Gujjar-Bakarwal communities deplore eviction orders in Kathua
Jammu: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, members of the nomadic Gujjar and Bakarwal communities, along with social activists and political representatives, have strongly criticized the authorities for harassing these communities.
According to Kashmir Media Service, addressing a press conference in Jammu, the community leader, Chaudhry Arshed Ali, who heads the Gurjar Desh Charitable Trust (GDCT) expressed outrage over notices issued to Gujjar families in Kathua’s Madeen village, including Zarai and Dhar Dugan bastis in Tehsil Billawar, to vacate shelter homes they have been living in for the past 50 years.
GDCT Chairman Ch Arshed Ali, flanked by senior members of the Trust, said, “These nomads, who have endured decades of hardship and instability, are now being asked to vacate the very land they’ve called home for generations. About 90% of nomadic Gujjars are shelterless, and instead of destroying their shelters, the government should focus on settling them permanently and providing basic facilities such as housing, water, electricity, and roads”.
Ali emphasized that the Gujjar-Bakarwal community has suffered significantly during the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and continues to face discrimination despite the return of relative peace. “They are a peace-loving community. Harassing them is unjust and unwarranted,” he said.
Citing despotic initiatives such as the Forest Rights Act, Ali urged the authorities to ensure these programs benefit the nomadic Gujjars instead of subjecting them to further hardships.
Senior GDCT members, including Ch Bashir Ahmed Noon, Ch Bashir Ahmed Khatana, Shoukat Javed, Ch Aslam Khan, Ch Mohammad Aslam Gheghi, and Ch Mohammad Anwar, also voiced their support, calling on the government to safeguard the rights and dignity of the Gujjar-Bakarwal community and prevent any further displacement of these vulnerable families.
