JKPC Chief Sajad Lone calls reservation system ‘rigged against Kashmir’

The biggest culprits in this system are Kashmiri officers themselves.

STC NEWS DESK
SRINAGAR, MARCH 15 ( STC): “Shocker findings” highlighted by the Peoples Conference President and MLA Handwara Sajad Lone on social media reveals stark regional imbalances in the issuance of reservation certificates across the region.
According to data received through a question posed by the PC Chief, from April 1, 2023, Jammu region has dominated certificate issuance across nearly all categories. Scheduled Caste certificates were issued exclusively in Jammu (67,112 certificates, 100%), with none issued in Kashmir.
“The Scheduled Tribe category showed Jammu issuing 459,493 certificates (85.3%), while Kashmir issued only 79,813 (14.7%). Similar imbalances exist in Economically Weaker Sections (92.3% Jammu, 7.7% Kashmir), Actual Line of Control (94.3% Jammu, 5.7% Kashmir) and International Border categories (100% Jammu). Even in the Reserved Backward Area category, Jammu led with 52.8% of certificates versus Kashmir’s 48.2%,” he disclosed on the social media.
He emphasized that these disparities reveal a greater loss of quotas to the Kashmiri-speaking population than previously anticipated, asserting that “the whole reservation concept is rigged against the Kashmiri speaking population and against ST or EWS living in Kashmir.”
Sajad Lone noted that even ST populations residing in Kashmir are disadvantaged, comprising only 15% of total applicants from the ST pool.
“While RBA figures appear more balanced, Lone pointed out that when adjusted for Kashmir’s approximately 7% larger population, the region still lags behind Jammu proportionally,” he added.
He blamed Kashmiri officers to this injustice to Kashmiris.
“The biggest culprits in this system are Kashmiri officers themselves. I don’t know whether they are deliberately not issuing these certificates or it is the policy,” he said. He stressed that Kashmiris are already left out even before reservation policies are applied. “If 100 aspirants appear in an exam, 40 seats are for open merit. But even in those, 50.78% of candidates are from Jammu, while only 9.22% are from Kashmir. This means Kashmiris are already pushed out before reservations are applied,” he explained.
Lone also criticized the delay in addressing these concerns. He reminded that the National Conference (NC) had earlier tweeted that the Reservation Committee would submit its report within six months. However, the government recently informed the Assembly that there is no set timeline for the report.
(STC)