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After the Gupkar Road event, Students across J&K plan a wider peaceful campaign on the Reservation policy

24 December 2024

Ziraat Times Team Report

Srinagar: Breaking the long silence and making their voices be heard on the new Reservation Policy by organising a symbolic protest outside Chief Minister’s residence in Srinagar on Monday, scores of students, concerns citizens and their representatives vowed to continue with their struggle for justice until a policy shift is made.

Following the Monday Gupkar Road protest and their meeting with the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, student leaders, protest participants and a good number of concerned citizens from varied backgrounds participated in a Twitter (X) dialogue on Tuesday evening, where the speakers emphasised the need for a sustained and a more organised campaign till they achieve justice on the issue.

The participants, while acknowledging the role and support from political figures, emphaised on the need for the students and concerned citizens to continue spearheading and galvanising support for the campaign across all regions and among all affected communities across J&K.

Speakers also acknowledged the democratic nature of the protests which saw participation of not only the opposition political party representatives but also a sitting Member Parliament of the ruling party.

Mir Mujeeb, one of the student leaders of the Open Merit Students Association, emphasised that the campaign will taken forward in a peaceful and inclusive manner.

The students’ Monday protest saw the participation by National Conference’s Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, who marched with them. Pulwama MLA Waheed ur Rehman Para and Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti, Lagate MLA Sheikh Khursheed. Awami Action Committee of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also sent representatives of his party to the venue.

After meeting the student represenfatives, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote on X, “Today I met the representatives of the Open Merit Students Association,” adding, “The beauty of democracy is the right to be heard & dialogue in a spirit of mutual cooperation. I have made certain requests of them & given them a number of assurances. This channel of communication will remain open without any intermediaries or hangers on.”

The group is also planning to widen the campaign base, include representatives from Jammu region and other ethnic and linguistic groups. They have also resolved to form an Advisory Committee, comprising of prominent citizens، constitutional experts, representatives of political parties, besides the student leaders spearheading the campaign.

Speakers observed that innumerable injustices done to J&K’s meritorious candidates of ‘General Category’ (Open Merit) for government jobs and scholarships in the State/UT out of the existing RESERVATION POLICY have surfaced in the last many years.

“It is grave injustice that the General Category’s share, which according to their population size should have been 70% was brought down to just 30% in March 2024”, speakers were unanimous in expressing their concern.

“This is not a struggle for raising the OM share from 30% to 40%. This is a struggle for granting and ensuring a share according to the population size of the unreserved category which is currently claimed to be 70%+. Gujjar, Pahari and other such tribal communities should retain their ST status and given other benefits but their shares should be strictly as per the actual sizes of their population. If they are 20%, give them 20%, if they are 25%, give them 25%. Currently while the 70% unreserved category population is getting only 30% jobs and scholarships, the 30% reserved categories population is getting 70%. It needs a radical rationalisation”, prominent veteran journalist Ahmed Ali Fayyaz said.

While taking care to emphasise that this campaign must not be seen as a campaign against any particular communities, speakers said that the campaign was against the policy practice and that all communities were respectful and equal before the law of the land.

“Candidates of Reserved categories should not be eligible to simultaneously compete in the Open Merit category”

“Rule 17 should be removed. Horizontal reservations, if granted after due consideration, should be deducted horizontally from all categories rather than vertically from only the Open Merit category”,

Some of the concerned citizens have also expressed the view that RBA, EWS, LC/IB categories should be considered for a total revocation as the RBA villages, listed 50 years back, have not rotated in the last over 40 years despite remarkable upgradation in their socio-economic development and because of the flagrant misuse of EWS, LC/IB categories since decades.

Even as on December 10, the Jammu and Kashmir government formed a three-member panel to review the reservation policy in jobs and admissions, there is a general dissatisfaction for the composition and the terms of reference of the committee.

The panel comprising health minister Sakina Itoo, forest minister Javed Ahmad Rana, and science and technology minister Satish Sharma is tasked to review the policy without any specific timeframe. Student leaders and political parties, including NC member Parliament Aga Ruhullah, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the committee.

Meanwhile, the All Party Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) has announced to support the campaign and has called for reverting to the earlier Reservation system.

“Since open merit is a big category, youth belonging to this category should be given more weightage as was the case earlier. The reservation to splinter groups is more based on politics rather than the actual situation,” APSCC chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina said in a statement here.