Seeking support of Paharis, Bakerwals and Gujjars “to end the three-family rule” in Jammu and Kashmir, Union Home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said Paharis, a linguistic group comprising both Muslims and Hindus, too will get reservation under Schedule Tribe (ST) category.
“Removal of Article 370 has paved the way for reservation in J&K. Justice Sharma’s commission has submitted its recommendations on reservation for Gujjar, Bakarwals and Pahari communities and it will be accepted. Paharis too will get reservation along with Gujjar and Bakerwals. The reservation quota of Gujjar and Bakerwals won’t be affected,” Mr. Shah said, while addressing a public rally in the Pir Panjal valley’s Rajouri district.
This is the second major step taken by the BJP for the smaller non-Kashmiri speaking communities in J&K. Earlier, the J&K delimitation commission this year reserved nine assembly seats for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and seven for Scheduled Castes (SC) in the 90-member J&K Assembly.
