SAJJAD IQBAL

Srinagar, July 25(KNS): Tribals of Jammu and Kashmir are continuously protesting  against  inclusion of upper castes (Paharis) in Scheduled Tribes list.

Jammu and Kashmir tribal communities  raised Strong objection  against  The proposals for inclusion  of pahari speaking  people  in the Schedule Tribe list In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir despite their demand  being rejected in the past by Registrar  General of India on previous occasions. The Jammu and Kashmir tribal communities  are calling it an unconstitutional move of  central government.

Pahari speaking people are already enjoying  reservation on the basis of a language ( Pahari speaking People) which is not even a Pahari   but a dialect  of Punjabi. In addition to the PSP  (Pahari Speaking People  Reservation) they are also enjoying the benefits of RBA, ALC, EWS etc .  Declaring  Upper caste as Schedule Tribe will  be injustice  with the real tribals of Jammu and Kashmir. These upper caste groups do not full filli any of the criteria  stated by Lokur Committee, and these random inclusion in the list of Scheduled  Tribes will  defeat  the purpose  of segregating  scheduled   Tribes from other reserved  categories. This arbitrary  Selection  of communities for inclusion in the list of  Schedule  Tribe not only endangers the Tribal Identity and their access to education and jobs but also to land. As  these more Dominant people are in natural  position  to snatch the benefits that are reserved  for Tribals Communities, resulting  in long term disempowerment, discontent, insecurity and Unrest amongst tribal communities.

Such random act of inclusion of upper classes in schedule tribes for immediate political gain resulting in dilution tribal identity must be stopped.
The Lokur Vommittee was setup in 1965 to define and clarify The criteria Pertaining to schedule tribes. The committee recommended five criteria for identification, namely, primitive traits, distinct  culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with the community at large and backwardness.

Tribals of Jammu and Kashmir  have rejected  G D Sharma commission report, as  commssion had no  member from ST and OBC community,  commission  had recommended inclusion  of upper castes like Brahmin, Syeds, Rajputs, Mir, Dar and others in Scheduled Tribes. It is pertinent to mention here that these groups are not ethnically same, as they are Culturally, ligustically  diverse groups, moreover they have been  rulers in the past and they are  politically , socially and economically well off, inclusion  of these groups in schedule tribe list means injustice  with the real tribals of the country.(KNS).