Neha
Jammu, Jan 23: The other day, the executive body of the Jammu and Kashmir Pahari People Movement (JKPPM) decided to meet the Prime Minister, other senior Ministers, leaders of the Opposition and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to convince them of their demand seeking ST status for the Pahari-speaking community. Self-styled leaders of community told reporters that the community was fighting for their demand for ST status for the last more than 27 years, but with no result.
"Our community is sharing the same culture, inhabitation and customs with those of the Gujjars and Bakerwals, who have been enjoying benefits under the ST status for the last more than 30 years and our unemployed youth are facing competition from students of urban and metropolitan cities," they said. "Pahari-speaking community from Rajouri and Poonch districts in Jammu Province and Uri and Karnah districts in Kashmir province have urged the State Government and leaders of other parties to support them in their struggle. If the community will not get support, we will not cast vote in their favour and the community will field its own candidates in the forthcoming Parliamentary and Assembly elections," they also said, and added that former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had approached the Union Government on October 14, 1991, and recommended ST status for the community. "On December 26, 1993, the then Governor of the State, KV Krishna Rao, wrote to the then Union Social Welfare Minister, Sita Ram Kesri, recommending inclusion of the community in the ST category," they also said, adding that "in 2005, Jammu and Kashmir Assembly also passed resolution to provide ST status to this community", but nothing was done to meet their demands.
They were wrong when they said that Gujjars and Bakerwals were enjoying ST status since 30 years. They got ST status only in April 1991 and it was only after they got this status that the Pathowari-speaking people in Poonch, Rajouri, Kupwara and Baramulla demanded ST status to create a powerful counterpoise to the Gujjars' and Bakerwal's aims. It's, however, true that the NC supported their demand for political expedience, but took no practical step to meet their demands. In fact, the State Government has no power to grant ST status to them except to make a recommendation to the Union Government. One of the factors that did not allow the State NC Government to take up the issue in right earnest was the bitter opposition from Gujjars and Bakerwals. The other was there is no provision in the constitution that says that a community could be granted the ST status on the basis of a particular language.
The approach of the votaries of ST status to the so-called Pahari-speaking community has all along been narrow and parochial in the sense that they consider a only section of people inhabiting Poonch, Rajouri and erstwhile Baramulla and Kupwara districts in Kashmir as Pahari. The fact of the matter is the entire population of the state, barring people living in the plain areas of Kathua, Samba and Jammu districts, including parts of Kathua Tehsil, Hiranagar Tehsil, Samba tehsil, Vijaypur Tehsil and parts of Akhnoor tehsil and the entire tehsils of R S Pura, Bishnah and so on, are all Paharis, but the so-called JKPPM doesn't consider them Paharis. They need to explain as to what they mean by Pahari, as also to explain why it doesn't consider all others as Pahari. This is a must if they really wish to have ST status. |
