Reservations in Jammu & Kashmir. Here are the three key Bills explained

The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill 2023, has been passed by the Lok Sabha on 6th December. The Bill seeks to amend the reservation quotas in the state. Along with this one, there are two other Bills that seek to make changes in the list of communities falling under the Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, and Other Backward Classes. This is going to bring important changes to the reservation categories by making important additions to the list of communities for reservation in the state.

Starting with the Bill that has recently been transformed into legislation, the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill 2023 aims to alter the term ‘weak and under-privileged classes” to “Other Backward Classes” in the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004. The purpose is to expand the reservation to incorporate additional communities.

Apart from this one, there are two other Bills that aim to bring about a change in the reservation quotas in Jammu and Kashmir. The second Bill is named the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023. The third Bill is the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

Take a look at all the three bills of Jammu and Kashmir.

The first bill- Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023

First things first, the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 intends to reframe the term "weak and under-privileged classes (social castes)" and change it to "other backward classes" in the Act.

The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) says that the castes that are named under Social castes or SEBC in the State government portal are listed as Other Backward Classes in the central OBC list for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In the year 2016, Labana and Sheer-Gojries were the two new castes that were added to the list. This move has actually expanded the ambit of the reservation.

Amendments in the reservation policy have brought over 20 lakh residents of Jammu and Kashmir under its ambit. These include the inclusion of 1.5 lakh Pakistani refugees, 11 lakh Paharis, and over 5 lakh people coming from the 15 new classes falling under social castes. The hit of the reservation to 60 percent has made over 65 lakh people eligible to claim it. The inclusion of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the reservation policy is going to expand the bracket even more. 

At a national level, 27 percent reservation is accorded to the OBCs. Yet, there exists no reservation for the Other Backward Classes in J&K. Majority of OBC communities have been mentioned under the SEBC.

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The second bill- The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023

This bill aims to include the Pahari-speaking people to the Scheduled Tribes list, thereby opening a reservation of 10 percent in J&K. 

It has been a long that the Pahari community has aspired to be classified as a Scheduled Tribe. This demand started in the year 1975.

In the year 2018, a survey of the Paharis living in the state of Jammu and Kashmir was conducted by the State Advisory Board for Development of Pahari-speaking people (J&K). Pahari people are spread across J&K, but a majority of them reside in the Pir Panjal region, constituting the Rajouri and Poonch districts. Paharis reside in the areas of Kupwaa, Kulgam, Pulwama, Ganderbal, Baramulla, Anantnag, Shopian, Bandipora, and Budgam.

The survey expressed that a total of 10,22,982 Paharis live in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This means that the Pahari community accounts for 8.16 percent of the population of the state. Out of this population, 8,60,409 Paharis reside in Rajouri, 1,41,157 in Baramukka, 1,03,082 in Kupwara, and 2,67,194 in Poonch.

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The third bill- The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Bill 2023

This bill revolves around the Valmiki community. The amendment aims to include the Valmiki community in the Scheduled Castes list of J&K, thereby opening the reservation for 8 percent. In the year 2020, the Valmiki community was granted domicile status. This status was granted to the community almost after six decades of moving to the state. In the year 1957, approximately 3000 Valmiki community members migrated to J&K from Gurdaspur (Punjab).

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