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| Kashmiri commentators oppose political reservation for Gujjars | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Jan 13: That the relations between the Kashmiri leaders, especially leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims have never been cordial is a well-known fact. The memory of what Geelani said contemptuously about the Gujjars only recently is too fresh to be forgotten. The memory still lingers in the Gujjars' mind. It may be recalled that Geelani had dismissed Gujjars as "non-Muslims." This had created a fierce controversy and Geelani had to withdraw his provocative remarks.
As if what Geelani had said was not enough to outrage the Gujjar community, which constitutes the third largest social group in the state after the Jammu Dogras and Kashmiri Muslims, some Kashmiri commentators have opposed the idea of Gujjars getting political reservation. What has reportedly agitated the minds of these Kashmiri commentators is the report that the Delhi-appointed interlocutors have recommended political reservation for the Gujjars so that they, like the ST communities in the rest of the country, are brought at par with their counterparts.
The opposition of the Kashmiri commentators to the reported recommendation indicates their bias against the extremely backward Gujjar and Bakerwal communities. The opposition is as provocative as it is communally and politically motivated and one community-centric. This senseless opposition only suggests the extent to which the Kashmiri commentators, who are part of the ongoing separatist movement in Kashmir, have turned hostile towards all others in the state.
Why do the likes of Geelani and certain Kashmiri commentators, who have been preaching hatred for India and working for the Kashmir's secession from India since years, oppose the Gujjars and similar other social groups? They oppose them because an overwhelming majority of the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities, which belong to the same ethnic stock, opposes tooth and nail the idea of the state becoming independent or merging with Pakistan or even getting more autonomy from New Delhi.
It would not be out of place to mention here that the Gujjar and Bakerwal Muslims have been seeking socio-culture and politico-economic empowerment under the Indian Constitution since decades and that they had plainly told the interlocutors that they would accept only that solution that brings the state closer to India and empowers them under the Indian Constitution. They had clearly told the interlocutors that the Kashmiri leadership had never considered their community as part and parcel of the state and had, on the contrary, consistently ignored their legitimate claim to recruitment and admission in the technical and professional colleges in proportion to their total population. It is also important to note that the Gujjars and Bakerwals achieved the ST status in April 1991 after years of relentless struggle, but they have been refused political reservation in the legislature.
It can be said that the opposition of the likes of Geelani and certain Kashmiri commentators, who only represent the minority view or the view of the entrenched and powerful vested interests in Kashmir, will surely lead to civil power in the state. The Gujjars and Bakerwals are communities which cannot be taken for a ride. Hence, it would be better if the vested interests in Kashmir refashion their whole approach to the issues confronting different people inhabiting different regions in the state. |
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