Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 25: Police detained several members of Gujjar and Bakerwal communities today as they gathered at the Partap Park, Press Enclave here to protest against the inclusion of upper-caste Paharis in the Scheduled Tribe list in Jammu and Kashmir.
The protesters, including students, senior citizens, and youths, voiced their demands and carried placards reading “No to the GD Sharma Commission” and “Justice to Gujjar and Bakerwals.”
The Gujjar Bakerwal Community, the third-largest ethnic group in Jammu and Kashmir, expressed their objection to the inclusion of upper caste Paharis in the Scheduled Tribe list.
They said that the Paharis fail to meet the five criteria set by the Lokur Committee (1965) for identifying Scheduled Tribes, which include primitive traits, distinct culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large, and backwardness. “Granting ST status to the upper caste Paharis is an injustice and a constitutional blunder,” a protestor said.
The ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament has added urgency to the matter, as a bill to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Scheduled Tribe Reservation Act 1989 has been listed. “Various groups of Paharis, along with some members of the ST Morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are in Delhi advocating for the passage of the bill in the Lok Sabha,” said a protester.
The Gujjar-Bakerwals highlighted their struggle against marginalisation and oppression, with some members still residing in and around jungles and facing a literacy rate below 30% despite nationwide efforts to achieve 100% literacy.
“In the Pir Panjal region of Jammu and Kashmir, which has a history of Tribal oppression, the political motives of the BJP are being closely scrutinised. The Gujjar Bakerwals are determined not to let political interests supersede justice and fairness, especially for a heterogeneous group like the Upper Caste Paharis,” a protestor said.
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