Reservation system ‘rigged against Kashmir’: Sajad Lone

Srinagar: In an analysis shared on social media, the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (J&KPC) President and Handwara MLA, Sajad Lone, has highlighted stark regional imbalances in the issuance of reservation certificates across the Union Territory, terming the findings a “shocker”, the J&KPC said in a statement on Saturday.

“According to data received through a question posed by Lone, from April 1, 2023, Jammu region has dominated certificate issuance across nearly all categories. Scheduled Caste certificates were issued exclusively in Jammu (67,112 certificates, 100 per cent), with none issued in Kashmir,” the statement added.

“The Scheduled Tribe category showed Jammu issuing 459,493 certificates (85.3 per cent), while Kashmir issued only 79,813 (14.7 per cent). Similar imbalances exist in Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) (92.3 per cent Jammu and 7.7 per cent Kashmir), Actual Line of Control (94.3 per cent Jammu and 5.7 per cent Kashmir) and International Border categories (100 per cent Jammu). Even in the Reserved Backward Area category, Jammu led with 52.8 per cent of certificates versus Kashmir’s 48.2 per cent,” Sajad Lone said.

Lone emphasised that these disparities reveal a greater loss of reservations to the Kashmiri-speaking population than previously anticipated, asserting that “the whole reservation concept is rigged against the Kashmiri-speaking population and against ST or EWS living in Kashmir”.

He noted that even ST population residing in Kashmir are disadvantaged, comprising only 15 per cent of total applicants from the ST pool.

“While Residents of Backward Areas (RBA) figures appear more balanced, Lone pointed out that when adjusted for Kashmir’s nearly seven per cent larger population, the region still lags behind Jammu proportionally,” he added.

Lone also criticised the committee established by the National Conference-led government on December 10, 2024, to address these grievances, noting it lacks a specific timeline for submitting its report despite previous indications of a six-month deadline.

Earlier in his address to the Assembly on Thursday, the J&KPC President highlighted the growing marginalisation of Kashmiri-speaking residents due to what he described as a deeply inequitable reservation system.

Lone presented a data-driven argument showing the systematic decline in the representation of Kashmiri speakers in prestigious positions, asserting that the current reservation framework is creating a form of “social disempowerment” for the community.

–IANS

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