Ray of hope for PoJK Displaced families settled in Jammu
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Apr 9: In a significant development for thousands of PoJK Displaced families settled in Jammu district, Government has clarified that area is not the criteria for issuance of Scheduled Tribe (ST-II) status on the basis of Pahari ethnicity.
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“The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribe Order, 1989 as amended vide Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribe Order (Amendment) Act 2024 does not prescribe any area based criteria for issuance of this certificate,” said the Minister for Social Welfare, Sakina Itoo in reply to question by BJP MLA Narinder Singh, in the Legislative Assembly, here today.
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The reply assumes significance in view of the prolonged confusion within the administration over the issues that come to fore before the Tehsildars of Jammu district while considering the applications for issuance of Pahari Speaking People (PSP) certificate to the people who migrated from Poonch area, mainly Mirpur, Muzaffarabad etc, during the 1947 and are residing in district Jammu.
The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribe Order, 1989 enlists the Tribes which are entitled to benefit under ST category and recently, four new tribes namely Gadda Brahmin, Koli, Paddari Tribe and Pahari Ethnic Group were added to the list vide the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The procedure for issuance of certificates to Scheduled Tribes including the newly added Tribes has been provided by the J&K Reservation Rules, 2005 read with S.O 176 dated 15.03.2024. For Pahari Ethnic Group, Rule 21 clause (iv) proviso second prescribes the eligibility/entitlement for obtaining certificates.
As per the rule, a person claiming the benefit under the Pahari Ethnic Group category must be a member of the Pahari Clan, Community or Tribe having Distinct Cultural, Ethnic and Linguistic identity; she/he must be speaking Pahari language and his/her mother tongue must be Pahari and she/he must produce Aadhaar Card/Voter identity Card/Domicile Certificate.
Tehsildar is the authority to certify the claim of persons belonging to the said category. The Revenue Authority issues such certificate after due diligence.
Sharing the procedure, the Minister said that any person who fulfils the said criteria is being issued certificates under this category by the competent authorities and the ST Order (Amendment) Act 2024 does not prescribe any area based criteria for issuance of this certificate.
“Any benefit available for such categories are being given to the eligible applicants by the competent authorities after fulfilling the necessary requisites in accordance with the Reservation Rules,” said the Minister.
The BJP MLA had specifically asked whether it is a fact that PoJK Displaced Persons living in Rajouri and Poonch district have been given ST-II status on the basis of their Pahari ethnicity while as their relatives living in Jammu are denied the same, if so, the reasons therefore?
Pertinent to mention that many PoJK Displaced Persons, presently residing in district Jammu, have had been applying for issuance of Pahari Speaking Certificate as they originally belonged to erstwhile district Poonch, belong to Pahari clan and speak Pahari language.
However, the Tehsildars are rejecting their applications as there is no definition of Clan, Tribe, ethnic group and language to be defined to be a Pahari. Hence the general notion of issuing of certificate by the concerned Tehsildars is considered on the basis of residence of the person residing in Pahari regions of Poonch and Rajouri districts.
In view of this confusion, then Deputy Commissioner Jammu had also sought a formal clarification from the higher authorities regarding issuance of Pahari Speaking Certificate to the PoJK Displaced Persons residing in Jammu district.
The clarification seeking letter, No: DCJ/Rdr/2022-23, dated 24-02-2023, was written by then DC Jammu to the Divisional Commissioner Jammu, who forwarded the same to the Administrative Department. However, according to the sources, no reply on the clarification was received so far despite the lapse of more than two years.
Today’s reply in Assembly has shown a ray of hope for thousands of PoJK families settled in Jammu.
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