Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Nov 11: In a significant development, the Jammu and Kashmir Backward Classes Commission has recommended three percent quota to Pahari Speaking People in the State thus clearing decks for the much talked about Reservation Bill for this community, which was lying in cold storage for the last more than two and half years since it was returned by Governor N N Vohra for reconsideration.
Describing Pahari Speaking People as a class suffering from socio-economic backwardness and inadequacy of representation, the Commission in its recently forwarded recommendation to the Social Welfare Department, J&K Government, has observed that the community deserves reservation to the extent of three percent.
“From perusal of the record obtained from various institutions, we are satisfied that a case is made out in favour of Pahari Speaking People to be considered for being treated as a class of people suffering from socio-economic backwardness and inadequacy of representation and, in the judgment of the Commission, deserve reservation to the extent of three percent,” official sources in the Social Welfare Department quoted the concluding remarks of Backward Classes Commission report.
Maintaining that Paharis are living in pitiable condition and their exact economic profile must be even worse, the Commission has explained that after partition of the country in 1947, geographical, social, economic and cultural links of the community with the plain of Punjab got disconnected while recurring disturbances and periodic shelling has rendered a good stretch of their land uncultivated.
It may be recalled that the Bill proposing five percent reservation to Pahari Speaking People by amending the J&K Reservation Rules, was passed by then Omar Abdullah-led Coalition Government in its last Assembly session in 2014 and then sent it to the Governor for his concurrence. However, the Governor didn’t approve the Bill and returned it to the Legislative House for reconsidering the same in the light of its legal and other deficiencies. Thereafter, the Bill was forwarded by the Assembly to the Law Department and then the Department of Social Welfare, which sent it further to the State Commission for Backward Classes in February 2015 for its observation. As the Commission was lying headless and therefore virtually defunct till the appointment of Jeet Lal Gupta as its Chairman, a few months back, the Bill kept gathering dust for two years.
In his dissent note, attached with the Bill, the Governor had observed that seeking reservation to persons living anywhere in the State on the sole ground of their speaking a particular language without any criteria of backwardness being assessed and satisfied, was constitutionally questionable.
To ascertain the socio-economic condition of the Paharis, Commission for Backward Classes made efforts to lay its hands on the authentic literature surveys and statistics. In its recommendation report, sources said that the Commission has quoted observations of Economic Survey Report 2011-12, para 36-50, page 480, according to which, “Pahari Speaking people are amongst most under privileged linguistic minority mostly living in pitiable conditions near the ALC and other remote areas of the State of J&K…. like Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla, Kupwara and Anantnag.”
With a view to ensuring a more focused analysis, statistics reflected in various officials surveys pertaining to the districts of Poonch and Rajouri were also examined by the Commission as 63.46 percent of the total population of the twin districts are Paharis that makes up 74 percent of their entire population.
In these reports, Poonch and Rajouri districts’ figure of income are interchangeable one after the other at the bottom. “ The exact economic profile of Paharis is fearful, even worse. It is so because these figures are based on an overall economic activity, including the better economic performance of 35.54 percent ST population who have been benefiting from a whole host of operating developmental schemes. A separate survey of Paharis having regard to their individual disparity and lacking opportunities is bound to cast even gloomier reflections,” observes the Commission report.
“Various surveys including MSME, Government of India, profiling show that there is absolutely no large or medium scale industry or private section available to them for a gainful employment. This is true in the case of Kupwara also where Paharis live in number,” the Commission further says while justifying reservation to the community.
When contacted, Jeet Lal Gupta, Chairman of the Backward Classes Commission, confirmed that the report has been submitted to the Social Welfare Department, J&K Government, for its consideration and further action.
According to the official source, the Commission’s recommendation for three percent reservation to the Pahari Speaking People is likely to be taken up in the State Cabinet for its approval and then passage of a Bill in this regard by the House before sending it again to the Governor for his final nod.
Follow our WhatsApp channel