POONCH: Officials said on Wednesday that Police have registered an FIR against several unidentified persons for allegedly raising “anti-national” slogans during a rally in Poonch district.The slogans were incidentally used at a demonstration by Gujjars and Bakerwals against a bill that was filed in the parliament last week to grant the Pahari community Scheduled Tribe status. The rally was held on Tuesday in the border district. According to a police officer, “an FIR was registered at police station Poonch for raising anti-national slogans during the rally under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code.Following the presentation of the bill that called for changing the constitution to include the Pahari ethnic group, Gadda Brahmin, Koli, and Paddari to the list of Scheduled Tribes (Jammu and Kashmir Scheduled Tribes order, 1989), protests by Gujjars and Bakerwals picked up steam. On social media, a protest rally video with participants allegedly raising “pro-freedom” signs was shared. Following the incident on Tuesday, Senior Superintendent of Police for Poonch, Vinay Sharma, stated, “We are investigating the footage through forensic experts to determine whether it is real or fake, and legal action shall follow accordingly… Tricolours have been flown high throughout the protest rally so far.Six prominent Gujjar leaders had previously asked the central to hold “participative decisions on sensitive issues” that might sour relations between the various communities in the Union Territory. Former ministers Mian Altaf Ahmad Larvi (National Conference), Chowdhary Zulfikar Ali, Aijaz Ahmad Khan, former legislator Choudhary Qamar Hussain (Apni party), former deputy chairman J&K Legislative Assembly Choudhary Javed Ahmad Rana (NC), and former MLA Choudhary Mohammad Akram Lassanvi who left the Congress last year released a joint statement on Monday. “The widespread Gujjar-Bakerwal protests and community unrest in the Union Territory of J&K are grave developments,” said the speaker. We are highly disturbed and completely perplexed by the current situation, and the Gujjar-Bakerwal tribe’s protests against the UT administration and the Union government are an aberration, they had stated. The BJP’s J&K branch referred to the claim as “ridiculous, untimely, and misleading” and questioned the demonstrators’ points of contention after the government made it plain that it would not altering the 10% quota for scheduled tribes in any way. The administration is taking tangible initiatives for the improvement and welfare of all worthy backward areas and classes, according to a statement by Gujjar officials connected with the BJP.The BJP released a statement that said, “The people fully understand the fact that the narrative of the incomprehensible thing you are making is only of a political nature and not of public interest. The panchayat, local body, and parliamentary elections are approaching.”
