Gujjar and Bakarwal activists flag newspaper report, say tribal community opposes Waqf Bill

April 5, 2025 by News Desk

Gujjar and Bakarwal activists have expressed anguish over a report published in the Srinagar-based Daily, claiming that the tribal community had celebrated the passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025.

The report that appeared on April 4 has been flagged by the Jammu Kashmir Tribal Welfare Forum among other tribal activists.

In a tweet by Jammu Kashmir Tribal Welfare Forum, the organisation expressed anger, saying, “We are deeply disappointed by the irresponsible reporting targeting a tribal community. Such biased narratives not only fuel prejudice but also endanger lives. Person in pics is a political leader of a particular party, didn’t representing our community at large.”

Prominent tribal activist Zahid Chaudhary spoke to The Kashmiriyat over the phone and expressed his anguish over the report, stating that it has “defamed” the entire tribal community.

Clarifying that it was a handful of BJP workers who “celebrated” the passing of the bill, he said that the community stands in opposition to the legislation of the bill. “We are Muslims first, tribals have a similar stance to the other Muslims, we stand against the Waqf Bill.”

Former Vice President of the Gujjar Bakarwal Association of Kashmir, Chaudhary Irshad, also flagged the report while expressing his anguish. He tweeted, “We condemn this bloody journalism of @RisingKashmir, they quoted BJP stooge & misleads the information about tribals of Kashmir. We as tribals condemn this godi journalism and blaming tribals for celebration. One man isn’t whole community BTW he isn’t Tribal man.”

Echoing Zahid Chaudhary, he said that the community stands against the bill, which was “unilaterally” passed in the parliament.

Zahid Chaudhary further said to The Kashmiriyat, “Like every Muslim, we stand against this bill, and do not represent the few people of any political party. It is called the people’s parliament, not the parliament of Modi or Gandhi. Then why don’t they hear the public’s aspirations? It is the People’s assembly, yet when have the public’s opinions been considered by the government?”