Governance, Science and Technology
Context: Jammu and Kashmir’s nomadic community, known as Gujjars and Bakarwals, have been offered smart cards and free transport to aid their biannual migration.
- The nomadic pastoralists of Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Gujjar-Bakarwal community are a transhumance community of the Himalayas.
- Gujjar and Bakarwals are the third largest ethnic group in J&K constitute more than 9% of the total population of the union territory.
- Around 99.3 per cent population of Gujjar and Bakarwals in J&K follow Islam.
- They were given the status of Scheduled Tribe in 1991.
Details about the communities:
Gujjars:
- The Gujjars are traditionally called as Goajar, Gujar and Gurjara.
- They have their own dialect GOJRI which is a branch of Indo-Aryan dialect and have their own particular customs, workmanship and specialty.
Bakarwals:
- The term Bakarwals derived from the combination of two terms “Bakri” means goat/ sheep and “wal” meaning “one who take care” of essentially the name “Bakarwal” implies high altitude goats and sheep herders.
- Bakarwals are primarily pastoral nomads rearing goats and sheep in high altitude of Great Himalayan during summers and spent their winters in plains and foothills of Shivaliks.
Biannual Migration:
- They undertake a biannual migration with their flock between the pastures of Kashmir and Ladakh during summers, and the plains of Jammu in winters.
- Historically, they have been known for their immense knowledge of the ecosystems that they traverse.
- Across their migratory routes, their daily activities benefit the environment as they –
- Conserve local soil and water,
- Seasonally maintain the grasslands,
- Regulate the frequency of forest fires by limiting excessive growth, and
- Keep invasive plant species in check by weeding them out.
Challenges faced by the community:
- Gujjar-Bakarwal Tribe of J&K is one of the most backward of all tribes of J&K.
- Most habitation areas of Gujjar Bakarwals tribe in Jammu and Kashmir are lacking in facilities like –
- Road communication, electricity, water supply schemes, medical facilities and educational facilities which put Gujjar Bakarwal tribe in lots of hardships and troubles.
Government Initiatives for the community:
- For the upliftment of Gujjar and Bakarwals community, the government came out with many employment schemes in union territory of Jammu and Ladakh which are as follows –
- Jawahar Rojgar Yojana
- Indira Awas Yojana
- Self-Employment for Educated Unemployed Youth
- Programs of Execution of Lift Irrigation
Apart from these the following are the other initiatives:
- J&K’s Tribal Affairs Department had surveyed 98,000 Gujar-Bakarwal families to map their routes and transit locations.
- Using remote sensing technology and geographic information system, officials delineated pastures and the grazing land in each district.
- This step was followed by mapping of routes and the migration pattern to understand when Bakerwals and their livestock use the highways.
- The Tribal Affairs department also collaborated with the Forest Department and the Census Operations Department to provide smart cards to tribal families.
- Use of Smart Cards :
- The smart cards will replace the current requirement multiple permissions and offer a unified central database to all the organisations and agencies for smooth and hassle-free movement of families during the biannual vertical migration.
- Embedded with a chip, the smart card contains demographic details, transit routes, originating place, destination and other vital statistics.
- A pilot project will cover 10,000 families over the next three months.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Q.1) Siachen Glacier is situated to the (2020)
- East of Aksai Chin
- East of Leh
- North of Gilgit
- North of Nubra Valley
