Ishfaq-ul-Hassan | India Tomorrow
SRINAGAR—Fear of demographic changes post abrogation of Article 370 is slowly creeping into the psyche of Kashmiris after the government embarked on a dangerous mission to evict nomadic Gujjars and Bakarwals from their dwellings in forest areas.
“Our fear of demographic changes have never been exaggerated or misplaced. All the disruptive policies and actions are in full swing — be it domicile law, eviction of Gujjars, cancellation of lease of local hoteliers, or outsourcing of natural resources like sand and stone. All these substantiate their motives to disempower locals and gradually ensure that outsiders outnumber the locals,” the former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president told a national newspaper.
Mehbooba was stopped from going to Budgam to meet the nomads whose hutments were demolished by the government. “Illegal detention has become Government of India’s favourite go-to method for muzzling any form of opposition. I have been detained once again because I wanted to visit Budgam where hundreds of families were evicted from their homes,” she said.
The demolition drive has been started at a time when Jammu and Kashmir government has filed a review petition in the high court seeking “modification” in October 9 order wherein it had quashed Roshini Act and ordered a CBI probe.
In October, a division bench of Jammu and Kashmir high court comprising Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajesh Binda had ordered a CBI probe after pointing out numerous discrepancies in the Act.
“We would like to bring to the kind notice of the honourable court the fact that a large number of common people would suffer unintentionally. This includes landless cultivators and individuals who are themselves residing in dwellings in small areas. They are unfortunately clubbed along with rich and wealthy land grabbers who have obtained a title over state land through provisions of now struck down act”, a special secretary to the government, the revenue department said in a six-page review petition.
A vicious campaign has been unleashed to malign the Muslim community after certain groups raised the bogey of `Land Jihad’ following the high court judgment to strike down the Roshni Act.
“Communal motive and fake and malicious propaganda of projecting the scheme as a scam has failed. Eventually, the fact that Jammu benefited more than the Valley (due to the Act) has become public. In Jammu 3,50,000 kanals (1 Kanal is 0.125 acres) were transferred under the Roshni Act against 33,000 kanals in the Valley,” said Mehbooba
Raja Muzaffar Bhat, chairman of Jammu & Kashmir RTI Movement said they have met several traditional Forest Dwellers particularly Chopans (Kashmiri Shepherds) who have been living in the area for more than 150 years.
“These people were allocated some Forest land way back in the late 1940s by the government under the Grow More Food Programme. Now after 72 years J&K government is asking them to surrender the same and Eviction Notices are being issued to them by the Forest Department. On the other hand, the government claims to be implementing the Forest Rights Act which gives them legal protection for claiming Rights on Forest land already allotted many decades back. If the government is planning to implement FRA 2006, then why to harass such poor people?” asked Bhat.
