CONGRESS NATIONAL general secretary Rahul Gandhi is likely to attend a day-long conference of Pahari speaking people on May 17 in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The invitation has been extended by the Pahari Speaking Forum. He is also expected to visit some remote villages of border areas in Jammu region besides addressing a public rally in connection with the ongoing 125th foundation day celebrations.
However, re-acting sharply over the report, the Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir –a major Scheduled Tribe group, appealed Gandhi to avoid such controversial events which will have a serious implication on tribal, ethnic and linguistic make up of the State.
In a letter signed by community dignitaries sent through Jammu and Kashmir Gujjar Bakerwal Joint Forum, of a frontal tribal organisation , the community suggested Gandhi to stay away from the extremely contentious conference aimed at to press the government to declare Pahari speaking people as Schedule Tribe, which will dilute the Tribal status of nomadic communities including Gujjars and the community will oppose any such move with full force to enter a “linguistic group” into “Tribal amalgam”.
The forum also faxed the copies of the letter to the Congress President and UPA Chairperson ,Mrs Sonia Gandhi submitting that some people are trying to get the “Scheduled Tribal status “ on the name of a language called western Pahari so that they may secure certain benefits which have been given to the “Tribal and Nomadic” people only, and congress should avaiod in indulged in any such controversy.
The 7-point letter has listed the reasons why Pahari Speaking people not deserves for Scheduled Tribe status.
Regarding Pahari speaking people's claim to ST status, the forum argued that the term; " Pahari or for that matter, Pahari speaking people" has never been defined either by the J&K Government or the Union Government. Such class of people has neither been defined in any works of history, anthropology or census nor even mentioned in revenue records.
Paharis were neither defined as a weaker section and nor they approached before the Gajendragadkar Commission, the Sikri Commission, the Wazir Commission (1969), the Anand Commission (1976) and the Mandal Commission which covered the entire country.
All these commissions, from time to time, identified the Other Bakward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Areas and none of them recognized any group as Pahari or Pahari speaking people as weaker section of the society.
The memorandum said, Pahari being the affluent ruling upper class do not suffer from the social stigma.
The demand of the Pahari speaking people is merely based on the premises of language while the dialect or the language is not any criteria to declare any class as Scheduled Tribe. Each of the languages have sister dialect and by that way Pahari is invariably spoken across the state by the people of all communities and origins. Even the Pahari language has no dialect.
Paharis are neither tribal nor nomadic in character and they are not socially, economically and educationally backward, the letter said.
The letter said, Minister for Tribal Affairs in the NDA Government had out rightly rejected such a demand on the floor of the House in the Rajya Sabha in 2002. To an question of National Conference MP Mirza Abdul Rashid during the autumn session of the Rajya Sabha in 2002 the Minister for Tribal Affairs had said that such a proposal is not under the consideration of the Government of India as the "Pahari speaking people" is not any identified group eligible for inclusion into Scheduled Tribes.
It was also mentioned in the letter that Paharis are already enjoying reservation under three different categories i.e. RBA, ALC and OBC in different areas.
The letter said said Paharis are not recognised class under SRO 394 of 1981 of State Government, it was pointed out. The demand of Pahari speaking people is merely based on the premises of language while the dialect or the language is not any criteria to declare any class as ST.
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