Journal of Sociology and Social Work 1(1); June 2013 pp. 01-08 Sofi © American Research Institute for Policy Development 1 www.aripd.org/jssw Paradox of Tribal Development: A Case of Gujars and Bakarwals of Jammu & Kashmir (India) Umer Jan Sofi Research Scholar Department of Sociology Indira Gandhi National Open University New Delhi,India – 110068 Abstract The greatest challenge that the Government of India has been facing since independence is the proper provision of social justice to the scheduled tribes, by ameliorating their socio- economic conditions. Scheduled tribes, scheduled castes and denotified tribes constitute the weakest section of India’s population, from the social, economic and educational angles. They constitute the matrix of India’s poverty. Development of tribal population has been a major concern of the nation builders, central and state governments, policy makers, non- government organizations, social scientists, social reformers etc. we have constitutional provisions for social, economic, educational, political, administrative, health and sanitational achievements of the tribal people of our nation. Since our independence various policies, strategies, approaches and models to tribal development have been conceived. From the very beginning of the 1 st five years plan to the present 12 th five years plan, a number of programmes of tribal development have been formulated and implement. Billions and billions of rupees have been spent in the name of tribal development. But most of the programmes have either failed or could not yield result up to the expectation. In this paper an attempt has been made to access and evaluate the impact of various developmental programmes on the socio-economic transformation of the transhumant tribals of Jammu & Kashmir. The study was conducted among the Gujjars and Bakarwals of district Anantnag. For this study data from both primary as well as secondary sources was used. The study reveals that inspite of the implementation of various policies and programmes for their development by the state and central governments, these tribals continue to live in pathetic conditions. Key words: Tribal Development, Gujjars & Bakarwals, Developmental Programmes 1. Introduction Development is a composite term, which includes various aspects of human activities such as socio-economic, political or technical point of view. Generally, sociologists and social anthropologists strongly believe that socio- cultural factors are integral part of the dynamics of growth and change. United Nations Development Programme measures human development by combining indicators of gross domestic product per capita, adjusted for local purchasing power; life expectancy at birth; adult literacy and the number of persons enrolled in educational institutions. Sociologists and anthropologists do not accept just economic approach to development. Over the decades, sociologists and anthropologists have been constantly engaged in the various areas of development studies.