‘There are no jobs for people like us’

“It is difficult for our generation to take up bhed bakri charana [pastoralism],” says Talib Kasana, a young Bakarwal from Pehli, a remote settlement upstream of Bhorthain village. He is pursuing a master’s in political science through distance education.

A pastoral community, Bakarwals move in large groups across the Himalayas in search of grazing grounds for their livestock. Talib adds, “once we get used to studying instead of living in villages and grazing sheep, we also get used to other things…we want a closed bathroom or to be able to study in one place.” 

Talib lives in a small Bakarwal settlement in Kathua district of Jammu. It’s a semi-permanent establishment, and none of the residents have rights to the land.

In the last decade, many young people from this semi-nomadic community have been moving away from their traditional pastoral lives and opting for higher education. They are seeking careers in medicine or engineering if they have the funds, or politics and civil service jobs.

When there are two sons in a Bakarwal household, it is assumed that one will take care of the sheep while the other will try for a job outside. Talib Kasana plans to continue his education, but his younger brother is not interested in rearing sheep and would like to try his luck outside as well. But his brother cautions that, “There are no jobs for people like us.”

Talib’s sentiments are echoed by an older Munabbar Ali, who also belongs to the Bakarwal community and lives in Baira Kupai village in Kathua district. He says, “my daughter has passed Class 12. She is now sitting at home.”

A carpenter by profession, Munabbar Ali is worried about his daughter’s future. “Even when our children get graduate degrees, it does not make any difference. They don’t get higher positions.”

Despite that, Bakarwal families are willing to spend money on education. Mohammad Haneef Jatla was born in Sandhi village in Jammu district in a Bakarwal family. One of six children, he spent his first few years surrounded by sheep, goats and horses. When his mother died suddenly, the family used his grandfather’s savings to put him into school. 

When Haneef was in college, “my father sold all the livestock in exchange for two kanal [0.25 acre] of land.” He says his father bought the land so that his family could have a settled life, and his children could study and find jobs. Haneef works as a reporter with a local news agency.

Bakarwals are listed as a Scheduled Tribe in the state and a 2013 report puts their population at 1,13,198. Most Bakarwals do not own land, and as commons are shrinking, their rights over grazing lands and even permanent homesteads have become contentious.

Parvaiz Choudhary, from a group of settlements near Bajalta town in Jammu district, points out that despite living for decades in the same place, his community members have no papers or rights to their land. Many parts of grazing and agricultural land are now being fenced and diverted under CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) leading to large scale evictions

“Most of the Bakarwals live on state land or forest land. If this is taken from us, where do we go?” ask Mohammad Yusuf and Firdos Ahmad, both in their 30s and living in Bakarwal colony near Vijaypur.

There are also no civic amenities in their settlement here or in Baira Kupai where Talib lives. Nor can the families convert their temporary houses into sturdier ones because of frequent threats of eviction from the forest department, they point out. Further, the lack of roads in and around their settlements worries them. “If someone gets sick, it is difficult to take them to a hospital.”

As PARI is speaking to them, we can see women climbing up and down the mountain carrying heavy pots of water on their heads. By the time we leave a couple of hours later, each one of them has made several trips carrying water uphill.

Nahila is a young student activist in Jammu, fighting for legal, land and cultural rights of the Bakarwal community. She believes that Bakarwal youth can change their lives. “We will continue our struggle for access to education, land rights, and better facilities and support from the government [for better facilities],” she says.

Among other demands, Bakarwal youth want proper surveys on the needs of the nomads and better shelters. They also want tribal representation in government bodies and commissions.

The state government is showing interest in giving ST status to the Pahadi community – a move that Bakarwals feel will increase competition within their quota as STs. 

In the toss-up between carrying on traditional occupations or switching to other jobs, Bakarwal Abdul Rashid of Pehli says, “na yahan ke, na vahan ke [we are neither here nor there].”