Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 17

After the martyrdom of Rifleman Aurangzeb, the demand for raising a Gujjar regiment in the Army has gained momentum to involve the patriotic nomadic Gujjar community in the ongoing fight against militancy in the state.Aurangzeb, who was abducted and brutally killed by militants on Thursday in the Kashmir valley for participating in anti-terror operations, was a Gujjar of Salani village of Poonch.“Since the eruption of gun culture in the state, Gujjars have been playing a critical role in fighting militancy, especially in inaccessible areas,” Choudhary Shah Mohammad, a prominent Gujjar leader, told The Tribune.Pointing towards the supreme sacrifice of Rifleman Aurangzeb, Shah Mohammad asserted, “Once again, a Gujjar soldier has established that our community is not behind others in sacrificing life for the nation.”A video of Aurangzeb, said to have been shot moments before his killing, surfaced on social media on Friday and became a source of inspiration for youth of the community to serve the nation. “It is high time the government engages patriotic and brave Gujjar youth in the Army to utilise their services in the real sense,” Shah Mohammad said.A Gujjar delegation has already given a memorandum to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and interlocutor Dinesh Sharma to raise a Gujjar regiment in the Army, but there has been no progress in this regard so far.Realising the importance of involving this nomadic community in eradicating militancy from the state, former Union Home Minister Rajesh Pilot had promised to raise ‘Gujjar Scouts’ on the pattern on Ladakh Scouts, but it could not materialise.Similarly, in 2003, the then NDA government had announced that a new force comprising Gujjars and Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir would be raised for deployment on the difficult terrains of the state.Gujjars played a very important role in containing militancy in the Hill Kaka area of Poonch district. Women village defence committees comprising Gujjar women were formed and they eliminated some dreaded militants active in areas once considered a safe haven for militants.Recently, Ishfaq-ur-Rehman Poswal, BJP leader, had also raised this issue before Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and had urged him to organise a special recruitment drive for Gujjar and Bakerwal youths in the country and raise a Gujjar regiment to fight Pakistan-backed militants and anti-India extremist forces in J&K.Earlier promises

• A Gujjar delegation had given a memorandum to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and interlocutor Dinesh Sharma to raise a Gujjar regiment in the Army, but there has been no progress in this regard so far
• Realising the importance of involving this nomadic community in eradicating militancy from the state, former Union Home Minister Rajesh Pilot had also promised to raise ‘Gujjar Scouts’ on the pattern on Ladakh Scouts, but it could not materialise
• In 2003, the then NDA government had announced that a new force comprising Gujjars and Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir would be raised for deployment in the difficult terrains of the state