On the Margins: J&K's Tribals Still Fighting for Space

Big budgets and powerful schemes can't help Jammu and Kashmir's tribals if there's no one to defend their rights on the ground.

- Dr. Raja Muzaffar Bhat

I've seen tribal welfare grow into one of the Modi government's biggest national stories.

Over the last ten years, the numbers have spoken loudly. In 2014, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs was working with a budget of ₹4,295 crore. By 2024, that figure had more than doubled.

This year, the budget stands at nearly ₹15,000 crore. The investments are growing faster than in most other sectors.

New schemes now carry enormous weight. The Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan was launched with an ₹80,000 crore outlay across five years. Across India, the government is talking about tribal welfare not as a side plan but as a centre piece of development.

In Jammu and Kashmir, I've seen the campaigns reach remote areas. I visited community drives in Anantnag, where Gujjar, Bakerwal, and Pahadi families came together in villages like Hiller Shahbad, Dachnipora, Larnoo, Chittergul, and Bijbehara. I saw similar gatherings in Budgam, Baramulla, Bandipora, and Kupwara.

There were queues for Aadhaar cards, PMJAY health cards, domicile papers, and caste certificates. Officials had set up service points in open spaces. Tribals were coming forward in large numbers. They wanted their documents. They wanted their rights. They wanted a way in.

The interest was genuine. The people were ready. But the system they are being pulled into is not built for them.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the structure to protect tribal communities does not exist. The Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006, which was extended to J&K after the region's special status was revoked in 2019, is not being implemented the way it should be.

Across the rest of India, the Tribal Affairs Ministry handles this law. But in J&K, it has been left with the Forest Department, the very department that is often the opponent in these disputes.