Inclusive Policies and their impact on Tribals of Jammu and Kashmir: A Case of Gujjar Tribals

Abstract

Gujjar Tribals constitute the prime share of tribal population of union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Gujjar being the most populous tribe constitutes the 69.1% of total Scheduled Population of Jammu and Kashmir. The Gujjar Tribals have been accorded tribal status under ‘Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Act, 1991’. They are living a pathetic life and are socially-economically backward as compared to the general population of Jammu and Kashmir. The prevalence of discrimination and exclusion of the marginalized communities since the historical times remained the debatable issue to remedy it. Accordingly, Constitution of Independent India has enabled the nation to focus on the protection of distinctive way of life of ST’s and protect them from social injustices and all forms of exploitation and discrimination. The governments at central and state level have also made bold attempts to bring the inclusion of this backward community in the mainstream. Accordingly, various inclusive policies in terms of education, health, employment were put in place to bring the stop of their marginalization. The present paper intends to explore the various policies and to gauge their impact on the tribal population of Jammu and Kashmir in general and Gujjar Tribals in particular. The nature of the study is qualitative and secondary sources of data including census 2011 report and reports of Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the main stay of this study.