Reserving two seats in Legislative assembly for displaced Kashmiri migrants
Omkar Dattatray
The Kashmiri Pandits is a miniscule and microscopic minority community in Jammu and Kashmir .No doubt they have the right to adult franchise but their vote has no value given the fact that their vote cannot not make or mar the government in Jammu and Kashmir .It follows that Kashmiri Pandits are not politically empowered and thus the delimitation commission headed by the retired supreme court judge Justice Ranjana Desai had recommended to government of India to provide two seats in the legislative assembly to Kashmiri Pandits who had been forced to leave their homeland more than three decades ago .The delimitation commission report has recommended to GOI to make a legal provision for the reservation of the Kashmiri migrants in the J&K assembly .
The centre government of NDA headed by the BJP has now to tabled a bill called Jammu and Kashmir Re organization Act 2023 to amend the J&K reorganization Act 2019 to give effect to the recommendations of the delimitation commission as far as it relates to offering two seats in the legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir UT .When the bill will be passed in the parliament ,it will give a practical shape to the recommendations of the delimitation commission .The bill has now been tabled and the mainstream regional party of Jammu and Kashmir has opposed the bill for giving two assembly seats to the Kashmiri migrants.It seems that the National conference is feeling chilly and it has become crystal clear that NC does not want to empower the KP’s politically and thus is opposing the proposal of giving two seats to Kashmiri Pandits in legislative assembly .
The centre government of BJP is trying to empower Kashmiri Pandits politically and therefore no political party should have any reservation on this matter .To give a political representation to KP’s has been the long standing demand of Kashmiri Pandits .The successive erstwhile state governments of Jammu and Kashmir had not accepted this genuine demand of the minority community and now when the centre government is proposing to table a bill to give effect to the recommendations of the delimitation commission so far as it relates to nominating two persons from the KP’s to the legislative assembly. BJP is trying to empower politically the minority KP’s and it is a welcome development and all the political parties should hail this decision and whole heartedly support this move .
The Kashmiri Pandits and its organizations have welcomed the decision to table a bill in parliament to amend the Jammu and Kashmir reorganization Act 2019 and make a provision to give two seats to the KP community in the J&K assembly .The concerned bill will be tabled in the monsoon session of the parliament and when it becomes a law ,the LG of the UT will be empowered to nominate two persons from the KP’s one being a women to the legislative assembly, so that they will be politically empowered and they will have a say in the law making body of the UT .In fact the migrant Kashmiri Pandits will be politically empowered once the two KP ’will be nominated to the legislative assembly .
It is a hard fact that KP’s have no political value as the community is not a vote bank because of being a microscopic minority and therefore the votes of this community does not matter and this is the reason behind leaving the community in lurch and not paying any heed to the demands and issues of this community .The NC spokesperson Sadiq Ali has said that the decision to nominate two persons to the legislative assembly has political motives for the BJP which wants to get some seats in the assembly of Jammu and Kashmir as they are fearing total rout once the assembly elections will be held .The proposed bill is aimed at preserving political rights of the migrants and refugee community from POJK as one seat will be reserved for the POJK refugees as per the recommendations of the delimitation commission .
JK spokesperson of BJP Altaf Thakur has welcomed the move and said that the stage is set for another historical event in Jammu and Kashmir.NC spokesperson Sadiq Ali has said that instead of the LG who himself is selected by the centre ,the two persons should be nominated by the elected government of Jammu and Kashmir .The pertinent question is why had not the democratic governments of Jammu and Kashmir from the last over 60 years given reservation to KP’s in the legislative assembly or even in the legislative council .Now when steps are being taken to give political reservation to the Kashmiri Pandits in the legislative assembly enough noise is being created by the regional parties which do not like any political reservation to the displaced Kashmiri Pandits .
The true color of NC has come to light by its criticism to the proposal of giving representation to the KP’s in the legislative assembly .Instead of opposing the proposed reorganization bill which is yet to be tabled in the monsoon session of the parliament ,all the political parties should cooperate with the centre government so that the dream of giving political representation/ reservation to the displaced Pandits will be fulfilled .Tanvir Sadiq of the NC has further said that his party is not opposed to the idea of giving representation to the unrepresented communities but the way of nominating is wrong .The power of giving representation and nominating two persons from the displaced Kashmiri Pandits should be given to the elected government and not to LG who himself is selected by the centre government .
The moot question is if the NC,PDP and other mainstream regional parties had been serious about this important matter of politically empowering the Displaced Kashmiri Pandits ,then why had not these very political parties and political dynasties given reservation to Kashmiri Pandits during long years of their rule.BJP and centre government deserves all praise and Kudos for mooting the idea of proposing and tabling the amendment to Jammu and Kashmir reorganization Act 2019 by virtue of which it will have provision to the effect that 2 persons from Kashmiri migrants and one person from POJK refugees will get a chance to be nominated to the legislative assembly of the UT .
Thus centre is mulling to table Jammu and Kashmir reorganization amendment Act 2023 to give effect to the reservation of two seats to displaced Kashmiri Pandits and one seat to POJK refugees to give these marginalized and unrepresented sections of the society a chance to have some representation and say in the governance of the UT .In brief the proposed bill when passed in the parliament will in fact be a step towards the political empowerment of the displaced KP’s and POJK refugees .The decision to give reservation to Kashmiri Pandits and POJK refugees will in fact be a historical move and epoch making and it will definitely benefit these marginalized sections and therefore the political parties of J&K should not politicize this important issue but welcome it in the interest of these communities .
The political empowerment of displaced Kashmiri Pandits and POJK refugees is very much needed and the GOI is taking steps towards this is very needed to empower these communities which stand neglected and marginalized.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist)
