IIOJK’s new reservation policy aims at sidelining majority population
Srinagar: The Lieutenant Governor’s administration in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir has announced a revision of the territory’s reservation policy, reducing the open merit share to 40 per cent against 60 per cent quota for reserved vacancies.
According to Kashmir Media Service, this move has sparked debate among politicians and civil rights activists, who express concerns about the potential impact on meritocracy. The new policy allocates 60% of vacancies to various reserved categories, a change that politicians and rights activists argue will undermine meritocracy and perpetuate divisions in the territory. They fear that these 60% reserved vacancies will be filled with RSS and BJP activists, further exacerbating their concerns.
The revision has led to a decrease in open merit vacancies, prompting discussions on the balance between meritocracy and reservation. Opponents of the move argue that it aims to sideline the majority population, which is Muslim, in the territory.
Politicians and civil rights activists argue that if the policy is so beneficial, why doesn’t the Modi regime apply it first across India to benefit backward classes and communities like Muslims, Dalits, and others? Instead, they say the actual target of the occupation regime is to shrink the quota for Muslims in IIOJK under the guise of increasing reserved quotas for backward classes in the Muslim-majority occupied territory.
