E-Paper
Chopans hail J&K admn’s move to include them in social caste list
The J&K government on Saturday had issued an order to redraw the social caste list and had added 15 new classes
Chopans welcomed the government’s move to include their community, which primarily includes shepherds, in the social caste list, and said their 30-year struggle had finally yielded results.
Thousands of Chopans, who are shepherds, live in J&K. “For us it was a long struggle that has finally yielded result,” said Mohammad Sultan Chopan, president J&K Chopan Association.
He said the Chopan community in Kashmir is one of the most backward communities, which should have been granted this status earlier. “The inclusion will help the downtrodden people of the community to change their lives, especially in the field of education,” he said, adding, “Though it is a delayed decision. For us, it is better late than never.”
The J&K government on Saturday had issued an order to redraw the social caste list. It expanded it by adding 15 new classes under the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004.
