Row over decision on quota issue

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 6

The decision of the Union Territory administration of J&K to extend four reservation benefits to the Pahari-speaking people has opened a Pandora’s Box’ as refugees from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), “temporarily settled” in Jammu and adjoining districts, have claimed themselves to be the “real Paharis”.

The PoJK refugees have already started an aggressive campaign to get them categorised as “Pahari-speaking” people so as to take benefits of reservation.

“The first and foremost task is to identify the real Paharis. Refugees from the PoJK are the genuine Paharis,” said Narendra Singh, PoJK refugee leader, asking, “How can the UT administration debar us from availing this benefit because reservation has been extended to the Pahari-speaking people because we too speak Pahari?’’

He pointed out that reservation benefits had been extended to the Pahari-speaking people of Poonch and Rajouri districts as all PoJK refugees were displaced from these two districts after 1947 tribals’ attacks.

In a major decision aiming to rationalise the existing reservation policy and give representation to the Pahari-speaking people, the Administrative Council, at its meeting held under the chairmanship of Lieutenant-Governor (L-G), GC Murmu, on January 30, had approved 4 per cent reservation to the Pahari-speaking people.

There are around 9.6 lakh Pahari-speaking people across J&K spread over mainly in Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla, Kupwara, and pockets of Anantnag, Budgam, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian.

All the PoJK refugees, including Hindus and Sikhs, are natives of Pahari districts Mirpur, Muzafarabad and Poonch of the erstwhile J&K state, so they are claiming themselves as real “Pahari-speaking people”.

The PoJK refugees have reasons to stake their claims on reservation benefits because they were displaced from the Pahari-speaking areas. The UT administration has extended reservation to the Pahari-speaking people so they could stake their claims on the same benefits.

After losing everything in the 1947 Partition holocaust, out of total 31,619 families, who had migrated in 1947, 5,300 families were shifted to other parts of the country. However, 26,319 families are settled in the state, whose population is touching 9.5 lakh.

Extending benefits

The UT administration has extended reservation to the Pahari-speaking people so they could stake their claims on the same benefits. After losing everything in the 1947 Partition holocaust, out of total 31,619 families, who had migrated in 1947, 5,300 families were shifted to other parts of the country. However, 26,319 families are settled in the state, whose population is touching 9.5 lakh.