Hooria Gillani
As the Lok Sabha elections are approaching, Kashmir finds itself in the midst of complex debates on equality and opportunity. In the midst of these raging debates, students like Farhat Riyaz from the Open Merit or General Category, feel hopeless after the recent change in the reservation policy.
Riyaz, a law student expressed a sentiment shared by many in her category, asserting that they are left feeling hopeless in the face of what she perceives as an unfair system.
In Kashmir, controversy has erupted over recent amendments in the reservations. The decision, which entails a significant increase in Schedule Tribe (ST) reservations by 10 percent, has triggered concerns for access to equal employment opportunities.
The general category that consists of over 75 per cent of the population of Jammu Kashmir will have a mere 35 per cent or less in access to government jobs in the region.
“The reduction from 40per cent to 30 per cent is outrageous, as this deducted 10 per cent makes up for thousands of candidates, and it has been slashed. Where will those 10 per cent go? Helping disadvantaged communities by punishing us (OM) is injustice,” said Riyaz in a dejected tone.
Under the revised quota system, reservation percentages stand as follows: SC; per cent , ST; 20 per cent EWS; 10 per cent , RBA; per cent , OBC; (including 15 new castes) 8 per cent , and ALC/IB; 4 per cent totaling 60 per cent When considering horizontal reservations (3% + 6%), the quota for open merit candidates further reduces.
The candidates that come under the general category have been opposing the move of the central government. The latest to jump in the fray are political and social activists from Kashmir and Jammu.
Aditya Gupta, the spokesperson of Mehbooba Mufti led People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said, “The BJP government has tried to accommodate people for its political agenda, dominantly, through the reservation categories.”
“By doing so, they have tried to play with the open merit structure. As a result, the open merit candidates are feeling neglected and have an opposite impact on the normal population of Jammu Kashmir,” he said.
“The questions from then youth are simple; where are the jobs? Why are scandals taking place in recruitment? But by fiddling with the reservation structure of the erstwhile state, they are trying to deviate youth away from these questions,” claimed Gupta, adding, “This is the main topic of discussion now.”
He said that this policy has only been enhanced keeping in view the elections. “They need deviations otherwise people will raise questions regarding employment,” Gupta claimed.
Adil Nazir Khan, a socio-political activist, vehemently opposed the policy, viewing it as a total injustice that disproportionately favors reserved categories.
Speaking to The Kashmiriyat, he said, “Normally it is good if there is any kind of affirmative action for the upliftment of people who are suffering and have struggled in the past but giving this much reservation and cutting so much from Open Merit is injustice because nothing is left for the people of general category, they don’t have anything.”
“I also belong to a reserved category and I believe it is not in the interest of justice and equality, it’s against those,” Khan said while adding that, open merit people are left with less than 40 per cent quota while their population is large. “BJP has played its card just for vote politics.”
This decision severely undermines the principles of fairness and equal opportunity by drastically reducing open merit quota.
Prioritizing the much-needed reservations over merit not only betrays justice but also sets a dangerous precedent, potentially leading to a decline in overall competence and efficiency.
Prior to this change, the Gujjar community feared reduction of their reservation quota and voiced their apprehensions. In response, the Home Minister reassured them of their rights, promising no violation on their reservations.
Muzaffar Chowdhary, a prominent Gujjar activist, also criticized the recent changes. “We have been raising our voice against this reservation bill for the last four years. We were mainly concerned with two things; first; that reservation should not go beyond 50 per cent quota and second; that the people getting reservations did not fall under the basic criteria,” he said.
He stated that the stance of tribal communities has always been the same. “Our people, including myself, were arrested when this bill came out, yet we did not stop opposing it, we never welcomed the 10 per cent given to us because it was specified in limited fields,” added Chowdhary highlighting the degenerative state of reservation in JK.
“The leadership of Kashmir has not spoken about this for a long time and we are resentful but now they must speak for the OM population and openly lay the foundations of reservation and communities which truly belong in it,” he further stated.
These stakeholders share two common narratives; the maltreatment of the Open Merit candidates and reservation as an opportunity to gain votes by the government. Chowdhary further said that “These reservations are set up for votes, this is a politically motivated bill, especially aimed for the constituency of Anantnag- Rajouri.”
With the elections around the corner, many are claiming this policy to be aimed at malice and gaining votes from the reserved communities.
Candidates like Riyaz are in despair and agony as a result of the significant fall in open merit quotas. Open merit students already face tough competition for limited chances, putting years of devotion and hard work into their efforts.
According to Riyaz, the substantial fall in their reserve allotment renders their objectives unreachable, erasing dreams cultivated over years of effort and perseverance.
Furthermore, Riyaz’s complaints reflect a larger narrative of systematic injustice and inequality in Kashmir. The collapse of meritocracy and fair opportunity exacerbates their predicament, as powerful elites profit from reservation advantages intended for the marginalised.
In the eyes of open merit candidates, the policy violates the core ideas of fairness and justice on which society is founded.
Additional reporting by Bhat Yasir