Asking for information and out of curiosity only .
We were originally displaced from the Deva Vatala region in Bhimber (earlier part of Mirpur),POK which is a mountainous area in 1947.
Recently, the “Pahari Ethnic Group” was granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. However, this group includes people from various castes — such as Rajputs, Brahmins, Jats, and others. Our family belongs to the Jat community.
Currently, we live on custodian land that was allotted to us after displacement, but without ownership rights.
Our family has maintained a herd of sheep for over a century, passed down through generations. My great-grandfather even migrated hundreds of kilometers with the herd, and my uncle continues this traditional agricultural and pastoral lifestyle today.
Although we speak Dogri, our accent is quite distinct from that of the local Jammu Dogri speakers, and people can easily identify that we are not from this region ( Dogri but not like locals of Jammu ) . However, our speech is also different from the Pahari spoken in Poonch or Rajouri ( which has been granted ST ) Our customs and cultural practices also differ from both these groups.( both Dogri or poonch Rajouri people )
Given that the Pahari Ethnic Group is such a heterogeneous groups includes multiple castes and is not strictly defined by language, shouldn’t communities like ours — who share similar mountain origins, lifestyle, and displacement history — also be considered part of the Pahari ethnic group for the purpose of ST recognition?
Recently government of Jammu Kashmir has also clarified that Pahari ethic group is not region specific ( poonch , Rajouri ) .
i have checked the composition of bhimber it is a mixture of pahari , Dogri and punjabi . ( and our language matches none of these three comepletely )
If you can share any valuable Insights I will be grateful .
