By News Agency of Kashmir
Jammu : Extreme poverty, child Labour, early marriage and nomadic way of life is causing dark shadow over the future of lakhs of nomadic Gujjar children residing in the most backward, hilly and border areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
The findings were observed in a survey conducted by Tribal Research and Cultural foundation– a national organization working on Indian Tribes with special focus on Gujjars.
Dr Javaid Rahi, national secretary of the Foundation while revealing the gist of the survey said that out of 100 nomad houses of Gujjar and Bakerwal tribe that were surveyed in Poonch, Rajouri, Baramulla and Kupwara districts, a total of 74 percent Gujjar children between the age of 7 to 15 were found engaged in physical Labour.
“They are being exploited because of low family income and are not in a position to get proper education and health facilities in early age,” the survey said.
According to the survey the worst condition was of the children belonging to Ajjhari Gujjar (shepherd keepers) and Manjhii Gujjar (buffalo keepers) as 83 percent of them have not seen the school and only 17 percent children were getting education in religious institutes.
The survey said that 93 percent Gujjar children were found to be domestic servants in their own community thus have been deprived of their basic and constitutional rights.
At least 17 percent Gujjar children whose forefathers were bonded labourers called Ajhrais among Bakerwal Gujjars inherited the same.
It was unfortunate part of the survey that no governmental and NGO brought this facts into the light till date.
The National Literacy Mission had been launched by the government in 1988 to ensure all-round development of poorest of the poor children of India but the fate of children belonging to Gujjar tribe is still dark due to illiteracy.
According to the survey, even today when some sections have attained 100 percent literacy this ratio is very low in nomad Gujjar and Bakerwal tribes and among women the ratio is almost zero.
The survey further reveals that the central sponsored “Balika Simridhi Yojna” do not apply on tribal Gujjar female child.
The survey said the children belonging to nomadic section of Gujjar Tribe are put to physical Labour at an early age and about 37 percent children work without any wages.
“They are being provided only sub-standard food and clothing,” stated the survey.
Survey said that various central and state programmes including those of UNICEF will not achieve any success till they consider socio-economic condition of the Gujjar tribe.
Dr Rahi has said that 13 Gujjar hostels in the State and about 400 mobile schools are still insufficient to provide basic education to tribe.
He appealed the state and the central governments to provide legal safe-guards to Gujjar children and initiate some special schemes for their education and social transformation, which is their basic and constitutional right.