Monday, 06 January 2014 | GP Semwal
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The Gujjars and the Bakerwals of J&K got the Scheduled Tribe status in April 1991 after decades of relentless struggle. But successive Kashmiri-dominated and valley-centric Governments have refused to grant them political reservation
Rajouri, Poonch, Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts in Jammu province and Kupwara and Baramulla districts in Kashmir, besides a few other places in the State, have few rivals as far their scenic beauty is concerned. A vast majority of those who inhabit these mountainous areas, rich in green-gold, charming vales, dales and meadows and fascinating waterfalls, streams and springs, are the tall, well-built and liberal-minded nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwals. They are also called ‘nature’s own children’ and ‘lords of forests’. Constituting nearly 15 per cent of the State’s population, they form the third largest community after the Jammu Dogras and Kashmiri-speaking ethnic Sunnis. They are all Sunni Muslims.
The Gujjars and the Bakerwals of Jammu & Kashmir form that segment of society in the State which leads a very difficult life. An overwhelming majority still rears buffalo, sheep and goats and lives in the temporarily-built huts which also house their animals. For most part of the year, the Gujjars and the Bakerwals are on the move from lower to higher altitudes and vice versa to locate pastures and grazing grounds. Sometimes they traverse a distance of no less than 300km along with their belongings, which include several hukkas, a large quantity of tobacco and maize flour and few blankets and silver utensils, and enter the Sindh Valley and the Baltal Valley. More importantly, they have been helping the security agencies in the anti-insurgency operations since 1989, when the secessionist and communal violence gripped parts of Kashmir valley and Muslim-dominated areas in Jammu province.
They are indeed a community of colourful people. They can be easily spotted in any crowd owing to their peculiar costumes. They face all kinds of vagaries of nature, but the valley’s rulers and their agents in the Congress take no step to mitigate their hardship or to ameliorate their socio-cultural and politico-economic life. The fact of the matter is that they reel under the scourge of poverty and backwardness even after 65 years of independence and are preparing themselves to directly challenge the valley’s domination over the State’s political and administrative and economic structure.
They got the Scheduled Tribe status in April 1991 during the regime of Chandra Shekhar after decades of relentless struggle. But the successive Kashmiri-dominated and valley-centric Governments in the State have refused to grant them political reservation. All their efforts in this direction have failed to move the authorities in the State for obvious reasons and the most notable one is that the Kashmiri ruling elite believes that the grant of political reservation to these tribal people would erode the State’s so-called special status as granted by Article 370 of the Constitution.
Sadly, even the three Gujjar and Bakerwal Ministers in the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference-Congress coalition Government have failed their community members by not taking up this issue, in a bid to remain on the right side of the ruling forces.
Interestingly, these communities have seen a ray of hope in the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Mr Narendra Modi, who, in December last year, demanded a debate on Article 370 while addressing a ‘Lalkar Rally’ in Jammu, saying it had strengthened the separatist constituency in the State, promoted politics of regional discrimination and jeopardised the interests of the people.
Mr Modi had also referred to the Gujjars of the State and commended their contribution. Ever since that day, a number of Gujjar organisations have come forward to join the abrogate-Article 370 crusade. Two prominent Gujjar organisations have taken the lead and expressed themselves openly against the provision. It constitutes a major political development in the State, as it has the potential to upset the apple cart of the votaries of Article 370 or break their hegemony over the State’s polity.
The organisations that have taken the major plunge to achieve their over two-decade-old demand are the Gujjar United Front and the Bharatiya Gujjar Mahasabha. GUF leader Anwar Choudhary has said that “Article 370 is the biggest hurdle in extending various welfare schemes in the State” and that “abrogation of this Article will help the STs get direct benefits of various schemes meant for them”. Successive State Governments have been brazenly abusing this Article to “deny reservation rights to the STs in the State. Abolition of this Article will help the weaker sections avail benefits of schemes meant for them”, he added. The GUF was founded in the early 1990 to fight for the Gujjar cause.
Meanwhile, the BGM has planned to launch a movement to not only force the authorities in the State to set up a Tribal Affairs Department in the Jammu & Kashmir for the welfare of the community but also to obtain political reservation.
The literary and research organisation of the Gujjar and the Bakerwal communities, Tribal Research Foundation, which is headed by Javed Rahi, Deputy Secretary, J&K Academy of Arts, Culture and Languages, too has made common cause with those demanding ST status for these nomadic communities. “We are not against Article 370 but this Article is against us”, said Mr Rahi a day after Mr Modi took up the cause of the people of the State. Many constitutional guarantees for the STs are not directly implemented in the State due to this Article; the Forest Right Act, 2001, and the SC/ST Atrocities Act are yet to be implement in the State as approval of the State Assembly is must to extend these Acts to the State.
The upshot of the whole argument advanced by Messrs Choudhary and Rahi was the same: The Gujjars and the Bakerwals have been suffering because of Article 370. But more than that, their bitter opposition to the cause primarily responsible for the miserable plight of these communities should expose those in Kashmir and elsewhere who say that those who want a debate on Article 370 are anti-Kashmir, anti-Muslim and even ‘anti-national’. Remember, the ruling NC and the Congress, besides the main Opposition, the Kashmir-based People’s Democratic Party, have unleashed a no-holds-barred campaign against Mr Modi and the BJP, and are accusing them of playing communal politics for majority community votes,
The fact is that the NC, the PDP and the Congress are least concerned about the plight of the Gujjar and the Bakerwal communities.
(The writer is former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Jammu)
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