Gujjar- A denotified tribe?

The five criteria were evolved by the Lokur Committee and on that basis, 700 communities were classified as S.Ts. According to the Chopra Committee, Gujjars did not fulfil the criteria all over the State. Gujjar representatives maintained that nine of the S.T. groups, excepting Sahariyas, fulfilled the basic criterion of having “primitive traits”. They also argued that in the original list of denotified tribes, Gujjars were listed at number 14 and Meenas at 22. That was history and maybe such historical injustice cannot be undone. The fact is that the majority of Gujjars in the State are not well-off and neither are they represented adequately in government (Frontline, June 16, 2007).