Post revocation of Article-370: Enhanced presence gives ST, SC voters more sway in J&K poll arena
Notably, a 10% reservation had been accorded to the Pahari community and three other tribes, which in turn took the total reservations under the ST category to 20% and 8% reservations to OBCs)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be banking on the consolidation of the nomadic Gujjars and Pahari community votes in its favour heading into the assembly elections.
“I am not associated with any political party, but I am voluntarily campaigning for the BJP in Pir Panjal region, (Rajouri-Poonch) because what BJP did for the Pahari community was never done by any political party,” says 53-year-old Shafiq Mir, former chairperson of the Bafliaz block development council.
Notably, a 10% reservation had been accorded to the Pahari community and three other tribes, which in turn took the total reservations under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category to 20% and 8% reservations to Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Mir says the move is going to work in the BJP’s favour. “I may not be able to predict how many seats the BJP will win but the ST status to Pahari community has made the party a strong contender on all the eight seats going to polls in the first phase,” says Mir.
The Pahari community, a heterogenous population that include Muslims, Hindus, Kolis, Gadda Brahmins and Paddaris, were earlier ruing a life lived on the margins.
Of the 90 assembly seats in the UT, nine are reserved for STs — Kokernag in Anantnag district, Budhal in Rajouri, Gulabgarh in Reasi, Kangan in Ganderbal, Mendhar in Poonch, Rajouri and Surankote in Poonch, Thannamandi in Rajouri, and Gurez in Bandipora.
There’s the balancing act at play as well. Ghulam Mohammad, a 25-year-old Gujjar, from Dhadkai village in Doda district, says, “There was grave resentment against the BJP after it announced ST status to the Pahari community. However, when home minister Amit Shah declared that not even one percent of our reservation would go to the Pahari community, our anger vanished.”
Mohammad feels the Gujjar and Bakarwal community would largely go with the BJP. “BJP has full support of the Gujjar and Bakarwal community, though few may sway to NC, PDP and Congress. We feel that BJP is the only party that would ensure welfare of our community,” he says while referring to NC, PDP and Congress, which according to him used the community as mere vote bank.
He, however, wants the BJP government to regularise daily wagers. “Over 64,000 daily wagers have been living impoverished lives for the past many years. We want BJP to regularise them. I have been a daily wager in the Jal Shakti department since 2014 and get paltry wages,” he says.
In March this year, 15 new castes were also added to the list of OBCs following recommendations by the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Commission. The Gujjar-Bakarwal community had already been included in the list of Scheduled Tribes in 1991.
In 1991 the then Prime Minister Chander Shekhar recommended to the President of India that Gujjar, Bakarwals may be granted the Scheduled Tribe status. Consequently, in April 1991 President Venkata Raman granted the status.
Seven seats in the UT are also reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) — Marh, Bishnah, Suchetgarh and Akhnoor in Jammu district, Ramnagar in Udhampur district, Kathua in Kathua district and Ramgarh in Samba district.
A youth leader Garu Bhatti from the Valmiki community also feels upbeat with the reservation given by the BJP government to the marginalised sections of the society following revocation of Article 370.
“The past five years have brought big change for us. Our children are now going to schools and those who had quit their studies, have taken up again. Girls from our community are pursuing law. A youth was appointed as junior engineer in the Jammu municipal corporation this year,” says Bhatti, who attributed the positive developments to the Revocation of 370 and subsequent introduction of domicile certificates.
“We have been given voting rights as well as SC category,” he adds.
Jagdish Lal, a 55-year-old West Pak refugee (WPR), also heaped praise on the BJP government for bringing changes in the socio-economic condition of the WPRs.
“BJP ended discrimination meted out to us for the past 70 years. PM Modi ensured us fundamental rights. He gave us voting rights for the assembly elections,” says Lal.