The Commission — which has been assigned the duty to redraw boundaries of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in J&Okay — has proposed reservation of seven seats for SCs in Jammu, of which at the very least 5 have a substantial Jat inhabitants in border areas of Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts.
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From Kathua to Nowshera within the Jammu division, practically 5 lakh Jats reside alongside the International Border and the Line of Control with Pakistan. Apart from a couple of settlements in Jammu that existed throughout the reign of the erstwhile Dogra rulers, most Jats have migrated to the area from Pakistan occupied Kashmir throughout Partition. A majority of the inhabitants is Hindu, speaks Punjabi, and is culturally nearer to the Jat Sikhs of Punjab.
While many members of the neighborhood are into agriculture, a substantial variety of younger Jats have additionally joined the Army and different safety forces. The neighborhood has Muslim members as effectively, many whom have settled within the Mendhar space of Poonch and Baramulla in Kashmir.
Nearly 100 Jat households additionally reside in Chenani space of Udhampur district, whose ancestors are believed to have come to the area from Rajasthan to accompany the bride of then Raja of Ramnagar. The households residing in Nowshera migrated from PoK’s Bhimber Gali in 1947.
Following the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, many Jat households have been additionally settled alongside the International Border, from Akhnoor to Kathua, by the then governments.
As per the draft report of the Delimitation Commission, all areas the place the Jats have a major inhabitants alongside the International Border have been reserved for Scheduled castes. One constituency (Mendhar) alongside the LoC, which has a sizeable inhabitants of Jat Muslims, has been reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
During the 2014 polls within the erstwhile state, two Jat leaders – Sukhnandan Choudhary and Sham Choudhary had acquired elected to the Assembly from Marh and Suchetgarh constituencies respectively. However, as per the Commission’s draft proposal, each these seats have been reserved for Scheduled Castes.
The neighborhood’s anger was evident Monday when the Commission — headed by retired Supreme Court decide Ranjana Prakash Desai — interacted with stakeholders from Jammu area for suggestions on its draft proposal. A delegation of Jats led by Manmohan Choudhary of the All India Jat Maha Sabha (AIJMS) questioned the Commission in regards to the “parameters adopted by it” to redraw the boundaries. Citing the instance of Ramgarh, Choudhary identified to the Commission that the Jat majority space had been clubbed with the “far-off SC- dominated Katli and Deoni panchayats of Samba” and reserved for Scheduled Castes.
Another Jat chief, who didn’t want to be recognized, mentioned that the “Jats in J&K were being made to pay for the protests against the farm laws through the delimitation exercise”. “The Commission’s report has divided not only tehsils, but blocks in the region as well,” he added.
Meanwhile, at the same time as Jats throughout Jammu division proceed to stay upset with the BJP-led authorities on the Center over the delimitation train, on Tuesday Jat chief and PDP common secretary Surinder Choudhary joined the saffron occasion.
Apart from being a outstanding face from the neighborhood within the Nowshera Assembly constituency, Choudhary can also be a refugee from PoK and has a substantial affect over the group. During the District Development Council (DDC) elections in 2020, his assist helped the PDP win in Nowshera, the native place of J&Okay BJP president Ravinder Raina.
“I have not betrayed the PDP, the PDP has betrayed me… We will work to ensure that the BJP forms the next government in J&K,” Choudhary mentioned in a quick tackle on the BJP headquarters after becoming a member of the occasion.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
