Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, Nov 20: Pleading vigorously for a multipronged approach of the State for all-round development, 12 Scheduled Tribe groups without disturbing their distinct culture-the elders of Gujjars and Bakerwal communities today stressed upon Jammu and Kashmir Government to formulate a well defined ‘Tribal Policy’ for them .
In a programme organised to press the demand by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation here today the speakers stated that the State Government should address the complex issues with a policy to address their rehabilitation, educational and economic development, health and other issues of nomadic groups in a time frame manner with a fixed map of working with community participation. The programme was presided over by well-known researcher of Gujjar community Dr Javaid Rahi while a number of tribal elders and youth were present on the occasion.
Dr Javaid Rahi in his address stated that tribal communities should be allowed to develop according to their own genius and that will not be possible without a well defined Tribal Policy of the State. Such policy can address issues related to their literacy, livelihood, health and rehabilitation of nomads by granting them rights on forest and other ancestral lands on prototype of other tribes residing in different States of India.
He said present Government is pro tribes as they were the first to establish ‘Tribal Ministry’ in the State, presently headed by Chief Minister, Mehboba Mufti, who is also the Tribal Minister and our expectation from her are so high as she is capable enough to give a new vision to State in term of Tribal development.
The other speakers stated that a majority of Scheduled Tribes continue to live below the poverty line, have poor literacy rates, suffer from malnutrition and disease and are vulnerable to displacement requires special attention of State Government . They said that the Scheduled Tribes in general are repositories of indigenous knowledge and wisdom in certain aspects which must be preserved immediately.
They demanded that tribal policy must be formulated with the aims to address each of these problems in a concrete way and will help in to lists out measures to be taken to preserve and promote tribal’s’ cultural heritage and languages.
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