Valmikis discriminated against in jobs & education, courtesy state’s special status

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 20

Gurpreet, a resident of Valmiki Colony, Jammu, is doing his masters in political science through distance education mode from a university outside the state. However, he is not going to get a job as per his qualification in any department of the J&K Government because he is “entitled” only for the job of a sweeper.

Same is the story of Reena, who has just completed her MBA, but has been debarred from a government job in J&K because like Gurpreet she also belongs to the Valmki community of Jammu.

Gurpreet and Reena are the glaring examples of “discrimination being” faced by this community. Members of the Valmiki Samaj are living in Jammu since 1957, but they are deprived of all constitutional and human rights due to a separate constitution.

“In the modern world where people speak about equality and parity, our third generation is living in virtual slavery because we have no other option but to do job of sweepers in the government sector in J&K,” Garu Bhatti, president of the Valmiki Colony Welfare Association.

The agony of this community started way back in 1957 when they were especially called from Punjab to employ them as safai karamcharis. Local safai karamcharis went on indefinite strike in 1957. The then Wazir-e-Azam (Prime Minister) of J&K, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, convened an emergent Cabinet meeting in which a decision was taken to bring safai karmacharis from other states to solve the crisis. Before 1965, the Chief Minister of J&K was called as Prime Minister.

Over 250 families of Valmikis were brought from Gurdaspur and Amritsar areas of Punjab with a promise to provide them all constitutional rights like other citizens of J&K.

Valmikis, who were brought from Punjab, were not permanent residents of J&K so they were promised at that time, by none else than the then Prime Minister of the state, that rules would be relaxed to grant them PRCs, but nothing has been done so far.

It was only on this assurance the Valmikis from Punjab agreed to work in Jammu. Today, the numbers of these 250 families have swelled to over 5,000 spread in Gandhi Nagar, Dogra Hall, Resham Ghar, Bakshi Nagar, Nagrota, Udhampur and other localities.

“Almost 58 years have passed, but promises remained only on papers,” rued Garu Bhatti, a crusader for the cause of Valmikis, adding, “Besides sweepers, we are debarred from applying for any other government job in J&K because we have been denied Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs).”

The agony of these Valmki families can be gauged from the fact that their talented and deserving youth are debarred from joining any professional course like MBBS and engineering because they don’t possess PRCs.