Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 23: Demanding new educational schemes for nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwals, many members of these communities today highlighted their migratory ways of life.
In a webinar organised by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, Gujjar researcher Dr Javaid Rahi said extreme poverty, rough and tough living style, early marriage system and nomadic customs are causing dark shadows over the future of nomadic Gujjar and Bakerwal children residing in hilly and border areas of J&K.
He quoted census data to claim that 70 per cent Gujjars and Bakerwals of J&K are facing poverty and illiteracy and their women literacy rate is extremely low at 82.2 per cent.
Rahi said, to eradicate illiteracy among tribal community the government should initiate new educational scheme for nomads on mission mode.
Other speakers in webinar said that nomadic children are mostly used as human resources to enhance family income and consequently they lack proper education.
They said, the government should start ‘Forced Schools’ for the children of Ajjhari (shepherded Gujjars), Manjhi (cattle rarer Gujjars) as parents in such communities deliberately deny education to their children and use them as human resource in their day to day work.
Ch Ishtiaq Misbah, Dilwar Chowdhary, Shafiq Kassana, Ameer Din, Khadam Hussain and others also spoke on the occasion.
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