Jammu And Kashmir ST List 2022 – Pahari Community Added In ST

Jammu And Kashmir ST List 2022 – Pahari Community Added In ST – National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has cleared the way for the inclusion of the ‘Pahari ethnic group’ in the Scheduled Tribes list of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

• The suggestion for inclusion had come from the commission set up for socially and educationally backward classes in the Union Territory, headed by Justice (Retd.) G.D. Sharma.
• Later the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs sought opinions and views of the ST commission on the proposal to include four communities in the ST list of Jammu and Kashmir.
• In response, the ST commission has shown green-lit to the proposal for inclusion of the ‘Pahari ethnic group’, Paddari tribe”, “Koli”, and “Gadda Brahman” communities in the ST list of J&K.
• Currently, Jammu and Kashmir have 12 communities that have been notified as STs.

Jammu And Kashmir ST List 2022 – Pahari Community Added In ST

• The Pahari community, a linguistic group mainly residing in the Pir Panjal valley comprising Rajouri and Poonch
• Paharis are also spread in parts of the Kashmir valley.
• Paharis also comprise both Hindus and Muslims unlike Bakerwals and Gujjars, two prominent nomadic clans.

In J&K state the following communities have been declared as scheduled tribes :  Balti, Beda, Bot, Bota, Brokpa, Drokpa, Dard, Shin, Changpa Garran, Mon Purigpa Gujjar Bakerwal Gaddi Sippi

Who are Scheduled Tribes (ST)?

• Article 366 of the Constitution: Such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this Constitution.
• Article 342: The President may with respect to any State or Union territory, and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union territory, as the case may be.

The tribal population of the country, as per the 2011 census, is 10.43 crore, constituting 8.6% of the total population. 97% of them live in rural areas. 10.03% in urban areas. The decadal population growth of the tribal from Census 2001 to 2011 has been 23.66% against the 17.69% of the entire population. The sex ratio for the overall population is 940 females per 1000 males and that of Scheduled Tribes is 990 females per thousand males.

Criteria:

•  The Constitution is silent about the criteria for the specification of a community as a Scheduled Tribe.
• Primitiveness, geographical isolation, shyness and social, educational & economic backwardness are the traits that distinguish Scheduled Tribe communities from other communities.

There are certain Scheduled Tribes In India, 75 in number known as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), who are characterized by: 

• • pre-agriculture level of technology
  • stagnant or declining population
  • extremely low literacy
  • subsistence level of the economy

About National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST)

• The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes is a constitutional body.
• It was established by the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003.
• The Commission is an authority working for the economic development of Scheduled Tribes in India.
• The NCST is dealt with in Article 338.
• Earlier, there was only one commission, which was for both the scheduled tribes and scheduled castes. In 2004, after the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, the NCST was established by bifurcating the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into the NCST and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

This amendment replaced the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with two distinct commissions which are:

• • National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)
  • National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST)