| News Details |
| Gujjars urge development- without affecting nomadic culture | |
Jammu, January 14, (Scoop News)-“The Gujjars- Bakerwals community members today impressed upon the government to develop them without affecting their nomadic lifestyle. They while participant of a programme orgainsed by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation today stated that the tribes deserves more attentions.
The programme was presided over by noted Gujjar writer Dr, Javaid Rahi and attended by the elders of the tribal communites.
Dr. Javaid Rahi, while speaking in a programme stated that there is a great apprehension that the tribal migration which is an inseparable part of Gujjar-Bakerwal culture will become a history of the past in next few decades as they feel suffocated in view a number of restrictions.
He said that thousands of Gujjars-Bakerwals nomads already relinquished their centuries old nomadic life style and left meadows of the North-western Himalayas and settled in plains turned into unskilled migratory labourer or beggars.
He said a new developmental programmes of govt can stop more decline in nomadic life.
The other speakers said that another reason of their non interst in nomadic life is -absence of “Disaster Management Polices’ for Tribal and pastoralist communities especially Gujjars Bakerwals suffers a heavy loss of lives and livestock due to landslide, forest fire, snow and hail storm, man-animal conflict every year and due to these natural calamities the percentage of nomadic Gujjars-Bakerwals are also going down in the state.
They suggested that government should formulate a sustainable plan to protect their nomadic identity by providing them education, healthcare , food security, social equality, economic stability, justice, besides communications and other facilities without changing their way of life.
They further suggested that government should on priority formulate a disaster management policy for tribal and nomadic communities and the orders restricting the movement of Gujjars - Bakerwals in forest, govt lands, border and strategic areas must be revoked immediately.
They said, since time immemorial the Gujjars- Bakerwals communities migrates towards high reaches of Himalaya into the mountains to graze in the lush meadows in April every year but now they are facing tremendous hardship .
They said during the summer they move from one meadow to the other and start their back migration to plains in the month of October, but the harsh- weather affecting their migratory way of life badly. They are Scheduled Tribe in J&K and constitute around 20% of total population of State, but are without rights.
Besides Jammu and Kashmir state, the nomadic Gujjars of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pardesh are also facing identical problems, they said.
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