Protesters had gathered outside the residence of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah demanding the review of the reservation policy that was introduced by Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha earlier this year.
Leading the student protests was Abdullah’s own party, National Conference (NC), member and Member of Parliament (MP) Ruhullah Mehdi. The Srinagar MP said the government needs to work for the people and address their aspirations.
Ruhullah had told media that the quotas should be rationalised as per the proportion of a group in a population. He told the protesters that the government should ensure there should be no discrimination under the reservation policy based on the Supreme Court rulings.
As Mehdi-led protests have raised eyebrows within the political circle of Srinagar for leading the campaign against his own party, Ruhullah told media that he does not want “chaos” and has no intention to divide the NC.
Apart from Ruhullah, a number of other J&K leaders, including People’s Democratic Party’s Pulwama MLA Waheed Para and Iltija Mufti and Awami Ittehad Party’s Mangate MLA Sheikh Khursheed, also participated in the protests.
The petition challenging the reservation policy in the Punjab and Haryana High Court reads that the government has decreased the percentage of reservation in Jammu and Kashmir government recruitment posts for open merit candidates from 57% to 33% and for those categorised as ‘resident of backward area (RBA)’ from 20% to 10%. Instead, the reservation for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) is up from 10% to 20%, the social backward castes from 2% to 8%, and those living in areas near the Line of Actual Control (ALC) and the physically challenged (PHC) from 3% to 4%. According to the petition, the government also “added new categories: Children of Defence personnel 03%, Children of police personnel 1%, candidates possessing performance in sports 02%, which is ultra vires to the constitution”.
Before the assembly election, the L-G administration had in March approved 10% reservation for newly included Pahari ethnic tribe — taking total reservations in the ST category to 20%. It added 15 new castes in the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as well.
Parliament had in February approved reservations for Pahari ethnic tribe, Paddari tribe, Kolis, and Gadda Brahmins, during the budget session.
Later, in March, the Administrative Council met L-G Sinha and approved the proposal of the social welfare department to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules, 2005 in light of Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Act, 2023, dated December 12, 2023, Constitution (Jammu & Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Act, 2024, Constitution (Jammu & Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Act, 2024 and recommendations of Jammu and Kashmir Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission.
“In light of addition of four new tribes i.e. Pahari Ethnic Group, Paddari Tribe, Kolis and Gadda Brahmins, to the Scheduled Tribes Order as applicable to the J&K by the Parliament, the Administrative Council approved 10% reservation in favour of newly added tribes taking the overall reservation for STs to 20%,” a spokesman of the Raj Bhawan had said.
Earlier, J&K had 8% reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), 10% for STs, 4% for OBCs, 4% for residents along Line of Actual Control/International Border, 10% for Residents of Backward Area (RBA) and 10% for Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs).
Gujjars in J&K have been opposing the move to grant reservation to Paharis, and claiming it “included well-off upper class”.
Who Are The Paharis And What Did BJP Promise To Them?
The Paharis of J&K are mostly concentrated in Rajouri and Poonch and parts of Baramulla and Kupwara. They have mixed faiths, and have their own social stratification with a well-defined caste structure. They are Syed, Maharajas, Rajputs, and are mostly into agriculture and cattle activities. They speak Pothwari language, a Punjabi dialect also spoken in the Hindko region including Rajouri, Poonch and Kashmir. The majority of Paharis live in rural areas, and comprise almost 20% of J&K’s population.
BJP J&K chief Ravinder Raina had said in a meeting in 2022 that Prime Minister Modi would be solving the issues of the Pahari community. “Soon, the BJP will grant the ST status to Paharis, which is their genuine demand”.
Thus, the Delimitation Commission, formed under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, reserved nine assembly seats for the STs for the first time.
In the Pir Panjal region, the Gujjar-Bakerwal community has around 12 lakh people, all others are Paharis based on their language.
The ST tag to the Pahari community has pitted them against the Gujjars and Bakerwals, the traditional herders who were granted the status in 1991. The STs have 10% reservation in jobs and educational institutions in J&K.
What Is The Government Planning To Do?
The Jammu and Kashmir government has formed a three-member panel on December 10 to review the reservation policy in jobs and admissions. The panel comprises health minister Sakina Itoo, forest minister Javed Ahmad Rana, and science and technology minister Satish Sharma.
So far, no deadline has been set for the committee to submit its report.
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court, while hearing a fresh petition challenging the reservation policy, has sought a response on the same from the government within a time period of three weeks. The court also clubbed the previous petition with the recent one.
CM Omar Abdullah had said he understands the emotions of the protesters, and has affirmed that his party is “committed” to reviewing all aspects of the manifesto. “It is as a continuation of this commitment that a cabinet sub-committee was constituted to move towards fulfilling this promise. That sub-committee was only recently notified & is in the process of starting its work by engaging with all stakeholders,” Abdullah said in a post on X.
Noting that the policy has been challenged in the high court, Abdullah said his government will surely be “bound by any judgment when the final legal options have been exhausted”. (NEWS 18)
