NOTES AND COMMENTS
Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K):
Insights into the Educational Facilitiesin Schools in J&K
Sajad Ahmad Dar
Abstract
This paper attempts to identify challenges faced by Gujjars,
a tribal community of Jammu & Kashmir in accessing
educational facilities. Gujjars are known for their pastoral
habits and have often remained on the margins of the society
in the state. This paper intends to present an outlook of theeducational and infrastructural scenario in the government
schools attended by the children of the Gujjar Community.
Gujjars unlike nomadic Bakarwals of Kashmir valley live
in settled communities. However, despite their permanentdwellings at certain areas in the state of Jammu & Kashmir,
Gujjars are struggling to progress in the educational domain.
Introduction
Gujjars in Jammu & Kashmir live a sedentary life style. They are based
mostly in the hilly areas and rear buffalo, cow, horse, sheep or goat. Somehave taken to farming as their occupation. Gujjars unlike the Bakarwals(who constitute a nomadic group migrating from one province to anotherwith their cattle) migrate from their dwelling habitats to green pastures insummers for rearing their cattle and with the start of winter, get back totheir dwelling places.
Insofar as their origin is concerned, it remains largely unanswered(Singh, 2003). There are many opinions about their origin but there isno consensus on any. There is no single theory that most of the theorists
support. Some mention their origin as outsiders; and some believe them
to be of Indian origin. In most of the writings, it is mentioned that theycame to India in the wake of invading Huns in the 5th Century. Huns
Ph.D Research Scholar at National University of Educational Planning and Administration,
New Delhi E-mail: sajja06@gmail.com
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were believed to be a nomadic group who largely migrated to Europe,
but some among them migrated to Central Asia [including the Gujjars inIndia] (Singh, 2003).
Rahi (2007) mentions that Prof. Abdul Gani Shashi after doing adetailed review of the Arabic and Persian history found that Gujjars sharecommon culture with the Baduo tribe of Arab. He further mentions that
Gujjar tribe along with the Baduo tribe is associated with the Khizir tribe.
The word Khizir changed into Garz, then to Garzar and finally to Gujjar.
Warikoo (2000) mentions that the most prevalent theory about theorigin of Gujjars is that they were inhabitants of Gurjistan a territorythat lies between the Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Caucasian mountain
range. Because of factors mainly demographic, social, economic andpolitical, a section of these inhabitants migrated towards east throughIran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. They crossed over to Sulaiman Passand entered into the Plains of the Indus Valley. From there, they migrated
southward and finally occupied the areas of Gujarat and Kathiawar.
Dress, Language and Economic Status of Gujjars of J&K
Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir have a distinct dressing style for both
men and women. Gujjars mostly wear traditional costumes and jewellery(Din, 2015). The men wear turban with unique style of wrapping which
has became an exclusive mark. The young women wear plain suits or suitswith bright floral prints. The aged women wear plain suits. They also wear
‘Topi’. Gujjar women are fond of wearing jewellery.
In Kashmir Administrative Division, Gujjars speak Gojri or Pahari.
Gojri is also known as Gujari and the language belongs to the Rajasthangroup of Languages (Gupta & Beg, 2012). With their presence in otherparts of the country and interaction with other communities, the people ofthis community have also developed fluency in other languages such as
Urdu, Hindi, Pastho, Kangri, Dogri and Pahari.
Gujjars of Jammu & Kashmir were socially and economically deprived
people who were not integrated in the mainstream regional culture andsocial status (Shahbaz, 2015). Gujjars in Jammu & Kashmir live in abject
poverty. The disadvantaged group lacks most of the basic facilities like
proper sanitation, balanced food, health facilities, etc. The problem arises
because of their abject poverty, where their focus is on earning daily bread.
In this process they do not maintain a hygienic way of living. According
to Rafiq (2014), they have low levels of standard of life as they cannot
afford to have basic facilities of life to maintain minimum standards ofGujjars of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K): Insights into the Educational Facilities in Schools in J&K

59

modern existence. She further writes, because of low income, they cannot
afford to have good food, good education and better health facilities.
A study conducted by Handu (1977) revealed that Gujjars continued
to live under the most unhygienic conditions. Their houses are not yet on
scientific lines due to their mental backwardness. They use their houses fortheir own accommodation as well for the accommodation of their cattle.
It is an indicator of health deterioration and they also suffer from Asthma,
Cold and Bronchitis. A similar study conducted by Lidhoo (1987) reveals
that Gujjars are living in most unhygienic conditions.
Educational Status of Gujjars of J&K
Education plays a vital role in the development of a nation or thedevelopment of community. Education functions as a key to the human/community progress and can aid social change. However, in India there
are certain communities that are deprived of educational access. They
face discrimination at various educational levels too. These deprived andmarginalized communities that form a major portion of population are
Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes. Although several programmes,
schemes and incentives have been directed for their upliftment, still thesecommunities lag behind in education. Among the Scheduled Tribes, onesuch community is Gujjars residing in Jammu & Kashmir.
Out of the twelve Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Jammu & Kashmir, Gujjars
form the most populous tribe with a population of 763,806, forming 69.1
per cent of the total ST population (Census, 2001). The overall literacy
rate of the STs in Jammu & Kashmir is 37.5 per cent as per 2001 Census.
This is much lower than the national average of 47.1 per cent aggregatedfor all Scheduled Tribes. Male and female literacy rates in Jammu &Kashmir (48.2 per cent and 25.5 per cent respectively) are much below ascompared to those recorded by all Scheduled Tribes at the national level(59.2 per cent and 34.8 per cent). Further disaggregation of data showsthat the literacy rate of Gujjar males and females represent 31.3 per centand 20.4 per cent respectively (Census, 2001).
The literacy rate in the State of Jammu & Kashmir has massively
increased in the past three decades. But from the above data, it is seen that
Gujjars continue to be the most educationally backward community of
Jammu & Kashmir.
Literature Review
There is a dearth of literature regarding educational backwardness of
Gujjars in Jammu & Kashmir. There are some studies which though not

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directly focus on the education of Gujjars, draw a link with the conditionsof other Scheduled Tribes in India and the similarity of conditions therein.
Thus the literature survey includes both the studies: one focusing on the
Scheduled Tribes in general and the other studies focusing on the Gujjar
tribe of Jammu & Kashmir.
Sujatha (1987) while focusing in her study on the enrolment pattern,
existing facilities, extent of absenteeism, parental attitude, aspirations
towards educating their children, found that in spite of the efforts of bothCentral and State Governments, progress in tribal education is slow whencompared to others.
Sharma (1977) while discussing the educational scenario of the tribal
areas in the country has rightly commented that the tribal areas stand at
a much lower level in terms of literacy and enrolment of school-goingchildren as compared to the other areas. In a similar way, Gujjars of
Jammu & Kashmir are no exception.
Ganai (1981) conducted a comparative study of educational
development and social awakening on Gujjars and non-Gujjars. The
study reveals that non-Gujjars are better in literacy level than Gujjars.
The study also reveals that in almost all districts of the valley where
Gujjar population exists, the participation of Gujjar boys and girls at theelementary and primary school stage is almost insignificant.
Various reasons are attributed for the educational backwardnessof Gujjars in Jammu & Kashmir. Shah (1970) attributed educational
backwardness to poor economic conditions, seasonal migration and long
distance from schools. He found that it is the poor economic condition
that pushes them to the fringes. A similar view has been put forward by
Abrol (1988) as he mentioned that inadequate incentives was one of thereasons responsible for educational backwardness of Gujjars. The otherreasons are economic backwardness, migratory habits, illiteracy among
parents, less mobile schools and communication gap.
Lidhoo (1987) attributed their educational backwardness to theirignorance and under- valuing education. Further, he mentions that they
are so ignorant that they avail least benefits from government in terms ofconcession and incentives like interest-free loans, subsidized agriculturalequipments and free educational access etc.
Report of Socio-Economic Surveys of Gujjars and Bakarwals of
Jammu & Kashmir (1969) is based on the survey conducted in Jammu
province but its findings have been generalized in the case of Kashmir
Province. In this report, the educational backwardness of Gujjars has beenGujjars of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K): Insights into the Educational Facilities in Schools in J&K

61

attributed to their economic backwardness and their living in inaccessible
areas.
Wani (1992) in his study tried to find out the causes of low literacy/
educability among Gujjars and found that 98 per cent of teachers and 78
per cent of Gujjar parents are of the opinion that poor economic conditionsof Gujjar is the root cause for educational backwardness in particular andoverall backwardness of Gujjar community.
In most of the cases the blame of being educationally backward islaid on parents and their children. In schools, the administration blames
the students and their parents for not sending their children to schools.
However, very less is reported about the weaknesses and imperfections
that are present at administration level. At the same time, not much has
been written about the facilities provided in these schools that lie on papers
only. The administration fails to accept the imperfections on their part.
The study reveals that only a few incentives and facilities are provided
in Government schools. It looks into how these facilities play a vital role
in retention of potential drop-outs and/ or how this helps in increasing
enrolment of children belonging to the disadvantaged groups. Althoughincentives to individuals or schools are not sufficient in themselves, they
do enhance children’s access to quality education. Moreover, it could benecessary and useful in some situations like the first generation learners(Ramachandran et al., 2007). However, if these facilities are provided in
the true spirit to disadvantaged classes or a group who are not able tobear the cost of education, it would be a big help though not sufficient.
Their struggle and focus would not be divided between providing foodand clothing or to educate their children.
Objectives of the Study
The broader aim of this paper is to identify problems that Gujjars comeacross in availing educational facilities particularly uniforms, books,
separate toilets for boys and girls, drinking water, scholarships, etc. inschools.
In government run schools, except for separate toilets and drinking
water facilities which are common to every school, whether these facilities
are provided to children who belong to economically weaker families isstudied and a comparative assessment has been made.
Since lack of educational facilities puts them at risk of leaving schools,
whether the existing conditions are increasing dropouts and further lowering
their already vulnerable socio-economic status is also investigated.

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Data Source and Research Methodology
The research was done in Kashmir Administrative Division becauseof the reason that Kashmir Administrative Division has low literacy
rate as compared to the other two Administrative Divisions i.e. Jammu
and Ladakh. In Kashmir, District Kulgam was selected. The reason for
selecting this District lies in the fact that this district has been recently
carved out from District Anantnag in 2007 and very few studies have been
conducted there. In district Kulgam, block D.H. Pora was selected for the
study because the block consists of the highest Gujjar population in the
district. Four villages that were Gujjar dominated were selected from D.H.
Pora through purposive sampling. This technique of sampling was chosenbecause of the difficult terrain of the research area. Lastly, one school was
selected from each village, to know the educational facilities provided to
Gujjar students. Fifteen families were selected from each village. The total
number of families visited was 60. The selection of families was again
based on purposive sampling. The reason for selecting these families was
to know the responses of parents regarding the facilities provided in theseschools.
Various tools were administered for collection of data through primarysources. This included Questionnaires, Interview Schedule, Observation
and Case Study. Data were collected from in-depth interviews in order to get
the view points and perceptions of heads of the schools, teachers, parents
and community leaders/influential persons. To supplement the researchwith more information, participants’ observation and indirect informal
conversation techniques were also used in the research area. Secondary
data were also collected from school records regarding enrolment, school
facilities, absenteeism, teacher-student ratio, infrastructure, etc. Threetypes of Questionnaires were used, these are:•Questionnaires for Principals•

Questionnaires for Family Heads•

Questionnaire for Local Leaders

Limitations of the Study
Accessing the School
As the research was undertaken during the month of October, a monthwhen the exams are over and the teachers are busy with preparing results
and children were taking a small unofficial break, initially the principals
were not able to give much time because of their busy schedule. AndGujjars of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K): Insights into the Educational Facilities in Schools in J&K

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only a few children were seen to be present in the school in the initialdays. However, after discussing with them the time limitation of the study,
most of them cooperated. Moreover, meeting regularly with teachers,
community leaders and parents played a vital role in building trust among
them.
Accessing the Parents/Family Heads
In many cases, the parents were not ready to talk with the researcher
because they thought that providing information to anyone who comes
into their locality does not result in any kind of benefit in their lives. At
many places, the family heads were not willing to provide any information
because they thought the researcher was from government organization
and will take legal action against them for not sending their children toschools.
Time
Due to the paucity of time the research was not carried out extensively inall of the blocks of the district Kulgam.
Difficult Terrain
The research area was located in the hilly region and because of this reason
there were difficulties in visiting every family in a particular period oftime. The other associated problem was ‘scattered houses’ in each village
and the terrain between them had difficult contours.
Major Findings during Field Survey
The issue of incentives and facilities was discussed with the stakeholders
and their responses were collected. The stakeholders included parents ofchildren (enrolled in these schools), teachers and the local leaders, mainly
Sarpanch or influential persons of the locality. The responses towards
these incentives and facilities were captured in the form of graph as seen
below:
From the graph it can be seen that at the ground the reality is different.
Most of the basic facilities provided in government schools do not reachthe students who are economically disadvantaged. The graph reveals thatmost of the facilities mentioned are missing in the schools. Only a few
facilities are provided in these schools at elementary level. The facilities
that are present and those missing are briefly discussed below.

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Figure 1: Facilities Available in Four Schools of D.H Pora Block ofDistrict Kulgam

Source: Field Work, 2013

With regard to the first-aid facility, the interviewed respondents,
constituting parents, local leaders and principals (mentioned above already)told that there is a complete absence of medical facilities in schools. Thereis no first-aid facility in these schools. Other medical facilities in the formof medicines too are not available. It was also seen that there is no healthcentre in these villages where the Gujjars reside.
Like medical facilities, drinking water and toilet facilities are also
not present in these schools. All the respondents i.e. parents, teachers
and local leaders reported that these facilities are not available in theseschools. There are no toilets in these schools; the ones which are present
are not functional. Separate toilets for boys and girls even non-functional
ones were not seen in any school.
With respect to games, 23 per cent of parents reported that the facility
is available in schools; however, at the same time, parents reported thatteachers hardly teach their wards any game. In most of the schools children
play games (like cricket and volley ball) on their own. The local leaders(54 per cent) reported that games are played at schools. About 88 per centof the principals mentioned that sufficient amount of time is provided tochildren for playing games in schools. However, among all the schools

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that were visited, it was seen that the schools neither had any provision of
Physical Education Teacher nor specified hours for physical activity suchas playing games. The games were played by the children during theirlunch break. The teachers were seen to enjoy their lunch break rather thanteaching them any game. This shows a disjuncture between the awarenessof the importance of the games among teachers and local leaders and thechildren’s intrinsic interest in games that need to be cared for.
On Scholarship and Mid-Day Meal, all the respondents i.e. parents,
teachers and local leaders reported that these schemes prevail in theschools. However, there are varied opinions of parents, teachers and local
leaders about the Scholarships and Mid-Day Meal facilities. There isdifference in opinion about what prevails in reality and what is in paper.
It was reported by all the parents that only a part of the actual amountof scholarship is given to each child. Children never receive their fullshare. A good amount of this scholarship is taken by persons who handle
scholarship matters. The respondents reported that it is either teachers of
the schools or the administrative personnel that squander or misuse themoney.
Regarding the Mid-Day Meal, objectivity seemed lost. The objectiveof enhancing the enrolment, retention and increased attendance throughthis scheme seems to be obscured. The reason lies in the fact that thescheme of Mid-day Meal does not serve the needy. Panda (2010) in his
study shows that there is a correlation between the Mid-Day meal servedin schools and enrolment in the schools. The study finds that the catalyticrole of the Mid-Day meal cannot be undermined in overcoming the
problem of enrolment and regularity in attendance.
However, all the respondents (parents) reported that the Mid-Day Meal
is served only for a few days in a month which extends to a maximum often days. The parents blamed teachers and school staff for making moneyout of it. The parents reported that the quality of the food is not good too.
One more issue reported by all parents was that the students were asked tobring wood from home or collect it from nearest forests for cooking meals(Mid-Day Meal).
Teachers blamed the administration for untimely supply. The teachers
mentioned that there is always a late supply of material for Mid-Day meal.
Even if the purchase was made by the teachers from their own money,
there is delay in the release of money by the administration.
In the case of uniforms, all the respondents (parents) told that this facility
is a paid facility and is not free in schools. In order to avail this facility,

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the students were asked to pay the cost of uniform. The teachers denied
this allegation. The local leader had no idea of it.
However, in the case of books, all the respondents (parents) mentionedthat this facility is provided free of cost in school. Though some of thefamily heads reported untimely distribution of books, all of them reported
that other than untimely distribution, there was no other issue.
Recommendations and Conclusion
It has been found from the survey that lacuna exists in the systemthat needs to be addressed. These flaws need to be redressed both atadministrative level as well as at ground level. Accountability on thepart of administration, teachers and parents would help to overcome theexisting flaws. Unless the importance of delegating one’s responsibilities
is not understood properly by administrators, teachers and parents, asolution to the above problems would not be met.
A shift in focus i.e. from teachers to administration is needed inrelation to accountability. When any question was raised on the issue ofadministrative incompetence, the teachers were considered the culprits.
The higher authorities were never questioned. Their incompetency too
passes on to teachers.
Involvement of local leaders and parents in supervision process
is another way to improve educational facilities. A democratic form ofsupervision will help to upgrade school practices in the context of local
needs. The local leaders or influential persons can help in supervising
the administration too. Press, especially the national press, should takeinitiative in reporting these issues.
Frequent parent-teacher meetings on regular basis in schools would
help in improving the educational services too. This would help in gauging
the progress of students as well as the schools. More importantly, it would
help in demarcating the main problems and outlining the solutions.
However, for organizing parent-teacher meeting, the availability ofparents needs to be emphasized over the availability of teachers.
With regards to squandering of the incentives/facilities, a separate
monitoring committee needs to be constituted in each school. The
members of this committee should include parents and teachers only. The
authority should be vested equally in the hands of both stakeholders.
The above-laid suggestions are envisaged to lessen the challenges that
Gujjar children face in availing the facilities/incentives in these schools.

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These suggestions are also seen as a way to reduce the burden of parents
in educating their children and helping this community as a whole inmaking progress in educational domain.

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