Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Nov 1: Amid huge hopes for possible announcement of a mega financial package by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his scheduled visit to the State on November 7, the tale of proposed Pahari-Gujjar Cultural Centre in J&K by the Government of India recounts how the political animosities cause never ending delay in execution of the projects, which even start disappearing from knowledge of the persons at the helm of affairs.
The ambitious Cultural Centre for both the communities in Jammu and Kashmir was sanctioned under Prime Minister’s special package in 2010 but the tug of war between politically hostile Gujjars and Paharis of the State kept this project held up till date notwithstanding the fact that Rs 13 crores were sanctioned for the same.
Now five years since the project was sanctioned and the money was released, the persons at the helm of affairs are unaware of any such proposed Pahari-Gujjar Cultural Centre in J&K by the Government of India.
Amnesia can be gauged from the fact that neither Gujjar-Bakerwal Welfare Advisory Board nor the Pahari Welfare Advisory Board even discussed fate of this proposed Centre in their respective meetings, held recently under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mufti Mohd Sayeed.
“I am not aware of any such joint centre for Paharis and Gujjars, which had to come up under Prime Minister’s package. However, if there was any such sanction, we will pursue for the same,” said Kuldeep Raj Gupta, Chairman of the Welfare Advisory Board for Pahari Speaking People.
A senior most officer of Social Welfare Department, Government of J&K, also expressed his ignorance about such project and said that the issue might have been concerning the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which came into existence recently.
Chairman of Welfare Advisory Board for Gujjars-Bakerwal, Zafar Ali Khatana, was slightly aware of the project, sanctioned by Government of India, but he too had no knowledge of its status.
“It has been said that maximum record of the Gujjar-Bakerwal Board in its office at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar got damaged in fire incident and then floods, last year. Therefore, minutes of previous meetings of the Welfare Board, discussing this project, could not be retrieved and hence the item was not included in agenda of recently held Board meeting,” he explained.
It may be recalled that owing to political animosity between Pahari Speaking People and Gujjars, the State Government remained in doldrums over commencing the project even as then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had personally convened a meetings of representatives of both the communities to sort out the issue.
While the State Government as well as Pahari Speaking People were in favour of a common Cultural Centre for both the communities, Gujjar leaders did not agree for the same on political reasons as they were of the opinion that a common Cultural Centre would help the Paharis to project their case of equal treatment at par with them as a tribe thus justifying their demand for Schedule Tribes status.
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