A new start in J&K

Elections should be a precursor of statehood

Four years after Jammu & Kashmir lost its special status and was bifurcated into two Union Territories, the revival of the democratic exercise is back on the agenda. On Tuesday, the Union government said it was ready for elections in Jammu & Kashmir and it’s now up to the Election Commission to announce a schedule. The following day, the Lok Sabha passed two Bills that could determine the outcome at the hustings. The first is the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, which increases the number of seats from 107 to 114, based on the 2022 report of the Delimitation Commission. The Assembly will have seven seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes, while nine will be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, which will have reservations for the first time. The Bill also introduces several other new categories of legislators by empowering the lieutenant governor to nominate three members — two members, one being a woman, would be from the Kashmiri migrant community (read Kashmiri Pandits) and the other representing the people of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) who took refuge in India following the three wars India fought with Pakistan. Meanwhile, 24 seats will remain vacant because a part of Jammu & Kashmir remains occupied by Pakistan.

The second Bill was the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation Bill, which introduced, for the first time, the concept of reservation of Other Backward Classes, replacing the term “weak and underprivileged classes” in government appointments and admission to professional institutions. Elections in a state that has suffered a severe democratic deficit since 2019 must be welcomed. However, questions will continue to be raised about how things have progressed. For instance, should the Centre have gone ahead with these pieces of legislation when the Supreme Court is still hearing petitions challenging the reading down of Article 370? This apart, full statehood is the most critical promise that the government had made when Jammu & Kashmir’s special status was abrogated and it remains unfulfilled. In September, the Centre told the Supreme Court that it could not commit itself to a timeline for restoring statehood. The government must announce a road map in this context. Further, the delimitation exercise had also raised concern. The reorganisation of constituencies has expanded the number of seats in Hindu-dominated areas. With Central nominations for Kashmiri migrants added in, the balance of advantage can get skewed in a state in which Muslims account for 68 per cent of the population.

It is also worth noting that despite the hope that the reading down of Article 370 would cause a decline in terrorism, the official data reveals a rise in terror activities, especially in the Jammu region, where migrant workers from the mainland had sought employment. Clearly, the menace of terrorism needs to be dealt with at multiple levels. However, it is to be hoped that restarting the political process, which must commence at the earliest, and a popular government taking office will help normalise conditions. It is also necessary that full statehood is restored at the earliest, enabling the elected government to govern freely.