Paharies suggest Gujjars to stop propaganda

Taking strong note of the opposition of Gujjars to schedule tribe status for Paharies, Jammu & Kashmir Youth Pahari Cultural and Welfare Forum has said that schedule tribe status is the basic right of Paharies and if the opposition from Gujjars will continue they will launch a movement for scraping this status from Gujjars also. In a press statement issued here, Waseem Mirza, Spokesman of Jammu & Kashmir Youth Pahari Cultural and Welfare Forum has said that state cabinet in 1989 recommended the Centre Government for granting scheduled tribe status to 7 tribes including Paharies. He said that 6 tribes have been given the status delaying it to Paharies for the last 20 years. “We are just demanding our right and we have nothing to do with Gujjars. We are demanding the status from government not from Gujjars and they should not react in this way”, he added. Saying that the case of Paharies is strong, Mirza said that state assembly had already passed a resolution for granting ST status to Paharies. He added that when Registrar General on India put some query on the resolution and sent it to state Assembly; it was again strongly recommended by the assembly to New Delhi. Terming the press statement issued by some “planted” Gujjar organization opposing ST status to Paharies, Spokesman said that when the status was granted to Gujjars, no Pahari leader had opposed it. He said that they have no confrontation with Gujjars and they are demanding the status from government. “Some disgruntled Gujjars are opposing ST status to Pahries and if they continue the attitude, we will launch a movement for scraping the same from Gujjars”, he said adding that Gujjars are not qualifying for ST status and they are forming tem to open the file of Gujjars. “If we pursue the case of scraping the status from Gujjars, it will definitely be scraped as there is no justification of continuing this status to Gujjars”, he added. He said that all the successive governments had recommended ST status for Paharies. “Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had strongly written to Centre to grant the community ST status which is a pending mater since1989”, he added threatening to launch agitation if government will not respond on their demand.