Life on the move

The pastoral Bakkarwals of Jammu and Kashmir are a subset of the Gujjars of the state. They migrate and return annually from the hills of the Jammu-Poonch region through the insurgency-riddled Pir Panjal into the Valley and beyond. The Bakkarwals of Jammu and Kashmir: Navigating through Nomadism presents different facets of the nomadic life of these people. Excerpts:

THE Bakkarwals are an almost entirely nomadic community of Jammu and Kashmir who migrate annually from the hills of the Jammu? Poonch region, through the insurgency-riddled Pir Panjal into the Kashmir Valley, to beyond the highland pastures of the Greater Himalayas.

The Bakkarwals live in tents and subsist on maize, rice and goat milk; they also gather wild vegetables and fruits. Some have also turned to partial subsistence by agriculture, while a small number have given up their nomadic way of life entirely for settled agriculture and now live in the Kathua-Poonch region. Some Bakkarwals have also settled in Kashmir.

Bamboo poles and matting are secured for the basic structure of a tent on which layers of cloth and plastic sheet are fastened
Bamboo poles and matting are secured for the basic structure of a tent on which layers of cloth and plastic sheet are fastened

A dera in Udhampur district
A dera in Udhampur district

The Bakkarwals and Gujjars together make up around 18 per cent of the population of Jammu and Kashmir. According to Bakkarwal elders, there are about 5,00,000 Bakkarwals in the state of which as many as 97 per cent are nomadic and three per cent lead a sedentary life (according to Parvez Dewan, former Resident Commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir, only one per cent of the Bakkarwals have sedentarised). Dewan notes that the Bakkarwals and Gujjars are believed to be part of a larger Indian community that is largely Hindu.

However, in Jammu and Kashmir and the neighbouring areas of Pakistan and Kashmir (as, also to an extent, in Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and north Punjab) all Gujjars and Bakkarwals are Muslims. The nomadic Bakkarwals spend about six months each in the plains and on mountain pastures. Their winter home in the plains may lie in Jammu or Kathua. In the summer they may live in the mountains in the Jammu region (around Kathua, Doda, Udhampur etc) or Kashmir (Uri, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Daksum, Kangan, Sonamarg, Lidder Valley, or in one of the several pastures in the other districts) or even in the Kargil–Zanskar belt of Ladakh.

A large number of Bakkarwals also live in Rajouri and Poonch and cross over to the Valley via the Mughal Road, and other routes and corridors in the Pir Panjal. Around every April the nomadic Bakkarwals migrate from the plains to the highland mountain pastures and return to their winter pastures in October. Most of them migrate on foot along with their animals. In the recent times richer Bakkarwals may travel by jeep or truck, while their servants trek with the flock.

The Bakkarwals are striking in appearance: they are tall and well-built and live long and robust lives, seldom falling ill. The men are tall, muscular and sport long beards which they dye with henna when they start to grey. They wear turbans and salwar kameez. Bakkarwal women are also tall and strong and have an elegance about them. The women wear muted sober shades of salwaar kameez with colourful stoles and chunky jewellery that is similar to that worn by nomadic communities in Andhra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Wearing embroidered caps is still a tradition with older women, while many younger women have given this up
Wearing embroidered caps is still a tradition with older women, while many younger women have given this up

Most Bakkarwals do not speak Kashmiri and are only conversant in Hindi and Bakkarwali — a dialect of Gorjari similar to Rajasthani-Haryanvi, which linguistically puts them closer to the Dogri, Pahari and Punjabi-speaking communities of the Jammu-Poonch belt. The Muslim Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir share a warm relationship with the Hindus of central and western India.

However, the Bakkarwals are a poorly represented people in the state — socially, economically and educationally — and have been increasingly marginalised, as worldviews of who is considered ‘civilised’ gain greater currency and acceptance.

It should be understood that while modern states turn increasingly hostile towards nomadic communities, nomads are not people who simply pass through a given area randomly. Being nomadic does not imply wandering aimlessly. It is a well-documented fact that nomadic pastoralists, do not simply wander about from place to place without a method or purpose. Instead, nomadic movement is highly precise and calculated and aimed at achieving targeted objectives and goals. They are experts at maximising the use of rangelands. It is clear that nomads move rather strategically, selecting migration routes and new residential locations after much deliberation and information gathering on the environmental, economic and political issues on hand.

Religious distinction

An important distinction that some Bakkarwals draw between themselves and other Kashmiris is that while they are pious Hanafi Muslims, the Kashmiris are deeply influenced by Sufism. According to the Bakkarwals, Sufism is not a strict Islamic code, and thus inferior, and consequently those who follow it are not as Islamic. It must be clarified that many Bakkarwals are not too bothered about the technicalities of this difference; however, in their cultural upbringing, this important difference is implicitly transferred from the elders to the younger generation in which they believe they have what may be termed as an “Islamic edge” over other Kashmiris.

Excerpted with permission from The Bakkarwals of Jammu and Kashmir:
Navigating through Nomadism by Anita Sharma. Published by Niyogi Books.

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