending demand,” Waqar said.
Former deputy chief minister of J&K, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, who is an influential leader of the Pahari community said that he was grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha for granting reservation. “Finally this dream has become a reality under the leadership of Narendra Modi,” Baig said, adding that his message to everyone is that the rights of Gujjars won’t be affected by the inclusion.
“It will have no impact on the current level of reservations available to Gujjars, Bakarwals and other tribes, who will continue to get reservations like before. After the bill is cleared in Rajya Sabha, the UT administration will issue necessary notifications ensuring that the people included in the existing list of Scheduled Tribes continue to get the same level of reservation,” Lt Governor Sinha said.
In J&K, the ST gets 10 percent reservation, and there are 12 tribes (Gujjar, Bakerwal, Gaddi, Sippi, Bota, Chandra, Sheena, Beda, Moon, Purigpa and Balti. The reservations apply to jobs, admission in educational institutions, political reservations in (panchayats, and urban local bodies), special grants and scholarships.
Javeed Rahi, a scholar and researcher of the Gujjar community said that the distress in both communities is palpable. “Though the government has assured them that this decision won’t harm the reservation of Gujjars, many fear more changes in the future.” The big could be seen on the Anantnag-Rajouri parliament seat and the BJP feels it would benefit from this decision, as Paharis have a good presence in this seat.
“The Gujjars haven’t rallied under any leader on political issues in the past, though leaders of the community have their own areas of influence and are affiliated with different political parties,” Rahi said.
Maqsood Ahmad, a prominent political analyst, said that the decision is likely to have some impact in the Jammu region. “I don’t see Paharis voting en masse for the BJP after this decision but the party has gained sympathy among the community. Whether it will translate into votes can’t be said (just yet).”
So far, all parties including the National Conference, the People’s Democratic Party, the Congress and the BJP are playing it safe and saying little to annoy either of the communities keeping in mind their numerical strength that will play a decisive role in the upcoming elections. The BJP even issued directions to its leaders that they must not celebrate the decision as it could hurt the sentiments of other communities, especially the Gujjars.
Soon after the Lok Sabha passed the bill, NC vice president Omar Abdullah endorsed the speech of NC MP from south Kashmir Hasnain Masoodi who spoke in the Parliament on this bill. Masoodi said that his party had given 4% reservation to Paharis in the state. “The rights of the Gujjar-Bakerwal must not be diluted, and BJP should come clear on how it plans to implement the reservation without affecting the rights of the Gujjar community,” he said.
A prominent BJP leader spoke on the condition of anonymity and said that the leaders have been asked not to speak on this issue. “We have been asked by our party to keep low. Once we go into the field, people will follow us in large numbers. Prior to this decision, many senior Pahari community leaders had made a commitment that once they got the ST status, they would join the BJP. The time has come to keep the commitment.”
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