Jammu

The Jammu & Kashmir Gujjar Bakerwal Youth Welfare Conference (JKGBYWC) and the Jammu & Kashmir Forest Rights Coalition (JKFRC) have issued a stern warning of a full-scale public campaign, alleging systematic harassment of seven nomadic Bakerwal families in the Mehari Gujjran area of Rajouri District.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

In a statement issued to News Agency Kashmir News Service (KNS), the groups accused Forest Department authorities of persistently targeting the families for the past two years under the pretext of protecting forest land. 

The statement was endorsed by Dr. Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, Chairman of the JKFRC, and Zahid Parwaz Choudhary, State President of the JKGBYWC, alongside other coalition leaders.

The leadership condemned what they described as a blatant disregard for established law. They asserted that the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 explicitly recognizes the traditional rights of such forest-dwelling communities. Furthermore, they argued that the harassment violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the fundamental right to life and livelihood.

“Any agency or officer violating these sacred laws must be held accountable under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which is designed to protect marginalized communities from such institutional oppression,” the statement read. It also cautioned that the department’s actions contravene international commitments, specifically Sustainable Development Goal 10 aimed at reducing inequality.

The statement reads that a point of particular contention raised by the organizations is that the targeted families possess valid legal documentation—including Ration Cards, Voter IDs, and Aadhaar cards—all officially registered to the Mehari Gujjran area.

Local representative Shazia Tabasum Choudhary, the Sarpanch of the area, has reportedly been advocating for the families for two years. She claims to have exhausted all administrative avenues to halt the eviction attempts. In a renewed appeal, she has called upon the concerned Minister, the District Administration, and the Tribal Affairs Department to intervene.

“For two years, these families have been uprooted in their search for justice, their livelihoods destroyed and their children’s education severely disrupted,” Choudhary stated, holding the authorities directly responsible for the distress.

The JKGBYWC has urgently appealed to Forest Minister Javed Ahmed Rana to personally intervene and take strict action against the officers involved. They have also demanded that the Tribal Affairs Department, as the nodal agency for the FRA, immediately recommend the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) against the concerned forest officials for violating the Act.

Expressing profound disappointment, the organizations criticized the “criminal silence” of the local MLA and other political representatives, emphasizing that advocating for vulnerable, landless communities is a fundamental duty of elected officials.

The groups will no longer tolerate the alleged harassment and are prepared to launch a vigorous public campaign against all parties deemed responsible for the families’ two-year ordeal the statement further reads.(KNS)

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