The Union government on Wednesday introduced three Bills in the Lok Sabha, which are likely to shake up the quota structure for education and employment in Jammu and Kashmir, even as anger is mounting in the Union Territory over the issue.
The Tribal Affairs Ministry introduced the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023, through which the ‘Pahari Ethnic Group’ will be added to the Union Territory’s Scheduled Tribes list, along with three other communities, namely, ‘Gadda Brahmin’, ‘Koli’, and ‘Paddari Tribe’.
The Social Justice Ministry, meanwhile, introduced the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which proposed to add ‘Valmiki’ as a synonym for the Chura, Bhangi, Balmiki, and Mehtar communities in the Union Territory’s Scheduled Castes list.
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Furthermore, the Ministry of Home Affairs introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which partially redefines “Socially and Educationally Backward Classes” (SEBC) as “Other Backward Classes” (OBC), with the government saying this would also enable the implementation of the 105th Constitutional Amendment “in letter and spirit”. The 105th Amendment affirms the right of governments of States and Union Territories to declare their own subsets of SEBCs.
While the Union government had started the process of adding the ‘Pahari Ethnic Group’ to J&K’s ST list in 2022, existing STs have in this time continually opposed the move, saying it would allow socially and economically forward communities to avail the benefits of reservations. At the forefront of this opposition have been the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities, most of whom share the Pir Panjal Valley with the Paharis.
On Monday, protests grew in Jammu and Kashmir over the changes being proposed to the SC and ST lists, with members of the OBC Mahasabha, the All India Backward Classes Federation, and the All J&K Welfare Forum, Srinagar, participating in the protest.
The changes to the quota structure and SEBCs in J&K follow suggestions from the Commission headed by Justice (Retd.) G.D. Sharma set up for SEBCs in the Union Territory.
While Home Minister Amit Shah had in October 2022 promised reservation benefits to Paharis in a public address at the Pir Panjal Valley, he had also assured other communities that their share of benefits would not be diluted or affected.
As per procedure, the changes will be finalised once the President of India issues a notification to this effect after Parliament passes the Bills.
