Paharis should not be allowed to contest J&K poll on reserved seats, says ST body

Jammu, August 21

Raising the political temperature ahead of the Assembly polls, the Gujjars and Bakerwals of Jammu and Kashmir have demanded that the Pahari community, which was granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status this year, should not be allowed to contest polls on the reserved seats. Nine seats in J&K were reserved for STs after delimitation in 2022.

While the Gujjars and Bakerwals along with 10 other ST communities were already enjoying reservation, four new groups—Pahari ethnic group, Gadda Brahman, Koli and Paddri Tribe— were added to the ST list early this year, which has infuriated the Gujjars and Bakerwals.

Even as the Pahari community has significant population in Rajouri and Poonch districts in Jammu region and parts of Kashmir, Gadda Brahman, Koli, and Paddri Tribe are small in number and do not hold any political sway in most of the Assembly constituencies.

Advocate Mohammad Anwar Chowdhary, prominent Gujjar leader and chairman, All J&K Gujjar-Bakerwal Organization Co-ordination Committee, said that 12 tribal communities were granted ST status in 1989 and 1991, which included Gujjars and Bakerwals. “After four new communities were added in the ST category, they were classified as ST-2 while the groups which were already in ST category were classified as ST-1,” stated Chowdhary.

He said that there should be clarity to the people that the political reservation of nine seats in the state Assembly is only for ST-1 and not for ST-2 category. “The Delimitation Commission final report came into force in 2022. It reserved nine seats for 12 ST communities declared as ST in 1989 and 1991. Commission has based its report on ST population as per the 2011 census conducted by the Registrar General of India in J&K. The figure of STs in 2011 is the basis adopted by the Commission for reservation of ST Assembly seats. Nine constituencies, including Surankote, Mendhar, Budhal, Thanamandi, Rajouri, Gulabgarh, Kangan, Kokarnag, and Gurez were reserved for the ST communities,” he elaborated.

He said that the four new groups are not eligible to contest elections on reserved Assembly seats.

Bashir Ahmed Noon, another Gujjar leader, said, “The nine reserved constituencies, which were reserved for STs, should remain exclusively for the ST-I groups to ensure their rightful representation.”

Noon said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had promised the Gujjars and Bakerwals that there will be no dilution of the present reservation.

The issue is expected to snowball into a major controversy, especially in Rajouri and Poonch districts, where five assembly constituencies have been reserved for the ST category.

Despite addition of Paharis in ST category, the BJP was not able to reap any benefit in the Lok Sabha polls.

Seek clarification

• A group representing the Scheduled Tribes has sought clarification from the Centre on the nine reserved seats for them in the Union Territory
• The Gujjar-Bakerwal body said the reservation of nine seats was meant for a dozen communities declared as STs in 1989 and 1991 based on the delimitation commission report of 2022 and the ST population as per the 2011 census

Only ST-1 eligible to contest

We strongly believe that only ST groups classified as ST-I are eligible to contest reserved ST seats in the J&K Assembly elections. — Mohammad Anwar Chowdhary, Gujjar leader