Srinagar 05 Oct 2022(KNB):Article 370 was never an impediment in the development of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and neither an impediment in the grant of Scheduled Tribe status to Pahari’s or other similarly situated communities as is being repeatedly stated by BJP leaders and now by the Home Minister of India at a public meeting in Rajouri yesterday. This was stated by ANC Sr Vice Muzzafar Shah in a statement from Delhi issued to KNB.
Questioning the Home Minister, The ANC Sr Vice President asked that if Article 370 was an impediment in the grant of ST status to any community, may Shri Amit Shah inform the country & J&K in particular as to how in the past before 2019 a good number of Communities of Ladakh and Gurez were granted ST status. The people of Ladakh were given ST status by my late father GM Shah’s Govt in 1985 & besides that the Gujjar and Bakerwals of Jammu and Kashmir too were granted ST status with Article 370 being a part of the Constitution, he said.The statement of the Home Minister that granting ST status to Paharis became possible only because of the abrogation of Art 370 is far from the reality with the Hon’ble Home Minister ignorant of past history. The Home Minister did not speak the truth and mislead the people in J&K & the rest of the country, Muzzafar Shah said. I would also like to mention that twice in the past before 2019 , NC Chief Ministers & Dr Farooq Abdullah in particular recommended to the Government of India on many occasions for grant of ST status to the Pahari’s of Jammu and Kashmir. The recommendations were every-time not accepted by the Concerned Authority namely the Registrar General of India, on the ground that the ST status cannot be granted on the basis of the language of any community and therefore Pahari’s don’t qualify to be considered for ST status. No objection at that time was raised by the Government of India that the recommendation made by the State Government cannot be considered due to Art 370. Is the Home Minister Amit Shah ji aware of this & if not, then the BJP is clearly using this for vote bank politics, the same way as they did with our Kashmiri Pandith brethren. For the information of the Hon’ble Home Minister, let it be made clear to him that Article 370 champions the cause of the downtrodden & provides for a status for each & every community. The historic land to the Tiller is proof enough of the importance & relevance of Article 370 embedded as one of the pillars of the Constitution. It cannot be wished away at any cost, the ANC Sr VP said.(KNB)