Excelsior Correspondent
POONCH, Dec 10: Shamsher Hakla Poonchi the prominent Muslim Gujjar leader today demanded establishment of Tribal Developmental Council in J&K with the financial and developmental power for development and welfare of Gujjar Bakarwal Tribe.
He urged Government of India to sanction special package for the permanent settlement of nomadic Gujjar Bakarwals people of J&K and the establishment of Tribal University in the UT for all the Gujjar Bakarwal students.
Hakla appealed Government of India for sanctioning the special package for providing of basic facilities of life like road communication, electricity, water supply schemes, medical facilities and educational facilities in the areas that are inhabited by Gujjars Bakarwals.
He demanded establishment of Boarding Schools on the pattern of Navodya Vidyalaya for Gujjar Bakarwal Boys & Girls in all Twenty (20) districts of J&K and further appealed to the Government of India for including Gojri language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India. This would ensure the development and spread of Gojri language.
He urged the Government of India to reserve the Assembly segments and Lok Sabha segments in J&K for the Gujjar Bakarwal Tribe because of Schedule Tribe status already granted to them by Union Government.
He alleged that due to indifferent attitude of the previous J&K State governments the Gujjar and Bakarwal Tribe stands deprived of this political reservation right of Assembly segments and Lok Sabha segments even after 28 years of Schedule Tribe (S.T) status already granted to them by Government of India.
Hakla demanded a special recruitment drive for educated unemployed Gujjar Bakarwal youth of J&K and also demanded that a separate survey be conducted to ascertain exact number of population of Gujajrs and Bakerwals in J&K.
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