J-K students body raises tribal evictions, census exclusion and reservation concerns in meeting with MP Sanjay Raut

New Delhi [India], May 22 (ANI): The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) National Convenor Nasir Khuehami on Friday met Sanjay Raut, Member of Rajya Sabha and Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, and submitted a detailed representation highlighting the pressing concerns of students, youth, tribal communities, aspirants, and marginalised sections of Jammu and Kashmir.

During the meeting, Khuehami extensively briefed Raut on a range of critical socio-economic, educational, and humanitarian issues confronting the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly students, unemployed youth, and tribal populations residing in remote and border regions.
He highlighted that reports from various districts of Jammu and Kashmir continue to indicate demolition of kothas, dhoks, seasonal tribal shelters, grazing structures, and settlements belonging to Gujjar and Bakarwal families.
The Association stressed that the issue is not merely related to forest administration or land ownership, but is intrinsically connected to constitutional justice, dignity, livelihood, cultural identity, democratic inclusion, social harmony, and long-term peace-building in Jammu and Kashmir.
Khuehami emphasised that historically, Gujjar and Bakarwal communities have played a significant role in maintaining social stability in remote and inaccessible regions. He stated that continued demolitions, abrupt eviction drives, denial of grazing access, and branding traditional forest dwellers as "encroachers" risk creating resentment, alienation, humiliation, and mistrust among already marginalised tribal populations. Such actions, the Association stated, weaken the trust painstakingly built over decades between tribal communities and state institutions.
During the interaction, the Association also raised serious concerns regarding the ongoing Census 2027 self-enumeration exercise and the possibility of exclusion of nomadic tribal populations, particularly Gujjars and Bakarwals, who are presently migrating with their livestock towards upper reaches and highland pastures across Jammu and Kashmir.
Khuehami informed Raut that the ongoing self-enumeration process, which relies heavily on digital access and internet connectivity, may leave out a substantial section of migratory tribal populations residing in inaccessible terrains without mobile phones, internet facilities, electricity access, or awareness regarding online census procedures.
The Association recalled that during the 2011 Census, a large number of tribal families reportedly remained excluded because they were residing in high-altitude meadows and seasonal pastures during the survey period, resulting in underrepresentation of the actual tribal population.
JKSA warned that repetition of such exclusion during Census 2027 could seriously impact welfare schemes, reservation policies, political representation, resource allocation, and development planning linked to census data.
Responding to the concerns raised by the Association, Sanjay Raut assured the delegation that he would take up the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and also urge the Government and Census authorities to either extend the self-enumeration deadline or, preferably, conduct enumeration of migratory tribal populations during the winter months between December and March, when nomadic families return to the plains and can be properly counted.
Apart from tribal concerns, the Association also apprised Raut about prolonged delays in recruitment examinations, shrinking employment opportunities, lack of transparent and timely selection processes.
He also raised concerns regarding the present reservation policy and rationalisation framework in Jammu and Kashmir, stating that the current structure has significantly altered the landscape of opportunities in higher education and public employment, particularly affecting open merit aspirants from the Kashmir division.
The Association thanked Sanjay Raut for patiently hearing the concerns raised by the Association and expressed hope that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs would take serious cognisance of these important issues and support necessary policy interventions in the larger interest of constitutional justice, dignity, inclusion, peace, and social harmony in Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)