The Tale of Two Gujjar Communities

Abstract

Sharma discusses the micropolitics of pastoral nomads in the Indian Himalayas and Pir Panjals. She looks at the contrasting positions and experiences with governmentality of two different nomadic pastoral communities, the Gujjar and Bakkarwal in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Van Gujjar in Uttrakhand. The Jammu and Kashmir was brought to the international attention by an unprecedented move on Aug 5, 2019, when the Indian government deoperationalized Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution, thus revoking the status of limited autonomy historically granted to Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim majority state. However, the pastoral nomadic Gujjar and Bakkarwal have survived in the region under considerable hardship for over three decades, caught in the crossfire of separatists and Indian armed forces but receiving little attention from the media.