Chopan Community demand ST Status

Afsana Rashid
Chopan community demands the status of Schedule Tribe (ST), which they believe would raise their socio-economic standards.
The community, according to Mohammad Ramzan Chopan, vice president Chopan Welfare Association has a population of 3.5 to 4 lakh spread across the state. “Mostly, the population is spread over the Kashmir valley, and districts like Doda, Rajouri and Poonch,” says Chopan adding, “About 20,000 to 25,000 of the Chopan population reside in district Srinagar (erstwhile) only.”
Chopan community, he says wants to be offered the same status as that of Gujjar and Bakerwal community so that “the community enjoys the same rights and benefits”.  
“State government has considered our demand in 2002 and the same is now pending with the Central government for consideration. The ST status will help us to get benefit in employment and other sectors as do the Gujjar and Bakerwal community. We want similar rights,” adds Chopan.
Referring to the announcement made by the government in 2007 that nine and a half crore of rupees would be spent on various “welfare and development” schemes for the community; Chopan says that “nothing came to fore”.
He says, “We were assured better roads, better healthcare facilities, soft loans and tents but everything turned mere hollow promises. Step-motherly treatment has been  meted out with us.Our sufferings continue  unabated . Neither anyone from our community has reached to a senior-level official rank nor we  have been able to produce any minister or bureaucrat.  This all has adversely affected the overall development of the community.”  
Chopans (shepherds) mostly live in the higher reaches of the valley. “Most of our community has their graveyards on the hill-tops.”
He adds that the community has been denied various facilities right from 1947. “Many governments came but none helped us to ease our sufferings,” . Citing an example he says, prior to 1980 it was decided that 70 per cent of the employees in the sheep department would be adjusted from the Chopan community “as they are well-versed with the trade but that did not happen.” He adds that another order was passed in 2001 stating that “30 percent of people from the Chopan community should be adjusted in the department but nothing is implemented in letter and spirit.”
Demanding reservation in the already existing hostels, Chopan says “We do not want separate hostels for our children. Let 5-10 seats be reserved for them in every existing hostel so that our children too avail opportunities and may not suffer unnecessarily.”