Locals are forced to make several rounds of visits to the tehsil office before they are given Pahari Speaking People certificate.
It has been three months since 41-year-old Javaid Ahmad Malik, a resident of Garkote village of Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district is making the rounds of the tehsil office so as to submit his Pahari Speaking People (PSP) certificate forms. There is, however, no one to listen to his woes.
“My documents have been marked by naib tehsildar, but the patwari of the area is not ready to give in writing that my children belong to the Pahari community which is very necessary. This despite the fact that Chowkidar and Numberdar have written and admitted that I belong to the Pahari clan,” he told FirstPost.
“I am confused that when the kids of my close relatives have been issued the certificates, then why my children are being denied. The tehsil office is issuing the certificates to those either who belong to upper castes or influential quarters,” he said.
Javaid said that castes like Malik, Ganaie, Khawaja Ganaie, Raina, Bhat, Parray, Chalkoo and Budoo are being denied this certificate deliberately.
Abdul Qayoom Bhat, another local of Uri, said that it has been seven months since he applied for the PSP certificate of his kids. “But to date they haven’t responded to it and the file is gathering dust in the office,” he said.
“We have been living in Uri for years and our forefathers belonged to this place. We have been speaking Pahari language since childhood, still we are deprived of this right,” he said, adding: “I would have also applied for my own PSP certificate, but I fear that it too will be kept on the shelves of the tehsil office.”
Bashir Ahmad Bhat, a local of Garkote village, said, “Patwari is not writing his statement, which is mandatory to process our files. Instead, he is threatening us with dire consequences.”
A local of Gingal area in Uri, wishing not to be named, said that his brother has been issued the PSP certificate but he is being denied. “The naib tehsildar said that I belong to the Kashmiri community. How come my brother is Pahari, while I am Kashmiri,” he asked.
Erfan Raina, a local of Uri town, said he too had applied for the category certificate in 2020. “But I was denied by the local authorities verbally without accepting my documents. They think they are not accountable to anyone,” he said.
“The tehsil office has divided the Paharis on the basis of caste, political affiliations which is totally wrong. Originally, it should be given on the basis of culture,” Raina added.
What is a PSP certificate?
In April 2020, Principal Secretary to the J&K Government, Social Welfare Department, issued the guidelines for the issuance of PSP certificate.
PSP certificate is a reservation for direct recruitment, admission and distribution of seats in professional institutions for the Pahari people. This certificate will give the Paharis their identity.
The norms of PSP read, “A person claiming the benefit under the Pahari Speaking People category must be a member of the Pahari clan, community or tribe having a distinct cultural, ethnic and linguistic identity. He/She must be speaking the Pahari language and his/her mother tongue must be Pahari. He/She must produce an Aadhar card/Voter Identity card/Domicile Certificate. Further, Tehsildar, shall be the authority to certify the claim of persons belonging to said category.”
As per the officials at tehsil office Uri, more than 1,500 PSP certificates have been issued till date in over 30 villages.
Prior to 2019, the members of J&K Pahari Board have been identifying the Pahari people. They would also identify the students for the scholarship purpose. The members of the Pahari Board were nominated by the J&K government. In schools, there was a process of giving the PSP scholarships to all the students, excluding the Gujjars and Bakarwals, without seeking any identity proof.
“Earlier, the state has given us the identity of being Pahari and now the local tehsil office has snatched it and which has caused deep identity crises,” said Zeeshan Budoo, a local of Lagama village of Uri.
In 2017, a survey was conducted by Social Welfare Department, J&K, through Pahari Advisory Board under village, panchayat, tehsil and block-wise wherein they bifurcated Uri into Gujjars and Pahari speaking people and there was no mention of Kashmiris.
Last year, over sixty lakh rupees of scholarship amount was elapsed because of a sloppy approach by the Education and Revenue department in identifying the Paharis.
In April 2020, the government of Jammu and Kashmir granted four percent of reservations to Pahari-speaking people. Back in 2014, then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced that five percent reservation would be given to Pahari-speaking people of the state which was later reduced to four percent.
Framing their own rules
Locals in Uri alleged that the tehsil officials have set their own norms and are bypassing the official guidelines while issuing the PSP. “We are forced to bring the family photo, though this is not mentioned in the rules. They have set up a four-member committee headed by naib tehsildar Uri Mohd Zakir Mir. The other three members are the office clerks and the applicant has to speak Pahari before them which is purely the violation of norms,” said Abrar Bhat, a local of Uri.
“The local officials have been instructed to issue the certificates when Numberdar and Chowkidar admit that the applicant is from the Pahari clan. Despite them giving it in writing, we are still being denied the certificates by tehsildar and naib tehsildar deliberately,” he said.
Hub of mismanagement
Several locals alleged Uri being a far off area and with no regular checks from the government, this office has turned into a hub of mismanagement. “The visitors are being threatened by the officials also. I visited the office of Uri’s naib tehsildar Mohammad Zakir Mir to enquire about my PSP certificate but instead of listening to my query he threatened me of dire consequences,” said Ulfat Javaid, a student from Uri.
“Patwari, a fourth class employee, doesn’t perform his duties well. Most of the time they remain away from the offices,” she said adding, “How come Sikhs are given reservation certificates as they speak Punjabi and only Paharis find themselves in the line of fire.”
What experts say?
Mohammed Afzal Khan, a former member of the J&K Pahari Board, said that all Uri residents are Paharis. “There is no doubt in it. But unfortunately, the local tehsil office has made its own norms like one should speak in Pahari first and then one will be issued the certificate which is not right as per the norms,” he said.
“Before 2019 when the government was in power, we had been issuing the Pahari scholarships to all the Uri students but later this body dissolved and tehsildar was appointed the supreme authority,” he said.
He said unfortunately there is no authority to check the functioning of the tehsil office. “Rules say if they take any PSP file, they have to dispose of it within 15 days; but take months,” he said adding, “Youngsters spend huge amounts of money at tehsil office while purchasing these forms but at the end they face rejections.”
Mohammad Sayeed Khan, former Commissioner/Secretary to government, General Administration Department (GAD), said that it is very tough to distinguish between Kashmiris and Paharis because both have a common culture and way of living. “This is basically a design of some nefarious elements who want to gain power again and are using the PSP certificate issue as a tool,” he said.
“As per my experience and having closely monitored the Pahari Board during my time of service, areas like Uri, Karnah, Poonch and Rajouri were considered as Paharis,” he said.
“People of Uri need to unite first like Poonch and Rajouri as they got the things done that other than Gujjars and Bakarwals, all should be issued the Pahari certificates there,” he added.
“There is a major population of Paharis in Uri, other than Gujjars. We would welcome it if everyone is given a PSP certificate,” said Raja Nazar Boniyar, a prominent writer from Uri.
What do officials say?
Bureeda Majid, Secretary, J&K Advisory Board for Development of PSP, admitted that there are complaints over non-issuance of category certificates to the people. “We have already taken up this issue with the Commissioner/Secretary Social Welfare Department J&K who had instructed the concerned Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to get these issues resolved as people were suffering,” she said.
However, a senior official of the J&K Social Welfare Department, wishing not to be named, said all these issues would be looked into by the department.
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