J&K amends rules: Pahari ethnicity, not language, to be criterion for reservation

It also expanded its social caste category list by adding 15 more classes to it, besides renaming a number of existing ones. Those newly added included Waghey (Chopan), Ghirath/Bhati/Chang community, Jat and Saini communities, Markabans/Ponnywallas, Sochi community, Christians (converted from Hindu Valmiki), Sunar/Swarnkar, Teeli (Hindu Teeli along with already existing Muslim Teli), Perna/Kouro (Kaurav), Bojru/Decount/Dubdabay Brahmin, Gorkhas, West Pakistan Refugees (excluding Scheduled Castes) and Acharyas.

Those renamed included “potters (kumhars), shoe repairers (working without the aid of machines), bangies khakrobes (sweepers), barbers/washermen and dooms. These words shall be substituted, respectively, as “Kumahars, Mochi, Bangies Khakrobes, Hajjam/Nai, Dhobi and Dooms (excluding Scheduled Castes)’’.

The amendments have been ordered by the Lt Governor in exercise of the powers conferred by the first proviso to clause (o) of Section 2 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act-2004, the notification said.

Earlier, the benefits of 4 per cent reservation in Jammu and Kashmir were available to pahari speaking people living in Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla and Kupwara districts of Jammu and Kashmir, whose family income from all sources was not more than Rs 8 lakh per annum.

The move replacing the word “Pahari Speaking People’’ with “Pahari Ethnic Group’’ is seen as a prelude to granting Scheduled Tribe status to them especially in view of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement at his first ever public rally in Rajouri earlier this month that Paharis will get the reservation on the pattern of Gujjars and Bakerwals. Justice Sharma (G D Sharma) Commission, in its report to the Central government had recommended “reservation to Gujjars, Bakerwals and Paharis’’, he had said.

BJP leader and former MLC Vibodh Gupta, who hails from Rajouri and happens to be a Pahari, hailed the decision describing it a step towards getting the ST status. Though the Paharis had long been demanding ST status on account of their being next-door neighbours of Gujjars and Bakerwals and having the same socio-economic conditions, the movement gained momentum following Delimitation Commission reserved nine seats in J&K Legislative Assembly for STs.

Earlier also, various successive state governments had been asking the Centre to consider the demand of Paharis, but the same used to get rejected on ground of it not being an ethnic group.

“In view of frequent rejections to the demand for ST status, Paharis had for the past many years started calling themselves as Pahari Tribal People instead of Pahari Speaking People,’’ said Sumit Bhargav, a mediaperson from Rajouri. “These people have been demanding this status not on the basis of language, but socio economic conditions which are similar to those of Gujjars and Bakerwals,’’ he added.

Javed Rahi, founder secretary general of the Tribal Research Foundation – an organisation working for the welfare of Gujjars and Bakerwals in J&K — said that granting ST status just on the basis of ethnicity, ignoring other associated factors like socio-economic and literacy factors will open a Pandora’s box, as there were nearly 48 ethnic groups in Kashmir and almost an equal number in Jammu division such as Kashmiris and Dogras. “They, too, may demand similar reservation,” he said.

Prof Hari Om, a retired Jammu University professor, however, said that it is yet to be seen as to what the government means by ‘Pahari Ethnic Group’. If it meant people living in some specified areas, then the decision is bound to create resentment among Dogras, etc., who also fall in that category, he added.