BY RUCHIKA RAINA
The Scheduled Tribe (ST) status in Jammu and Kashmir was determined by the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act passed in 2004. This act included provisions for the reservation of seats in the legislative assembly of the state for Scheduled Tribes. A number of different ethnic and tribal groups in the J&K state were given the status of Scheduled Tribes as a result of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act. Among the 12 recognised groups of scheduled tribes as per Scheduled Tribe Order (J&K) 1989, the main ethnic groups are Gujjar, Bakerwal, Gaddi, Sippi, and Balti in Jammu and Kashmir. Accordingly, the Central government of India designated the Gujjars and Bakarwals as Scheduled Tribes in August 20, 1991.
However, with the abrogation of Article 370, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 was passed. The act revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and reorganised the state into two distinct union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Because of this, in particular, the central laws of India, including the Constitution, are now considered to be completely applicable throughout the whole union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The constitutional provisions and statutory regulations that regulate Jammu and Kashmir’s Scheduled Tribes are now the same as those that control India’s other union territories and states. In accordance with Article 342 of the Indian Constitution, the list of Scheduled Tribes in Jammu and Kashmir would continue to be recognised as it has been specified by the President of India.
As a result of changing scenarios in the political and legal climate of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while addressing a rally in a LoC village in the Rajouri district in October, 2022, announced that the Scheduled Tribe Reservation will be expanded to include Pahari-speaking people as well. It is important to recall that Pahari Speaking People (PSP) clarification notice of the social welfare department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir dated on 16/07/2020, the provisions of section 2 (0) of Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act 2004 which provides for the income ceiling up to 8 lac is applicable to all the categories of socially and educationally backward class including Pahari Speaking people. It also includes the 4% extended reservation in jobs and admissions to professional colleges of the UT to the ‘Pahari Ethnic Group’ rather than the ‘Pahari Speaking People’. In November 2022, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) gave its approval to include Paharis in the list of STs in the state of Jammu and Kashmir which shall make them eligible for various opportunities that earlier were meant for Scheduled Tribe population only.
Ultimately, the ethnic reservation of Pahari ethnic group in Jammu and Kashmir gave rise to three distinct kinds of opinions. Firstly, there has been a strong criticism coming from the already privileged group of scheduled tribes. These tribes have voiced their fear over the possibility that their traditional identities will be amalgamated, and they are also apprehensive about their inability to compete with the general Pahari-speaking populace. Recently, they have issued a strong warning that they plan to stage protests on the streets if a bill proposing reservation for Paharis is tabled in the upcoming session of Parliament. Secondly, there is a particular section of Pahari speaking people that is being favoured, who assert that their living conditions and standards are on par with those of the already privileged tribes in terms of their fundamental access to education, health care, and other financial opportunities. The group comprises Pahari-speaking Hindus and Sikhs who were forced to flee Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, as well as Pahari-speaking Hindus and Muslims who have lived there permanently. The Pahari-speaking people also argue that they did not have access to mainstream leadership due to the instability of their livelihood and their lack of cohesiveness, which prevented them from receiving a genuine stake in the tribal reservation in the past. And lastly, there are certain groups from the academic front, who suggest conducting policy evaluations before declaring any changes to already existing statutes.
The third view does not take a position either for or against the comprehensive amendment, but they do support the Pahari ethnic group being given a quota. However, in an effort to include newly discovered families who are socially, economically, or financially disadvantaged, an attempt is being made to put forward the necessary and immediate study of prior reservation beneficiaries. Due to the fact that the government now possesses all of the digital records of all types of beneficiaries, this activity can now be performed with relative ease from the government’s end.
The scheduled tribes have countless stories of migration from their native land to urban destinations of J&K. They have taken the advantage of the reservation and are now able to compete with people who live inside the mainland territory. It is also a matter of concern for them that the urban tribal population has retained parts of their ancestral property in the villages that they left behind in order to exploit more advantages that are really intended for those who are the most disadvantaged. These families or urban sections of tribal population need to be identified so that they can be removed from the current reservation quota. And the void created in the reservation quota, as a result of the exclusion of former, would be filled by other sections of the Pahari region in order to elevate their living standards.
Lastly, it is also apprehended that the attempt to amend reservations that the government made had a political motivation behind it, but one cannot also deny the impact that has been observed in the social fabric, particularly in the Rajouri-Poonch belt. In spite of the fact that Hindus and Muslims share many cultural and socio-economic characteristics, the traditionally peaceful relationship between the two groups in the belt is giving rise to new threads of hatred due to such unevaluated moves. The future and the sense of brotherhood in this belt can be preserved with reasonable interference in the policies. Prior to the introduction of any new amendment, it is essential to keep a close eye on the demographic, regional, and security ramifications of any political move that is being considered.
Ruchika Raina, Doctoral and ICSSR Fellow, Department of Politics and Governance, Central University of Kashmir
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.