Gujjars term report on Pahari’s as politically motivated

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 29: The Gujjars of the State today  sharply reacted against a report forwarded  by State Cabinet to Tribal Ministry,  New Delhi  for grant of  Schedule Tribe ( ST) to Paharis Speaking people of State. They termed report as self cooked,  politically motivated and based on non-factual rudiments.
The Gujjar Bakerwal Community leaders  in a gathering  organised by ‘Gujjars and Bakerwal Joint Forum’ , stated that they will collectively oppose  the inclusion of non tribal Linguistic group of Pahari speaking in the ambit of Schedule Tribe which is granted on Tribal- nomadic and ethnic bases. For this they will meet Prime Minister, Home Minister and Tribal Minister shortly. The programme was presided over by President of the Forum Shamsher Ali Bokan and top community leaders of different organisation.
The  speakers on the occasion said that  grant of ST status to Pahari speaking People will affect on the development of genuine 12 tribes, particularly the Gujjars ,Bakerwals, Ladakhis of the State as they are well educated and elite class and constitute a majority of ruling class in Jammu and Kashmir
They said the  demand of grant of ST status – by Pahari speaking people is based on the sole premises of the linguistic identity the ‘Pahari language’. and they are not identified as a particular tribal identity and mere language does not become any criteria for recognition as a tribe.
They said the claim of the backwardness of Pahari speaking people for grant of 5% reservation in  State Services  rejected by the Governor of J&K owing to their non satisfactory claim ,merely on language bases.
They said that Paharis were neither identified or defined as a weaker section and nor they approached before the Anand Commission in 1976, Gajendragadkar Commission, the Sikri Commission, the Wazir Commission (1969), and the Mandal Commission which covered the entire country with regad to backward communities / groups.  All these commissions, from time to time, identified the Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Areas and none of them recognized any group as Pahari or Pahari speaking people as weaker section of the Society.

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