Land Loss, Poverty, and an Uncertain Future for the Nomadic Community
KANELWAN, BIJBEHARA – Once the proud shepherds of Kashmir’s vast meadows, the Bakerwal community now faces an existential crisis. Their ancestral grazing lands have been swallowed by private development, tourism projects, and legal shifts that favor land conversion. Now, they are left to survive in makeshift tents, battling extreme poverty and an uncertain future.
Bashir Ahmad, a 75-year-old Bakerwal elder, lies weak in a fragile tent of sticks and tarpaulin. “The meadows we depended on are gone,” says his wife, Haleema, her eyes reflecting years of hardship. Their livestock, once their lifeline, are stolen or poisoned, and their grazing routes are now off-limits.
The 2019 revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status opened the door for outsiders to acquire land, stripping the Bakerwals of their rights. Laws like the Jammu and Kashmir Agricultural Land Conversion Regulation, 2022 have facilitated the transformation of grazing lands into tourist hubs. The controversial Roshni Act further accelerated the privatization of forest land, leaving nomadic communities displaced.
Gulzar Ahmad, Bashir’s son, works as a laborer in Bijbehara to feed his four children, earning just enough to survive. Others, like Aamir, a once-aspiring graduate who lost a leg in an accident, now struggle with shattered dreams and no government support.
As the younger generation drifts away from their traditional lifestyle, the Bakerwals’ identity is eroding. “We’ve lost not just our land,” Haleema laments. “We’ve lost who we are.”
Despite their resilience, their future hangs in the balance. Activists call for urgent government intervention—land rights, stable livelihoods, and access to education. But until action is taken, the Bakerwals remain trapped on the fringes, fighting for survival in a land that was once theirs(KT).
