Youth Storm POJK DPs Conference, Demand ST Status Beyond Rajouri-Poonch
RC Sharma Chanakya
Jammu, Aug 05: In a dramatic turn of events today, a group of agitated youth from the Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) Displaced Persons (DPs) community disrupted a seminar organized by the PoJK Visthapit Sewa Samiti at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Chatha, Jammu. The youth hijacked the event, voicing their long-standing demand for the extension of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to PoJK DPs residing in Jammu, Samba, and Kathua districts-on par with their counterparts in Rajouri and Poonch.
The seminar, titled “The Significance of Oneness”, was originally envisioned as a platform to promote social harmony and address concerns of displaced communities. Among the invited speakers were three BJP MLAs-Dr. Narinder Singh, Mr. Vikram Randhawa, and Mr. Arvind Gupta. However, none could complete their addresses as the protesting youth overpowered the stage, chanting slogans and alleging betrayal by the elected representatives.
According to the protestors, the PoJK Visthapit Sewa Samiti is a “planted organisation” that has never truly represented the interests of PoJK DPs. They accused the leadership of being complicit in ignoring critical demands and only staging token events for political mileage.
The core of the protest stemmed from the exclusion of PoJK DPs residing in Jammu province (outside Rajouri and Poonch) from the recently granted ST status to the Pahari community. The demonstrators asserted that they too hail from the same ethnic roots and are first-degree relatives of those settled in Rajouri and Poonch, thus deserving equal constitutional recognition.
“The Government of India and the Lieutenant Governor’s administration have repeatedly turned a deaf ear to our cries,” said one of the protestors. “We have been reduced to symbolic pawns despite our historic displacement and contributions to the state.”
Political observers have termed the protest as a “litmus test” for the ruling BJP legislators representing constituencies with substantial PoJK DP populations. Many view the event as a wake-up call and possibly the beginning of the countdown to political accountability, as people grow increasingly disillusioned with what they perceive as empty promises and infrequent public engagement by their representatives.
Prominent among the youth leading the protest were Parteek Raina, Naresh Sharma, Ankush Darshan, Rohit Khajuria, Shashi Kant Khajuria, Piyush Sharma, Tushar Sharma, Priya Kant, Abhishek Sharma, Dev Raj, Sachin Raina, Inder Sharma, among others.
The failed seminar has not only exposed a widening gap between community leadership and ground realities but also underscored the growing frustration among the younger generation of PoJK DPs-one that seeks justice, not just speeches.
