Continuing suffering of Gujjars & Bakarwals

By Javed Beigh

Around mid of last month, officials of Jammu Development Authority (JDA) carried out demolition of homes of nearly a dozen Gujjar & Bakarwal families in Roop Nagar, Sector 6 of Jammu city, which sparked off protests all over Jammu & Kashmir. Gujjar families allege that JDA authorities came suddenly without any notice along with a heavy contingent of police and paramilitary forces carrying machine guns and bulldozers and demolished all houses. The JDA on its part said that it has retrieved 41 kanal of "prime land" in Roop Nagar, which was "illegally" occupied by Gujjar & Bakarwal families.

It is pertinent to mention that this is not the first time that a demolition drive was targeted at Gujjar & Bakarwal community in Jammu and Kashmir. In January last year 2021, a similar demolition drive was carried out in Gujjar colonies in Bathindi and Sunjwan areas of Jammu city and in Pahalgam in South Kashmir.

Gujjar & Bakarwals are one of the largest Scheduled Tribe communities of India and amongst the most marginalised people in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The historically persecuted community of Gujjar & Bakarwal have unfortunately faced racial and religious discrimination in both Kashmir valley and Jammu region. In Kashmir valley, even though Gujjar & Bakarwal community followed the same majority Islam faith as most Kashmiri Muslims, that did not unfortunately earn them any respect from wider Kashmiri community and Gujjar & Bakarwals continued to live on margins of Kashmiri society on mountains and forests surrounding plains of Kashmir valley region. The historic racial discrimination that Gujjars and Bakarwals faced in Kashmir valley has changed little in modern times. Similarly, Gujjar & Bakarwal community has also been victim of religious persecution in Jammu region, where members of the community have been on the receiving end of communal violence in large numbers since 1947.

It goes to the credit of the Gujjar & Bakawal community that despite facing so much persecution, discrimination and dehumanisation, the community has persevered against all odds. The members of Gujjar & Bakarwal community embraced education in a big way that has brought social, educational and economic emancipation among a large section of Gujjar & Bakarwal community. Today, literacy has risen in the younger generation of Gujjar & Bakarwals and many young men and women from the community are pursuing higher education in larger numbers not only in Jammu and Kashmir but also all over India. Every year, an increasing number of young men and women from the community qualify for the civil service exam beating even youth from Kashmir valley and Jammu region.

What has happened with poor Gujjar & Bakarwal families in Roop Nagar in Jammu city, however, is an example of harassment that the community continues to face till today. The Gujjar & Bakarwal community is the most peace loving, hardworking and nationalistic communities in Jammu and Kashmir, which has always supported the idea of India and yet it is distressing to see the community facing discrimination and harassment at the hands of both communal and casteist forces as well as the administration. The community has been specifically at the receiving end of communal elements in Jammu region, where incidences of attacks on Gujjar & Bakarwal hamlets have increased over last few years under the garb of accusations of the members of Gujjar & Bakarwal community "illegally" occupying government forest land. The low point for the community reached when the rape and murder of a young girl from the community caught the national attention few years back.

The two million strong community is also facing threat of dilution to its Scheduled Tribe status in the union territory of J&K from upper caste Potohari speaking Muslims of Jammu region, who are lobbying intensely for their inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe category of Jammu & Kashmir as "Pahari Muslims", the impact of which will shrink reservation opportunities for Gujjar & Bakarwal community in schools, colleges and other government educational institutes of J&K as well as in UT's government jobs.

The grievances of the community of Gujjar & Bakarwals that has always stood for peace in Jammu and Kashmir and supported its integration with the union of India should be listened to with full compassion and empathy. Jammu region, which has given shelter to many diverse communities, including Punjabi Hindu refugees from West Pakistan, Nepalis, Kashmiri Pandits, etc., has also embraced a large number of Gujjar & Bakarwal families, who have strong social, cultural and economic bonds with the people of Jammu region. The issues of so-called "illegal encroachment" shouldn't be allowed to become tools of harassment in the hands of officials both in Jammu region and Kashmir valley. Members of Gujjar & Bakarwal community have alleged that they face similar eviction threats from various government authorities even in Kashmir valley, where their dwellings in forest areas are often subjected to demolition drives by forest officials in the name of clearing "illegally occupied state land".

Whether it is Kashmir valley or Jammu region, the Gujjar and Bakarwal community has been facing consistent discrimination and harassment, which is very unfortunate. The administration in both Jammu region and Kashmir valley must show empathy with the community and listen to their grievances in a sympathetic manner. The members of Gujjar & Bakarwal community are victims of historic racial and casteist discrimination, who have risen against all odds without indulging in any violence or unlawful activity.

It should be the duty and endeavour of the administration of the Jammu & Kashmir UT to reach out to the members of Gujjar and Bakarwal community and resolve all their genuine and legitimate grievances in a timely and just manner. We the people of Jammu and Kashmir owe a special responsibility to our brothers and sisters from Gujjar and Bakarwal community to amend for historic injustice done to them. I hope that officials of JDA will also listen to legitimate concerns of the families of poor Gujjar & Bakarwals, whose houses were demolished last month and rehabilitate them properly.

(Javed Beigh is General Secretary People's Democratic Front (Secular). The views expressed are personal)

Source: IANS