Bill granting Scheduled Tribe status to Paharis tabled, Gujjars plan mahapanchayat

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, July 26

With the Bill granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Pahari-speaking people of Jammu and Kashmir introduced in the Lok Sabha, tribal Gujjars and Bakerwals, who already enjoy the status, are up in arms and have decided to hold a mahapanchayat in coming days in Jammu.

The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was introduced in the Lok Sabha today. The Paharis community, which expressed satisfaction after the decision, had been fighting for the ST status for many years. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had in October last year assured the community of ST status during a rally in Rajouri.

“We do not accept the move of the BJP-led central government to grant ST status to the Pahari community. This is not fair to the third largest community of J&K (Gujjars and Bakerwals). A mahapanchayat will be organised soon to show our discontent,” said Guftar Ahmed Chowdhary, spokesperson of the Gujjar Bakarwal Youth Welfare Conference, J&K.

While the tribal Gujjars and Bakerwals mostly comprise members of the Muslim community, the Paharis are from different communities speaking a common language. The granting of the ST status to the Paharis is also being viewed as a political move by the BJP in J&K, which is awaiting Assembly polls.

Mushtaq Ahmed Choudhary, a Gujjar leader said the community would continue to protest and further course of action would be decided in a day or two. “We will not sit quietly over this injustice,” he said and added that the Paharis were not economically and socially backward like the Gujjars.

Meanwhile, the Pahari community welcomed the move. Raqeeq Ahmed Khan, spokesperson of the J&K Apni Party and a Pahari leader, said the youth from the economically weaker section of the community would now be able to achieve their dreams. Advocate Anwar Choudhary, a notable Gujjar leader, said he would challenge the Bill in Supreme Court soon.