The job reservation issue has once again hurtled to the centre stage with the protest of the National Conference Member Parliament Aga Ruhullah outside the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s residence. Ruhullah has been demanding a rational reservation policy that takes care of every community in the union territory. The CM, in turn, has promised action. The government, he said, has already formed a sub-committee to review the reservation policy as part of a promise made in the JKNC manifesto and assured that it is engaging with stakeholders to address the issue. While acknowledging public emotions and the democratic right to peaceful protest, he emphasized that the matter is also under legal scrutiny in the High Court, and the government will adhere to any final court verdict after legal processes are exhausted.
The reservation policy, introduced by the lieutenant governor-led administration before the assembly elections, has drawn criticism for reducing the general category’s share to 40% while increasing reserved categories to 60%. The reduction followed the government’s decision to raise reservation for Paharis by 10 percent and that of the other tribes and the Other Backward Classes by 8 percent.
The consequent disproportion has generated deep unease among open category candidates which form a majority as anywhere else in the country. More so in Kashmir Valley. The 2011 census data shows that 69 percent of the Valley’s population falls under the general category, which includes those not classified under Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. But while reservations in the rest of the country have been capped at 50 percent, in J&K, they have been fixed at 70 percent.
Now, the demand of the unemployed youth in the general category – both in the Valley and Jammu – is that the reservation quotas be made at par with the other states and regions. There is a feeling that the doors to already fewer government jobs have been more or less shut on them. And in the absence of a viable private sector in the UT, lakhs of educated unemployed have been left to fend for themselves. Their ranks are only growing with each passing month: In the first quarter of 2024 alone, 3.52 lakh youth registered with the J&K Directorate of Employment, with 1.09 lakh of them graduates and postgraduates. They don’t have many options.
The reservation policy has often been criticized for disadvantaging the majority ethnic groups—Kashmiris, who are predominantly Muslim and Dogras, who are largely Hindus. The solution lies in a comprehensive review of the reservation framework, one that aligns with the broader principles followed across the country while factoring in the unique socio-economic dynamics of the union territory. This can only be achieved through a collaborative effort between the newly elected government and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
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