Correcting the focal point of J&K tribal politics

Correcting the focal point of J&K tribal politics

The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission recently shared its interim report with five associate members, elected members of parliament from the erstwhile state. This has caused debate in various regions that is now a Union Territory (UT), with most parties expressing their reservations and dismay. The interim report has proposed an increase of six seats in Jammu province and one seat in Kashmir province, though it claims to treat the entire union territory as a single unit for seat distribution.

One of the highlights of the report is the proposed reservation of nine seats for Scheduled Tribes (STs). This is the first time that seats have been reserved for the ST community in the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. The commission has also proposed to reserve seven seats for the Scheduled Castes (SC). In the erstwhile Legislative Assembly also seven seats were reserved for the Scheduled Castes, but there was no such reservation for the Scheduled Tribes.

This denial of constitutionally guaranteed reservation under Article 332 after 1991, when four communities (Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Sippy) were granted ST status, points to the harsh reality that discrimination was largely deliberate. has gone. The presence of Article 370 has often been cited as the reason for the absence of reservation for tribals in Jammu and Kashmir, although this is untrue.

lack of political will

Nothing in Article 370 prevents the provision of political reservation to STs or the extension of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 to Jammu and Kashmir. Over the years, many features of the Constitution of India and several laws were extended to Jammu and Kashmir. In addition, there was reservation for SCs in J&K even before the dilution of Article 370, and it was provided for under the J&K Constitution. All major political parties promised these rights before the elections, but political will was lacking. During the tenure of Ghulam Nabi Azad’s chief minister, a bill was proposed to be introduced in the assembly to ensure these political rights in 2007, but nothing happened. This lack of political will stems from a reluctance to share power with ethnically and culturally distinct groups, the Dogras and Kashmiris, the two major power groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

SC reservation, on the other hand, at least ensured that power still remained within the ethnic group as far as Dogra leaders were concerned; And for the leaders of Kashmir, it meant that the reserved seats were taken from the Jammu division and not the Valley. The denial of political reservations and the absence of the Forest Rights Act had essentially become a bargaining tool. The Valley-based parties were not in favor of political reservation and the Jammu-based parties were against the Forest Rights Act. If one side argues for forest and land rights, the other side will oppose it on the issue of political reservation. The end result was the continued subjugation and incompetence of STs in J&K.

The dilution of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 and the subsequent Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 changed the political dynamics in the region. As far as tribals are concerned, it promised them political reservation under Article 332 and led to the extension of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Inevitably, this has changed the nature of tribal politics in J&K as well, which was largely centered around these two. key objectives. Constitutional safeguards and protections are not ends in themselves, they are ends. In the rest of India, political reservation has been in place for both the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assemblies since the commencement of the Constitution; The Forest Rights Act has been in force for almost 17 years; Nevertheless, the tribals are still socially handicapped and economically disadvantaged. The focus of tribal politics is to shift towards economic and social empowerment of the tribal communities, with special focus on effective implementation of welfare schemes and policies for the Scheduled Tribes in Jammu and Kashmir. Implementation of the Forest Rights Act should be a major issue as it has the potential to empower these communities significantly.

on political relevance

The political mobilization of STs began many years ago, and the interim report has presented new challenges to STs than merely empowering them. Now it is a reality that seats will be reserved for STs, but this hardly changes the ground reality. Even without reservation, through community mobilization, in the 2014 elections, nine Gujjar candidates won the assembly elections. But since they were from different parties, they were unable to present a united front and ensure that tribal issues were not neglected. Post-reservation this will not change unless there is an awareness and conscious effort by the leadership to prioritize tribal interests over party politics.

The interim report has reserved six of the nine ST seats within the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch, which account for 32.06% of the total ST population (2011 census). The other reserved seats (three) are in Anantnag (Larnu), Ganderbal (Bracelets) and Bandipur (Gurez). The tendency to confine tribal politics to Rajouri and Poonch (which has also been done in the interim report) is an extension of the practice of the past, although the reality is that more than 68% of the Scheduled Tribe population lives outside these districts. Political relevance is a major challenge facing tribal politics in Jammu and Kashmir. The community leaders, especially the tribal youth, need to understand the importance of the tribal vote which is the deciding factor in more than 18 seats apart from the reserved seats.

marginal tribes

Tribal politics also has to address the political, social and economic empowerment of marginal tribes such as the Bakarwals, Gaddis and Sippi, which have a population of 1,13,198, 46,486 and 5,999 respectively. It is highly unlikely that these marginal tribes will be able to adequately represent themselves, but the dominant tribal group, the Gujjars, will have to share political space with them as well as manifest their aspirations. Also development of any community is not possible without women empowerment. Women have a major role to play in tribal politics, and their participation and leadership is to be promoted viable and appropriately. He has proved his leadership in District Development Council (DDC) elections, and it needs to be strengthened further.

Zubair Nazir is Assistant Professor (Public Administration) at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Views expressed are personal