Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 3: A delegation of Pahari Speaking People (PSP) here today met PM Modi and reiterated their long pending demand of granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the community.
The delegation members informed the PM that population of PSP in J&K State is around ten lakh and they have been striving for the ST status since1975. “Paharis are mainly concentrated in the remote belts of the State, cut off from the main stream society and their representation in Government services and educational institutions is abysmally low,” the delegation members told the PM.
They also said that in the year 1989 the J&K Government had recommended to the Union Government for a number of groups including Paharis to be granted ST status, where only Paharis were left.
“General K.V Krishna Rao, then J&K Governor also recommended Union Minister of Social Welfare Department for ST status to Paharis and then Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah too did so, but nothing has been emerged fruitful in this regard so far,” the delegation rued.
Delegation members included Muzafffar Hussain Baig, MP, Chief Patron of Pahari Welfare Forum (PWF); Mirza Abdul Rashid, Ex-Speaker, Ex-Minister, Ex-MP and Chairman of PWF; Vibod Gupta, MLC; Zafar Iqbal Khan Manhas, MLC; Shanaz Ganie, MLC; Javed Khan Mirchail, MLC; Surinder Choudhray, MLC; Yeshpal Sharma, MLC; Pardeep Sharma, MLC; Mushtaq Bukhari, Ex-Minister, Vice Chairman PWF; Kuldeep Raj Gupta, Ex-Minister and others.
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