Who is an ST for ST-reserved seat in J&K? Paharis are in, with Gujjars, Bakarwals

The All J&K Gujjar-Bakarwal Coordination Committee recently approached the Election Commission asking it to specify that the nine ST-reserved seats in J&K were meant only for the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities. The committee’s contention was that the nine seats were identified by the Delimitation Commission in 2022 on the basis of the 2011 Census, and did not take into account the groups added to the ST list in 2024.

Asking Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar to clear the air, the committee said: “This clarification is essential to maintain the integrity of the reservation process and to ensure that the most backward communities within the ST category receive the protections and representations intended by the original delimitation.”

The convenor of the Gujjar-Bakarwal committee, Anwar Chowdhary, said at a press conference held in Jammu: “Gujjars and Bakarwals have the right to contest on these nine seats, and not anyone from the General Category or any other category added in 2024.”

EC officials, however, said that since the ST list of J&K was amended earlier this year, the reserved seats are open to any ST community in the schedule now.

While there has been reservation in government jobs and seats in government educational institutions in J&K since the 1990s, enjoyed by the Gujjars and Bakarwals, it is the first time that J&K Assembly elections will have seats reserved for STs. After the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 and the delimitation of Assembly constituencies in 2022, nine seats in J&K were identified and kept aside for STs. Of these, six fall in the Jammu province while three are in Kashmir.

Then, in February, Parliament passed an amendment to the J&K ST list to include in it Paharis, Padari tribes, Kolis and Gadda Brahmins. These groups are to get 10% reservation in jobs and institutions, over and above the 10% quota given to the existing ST communities. However, there was no clarity on the political reservations for STs.

The move had sparked off protests among the Gujjar and Bakarwal groups, who feared that the benefits they expected from the first ever political reservation for them would be diluted.

The first phase of voting in J&K on September 18, for which nominations closed Monday, has only one ST-reserved seat, Kokernag. Eleven candidates are in the fray from the constituency as of now, with the BJP fielding Roshan Hussain Khan Gujjar.

The BJP’s list of candidates for the second and third phases – voting on September 25 and October 1 – includes four of the five ST-reserved constituencies in Rajouri and Poonch districts. It has fielded one Gujjar and three Pahari leaders from here.

They include prominent Gujjar leader Chowdhary Zulfikar Ali, from Budhal. From the Mendhar, Surankote and Thanamandi constituencies, it has fielded Pahari leaders Murtaza Khan, Syed Mushtaq Ahmad Bukhari and Mohammad Iqbal Malik, respectively.

The party has named another Gujjar leader, Chowdhary Abdul Ghani, for the general category Poonch-Havelli seat.

Shafiq Mir, former Chairman of the Buffliaz Block Development Council, said that opening up the ST reservation to Paharis means that technically there is no quota for the five ST seats falling in Poonch and Rajouri border districts, as now the ST list covers “all the local residents”.

Incidentally, in the electoral history of J&K, the Gujjar-Bakarwals and Paharis have never voted for the same side in both these districts, said Zaffar Chowdhary, a senior journalist and political analyst. However, he added, given political compulsions, no pushback is expected as it could lead to consolidation of votes among the opposite community.

When approached, none of the parties commented on the issue.