Gujjars In Uri Sector Welcome The Revocation Of Article 370

Gujjars in Uri welcome the abrogation of Article 370, and hope for development

- Pradip R. Sagar

Unlike the rest of Jammu and Kashmir, there is no unrest or uncertainty in the border villages of Uri sector. There is clear cheer here for the Union government’s decision to abrogate Article 370.

That is because more than a dozen villages along the Line of Control, including Gohallan, Sangria, Jawla, Nawla, Salamabad and Urusa, house the Gujjar community, and its members say they were never treated on par with the Kashmiris. Gohallan, for instance, has 4,000 Gujjars, most of whom work as porters and labourers for the Indian Army, helping them build bunkers and infrastructure facilities. A few are small farmers, growing corn and rice, and some others earn their living by selling sheep or goat milk.

“We never received any benefits from Article 370,” says Ghulam Hussain, 70, a farmer. “The special status actually dented the development of the state. In the absence of any industries and factories, there were no jobs for us. We were duped in the past by the political class for their own benefits.”