Article 370 of the Indian constitution that has abrogated in August 5, 2019, has ended the seven-decade-long discrimination faced by the tribal communities including Gujjar-Bakerwal and Gaddi-Sippi in Jammu and Kashmir and paved way for them to get equal rights in the country.
The members of the Gujjar-Bakerwal and Gaddi-Sippi communities, who were exploited to the hilt by the former rulers, stand completely empowered just three years after the revocation of the so-called special status of J&K.
Notably, many steps have been taken by the government to protect the interests of tribal people, including their land, education and upliftment of their socio-economic status during the past three years.
After the scrapping of Article 370 and J&K’s transition into a Union Territory, the government has worked hard to achieve a balanced development of infrastructure as well as human resources through a host of unprecedented policy decisions, schemes and programmes to implement the principle of equality.
Implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) has ushered a new-era of empowerment and prosperity for the tribal population in ‘Naya Jammu and Kashmir.’
Apart from the Forest Rights Act, the administration has devised various schemes to protect the interests of tribal people, including their land, and attention is being paid to maintaining and preserving the forests.
Along with rights, the members of the tribal communities have been made aware of their responsibilities to protect the wildlife and the forests like their family members and maintain biodiversity.
‘Mission Youth’ and the Tribal Department are working together to establish sixteen milk villages to connect at least 2,000 youngsters to the dairy sector at the cost of Rs 16 crore, besides providing training, branding, marketing and transport facilities, as per media reports.