Rajya Sabha clears Bills to add Paharis, Valmikis to ST, SC lists in J&K

Rajya Sabha clears addition of Pahari ethnic group to ST list in Jammu and Kashmir amid protests.

Amid ongoing protests in Jammu and Kashmir by the Scheduled Tribe Gujjar-Bakarwal community against it, the Rajya Sabha on February 9 cleared the way for the addition of the Pahari ethnic group to the Union Territory’s Scheduled Tribes list.

Along with it, the Upper House passed the Bills that added the Paddari Tribe, Gadda Brahmin, and Koli communities to the ST list and the Valmiki community (including synonyms) to the Scheduled Castes list of Jammu and Kashmir.

During his reply to the discussion on the Bills, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda addressed the concern of the existing Scheduled Tribe communities in Jammu and Kashmir like the Gujjar-Bakarwal and Gaddi communities.

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He said, “This Bill will ensure that the reservation already available for these existing tribes will be maintained while giving these new communities additional reservation. The work of ensuring that everyone gets justice and no community’s reservation is affected is being done through this Bill.”

And given the growing protests by Gujjars and Bakerwals, the BJP has started percolating this message on the ground as well. “The ST quota of Gujjar and Barkerwal will remain unaffected and there would be no dilution in the same,” Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina said.

Protesting leaders from the Gujjar community have already threatened to intensify their agitation against the Centre’s move. “When the BJP failed to do development of people, it has started to distribute reservation as charity. Subclassification is being done only for elections. This is a reservation for political gains,” Gujjar leader Zahid Parwaz Choudhary said.