Kashmir, under Indian administration The 70-year-old shepherd, Bashir Ahmed Gujjar, did not attend school like many others in his nomadic tribe. Being impoverished and frequently on the go, formal schooling was not an option. For the Gujjars, his community, things changed in 1991 when the government, as part of an affirmative action program for historically marginalized groups, imposed quotas for what are known as Scheduled Tribes (STs) in state-run educational institutions and government positions. The beneficiaries included Gujjars.
Parents made the decision to enroll their kids in college and/or school. At his house in the Pulwama district of the area, Bashir told Al Jazeera, “My children, my nieces and nephews have all been fortunate enough to have received education because of the ST status bestowed on us by the government.” He claimed that because Gujjars are eligible for job quotas, his niece is currently employed as a teacher in a government school in Tral. He now worries that the benefits of the last thirty years may not be available to his community’s future generation.
The administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a legislative amendment on February 6 of this month to add the Paharis to the list of Scheduled Tribes. Federal Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda stated at the time that the bill will create new quotas for new communities rather than reduce the existing education and employment requirements for existing tribes. The Gujjars and Bakarwals, two significant tribal populations that were initially protected by affirmative action, are afraid that they will now have to split their benefits with the Paharis, who have traditionally been perceived as being better off, because the government has not yet explained how it wants to achieve that.
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