The International Gaurav Gujjar Yatra which started on October 31 last from Dwarahat, Almora has reached Paonta Sahib after traversing through various districts of Uttarakhand. After the rally reached Majra Van Gujjar Basti on Monday, the local Gujjar community people came out and greeted it warmly in sync with the age-old traditions. The national president and convenor of Akhand Bharat Gujar Mahasabha, Colonel Dev Anand Gurjar said while addressing the gathering of the villagers that the principal objective behind taking out the yatra is to pressure the State Government into relocating the Van Gujjars in accordance with the forest rights they have been enjoying for generations now fortified under the Forest Rights Act 2006. “We want the State Government to assure us that after we are relocated as per the provisions of the Act, there would not be any kind of interference into our life by the Government machinery,” he said.
He further said that another important demand of the community is to ensure their identity. “We keep on vegetating on the margins sans any identity of our own. We are given neither any domicile certificate nor caste certificate. There is another demand. We must be provided with the basic amenities of drinking water, electricity and education. These are a must to help the community merge into the mainstream. It is sad that the community has remained deprived of these basic facilities even 71 years after India became independent,” Dev Anand Gurjar lamented.