New Delhi: The Lok Sabha, on Tuesday, passed the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023, granting scheduled tribe status to the Pahari people and other communities in Jammu & Kashmir.
The Lok Sabha also passed the Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which seeks to include the Valmiki community in the Scheduled Caste (SC) list of Jammu & Kashmir. The ST Bill also includes the Gadda Brahman, Koli, and Paddari communities in the ST list of Jammu and Kashmir.
The house was adjourned for the day soon after the two bills were passed. The bills will now be taken up in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passage.
These bills were passed nearly seven months after they were introduced in Lok Sabha, on July 26.
The announcement to grant ST status to Pahari group was made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during public rallies in Baramulla and Rajouri in October 2022. The ST status would make Paharis eligible for all benefits available to the ST category in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Paharis are in the majority in Nowshera, Kalakote-Sunderbani, Rajouri, Thanmandi, Surankote, Poonch-Haveli, Mendhar, Uri, and Karnah assembly segments of J&K.
Paharis have been fighting for more than three decades for their inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. Prominent Pahari leaders, Syed Mushtaq Bukhari (former minister), Raja Aijaz Ali, and Vibodh Gupta were at the forefront of the battle to get ST status for Paharis.
The government decision comes as a significant step towards addressing the long-standing demand for recognition and rights of these communities, reflecting a commitment to inclusive governance and social justice in the region.
The development is likely to boost the chances of the BJP in Rajouri-Poonch-Anatnag Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming general elections due to the presence of a large number of Paharis in the constituency.
The tribal Gujjar community opposed the granting of ST to Paharis and called the move politically motivated. The Gujjars fear ST status to Paharis will impact their political reservation and also reservation in academic and professional colleges.
Last summer they launched a statewide agitation warning the BJP of the consequences of granting ST status to Paharis. The Gujjars have been arguing that the Paharis are well settled and don’t fall under the ST category.

KR Desk