Gurjar- Bakarwal Tribes

Why in news?

• Human rights groups are protesting attempts by Forest department of Jammu and Kashmir to evict the Gujjar-Bakarwal community from their dwellings, which are being destroyed.

About the tribes:

• The Gurjar- Bakarwal are a mostly- Muslim nomadic tribes based in the Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountains of South Asia.
• Although two different groups, due to their similar cultures, subsistence patterns and practice of intermarriage, they are often referred together.
• Gujjar and Bakarwal are the third largest ethnic group in Jammu and Kashmir and constitute more than 11.9% of the total population of the state,
• The Gurjar-Bakarwals claim a common ancestry from the Gujjar tribe, who are found across the subcontinent.
• They are traditionally, and still mainly, goatherds and shepherds.
• They reside in the entire Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, and in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan.
• As sheep and goat rearing community, the Bakarwal alternate with the seasons between high and low altitudes in the hills of the Himalayas in search of pasture lands.
• Thus they are among few communities still practicing Transhumance in India and their annual migration starts when the summers hit the northern hemisphere in the months of April and May and these people start their migration from the hotter areas of Jammu region to colder, mountainous region of Kashmir.

Prelims Question

Consider the following statements: 
1.Bugyals are alpine pasture lands found in the Himalayan region.
2.Maldharis are a pastoral community from Uttarakhand.
Which among the above statements is/are correct?
(a)1 only 
(b)2 only 
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question