With the deadline for the Cabinet Sub-committee of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly to review the existing reservation policy in the Union Territory drawing close, students from the Open Merit category expressed concern over the lack of updates on the committee’s findings and report.
To recall, students of the general category, or Open Merit category, staged widespread protests in Srinagar, the capital of J&K in November 2024, demanding a reduction of quotas allotted to various communities in the union territory.
They argued that the current quotas in seats and posts for reserved categories exceed 60 per cent and leave only 40 per cent to Open Merit, which leaves them with fewer opportunities in proportion to their population in the state.
After the protests, which called for an overhaul of the reservation system to reflect the demographic realities of Jammu & Kashmir intensified, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced on November 22 that a three-member sub-committee, led by Education Minister Sakina Itoo and comprising Javed Rana (Minister for Public Health Engineering) and Satish Sharma (Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs) would be constituted to look into the matter.
This committee was to examine the reservation policy of Jammu & Kashmir in its current state and release a report of its findings within six months of its formation. It was notified on December 10 — 18 days after its formation.
However, as of today, June 4, students received no solid update from the committee, despite repeated requests to the government, and repeated assurances from the latter about the committee’s progress.
“Since the committee was formed on November 22, the deadline has already passed on May 22, technically speaking. However, we expect that the government is sticking to December 10 as the official date of the committee’s formation, and the deadline is on June 10,” said Mir Mujeeb, a Spokesperson for the protesting students.
He added that even if there was a week ahead of the deadline, lack of communication from the government regarding the committee’s progress only added to the frustration of the open merit students.
“Be it NEET-PG or JKPSC, all major recruitment and entrance exams are conducted at this time. We hoped that the committee would publish its report by now so that substantial changes could be made in the seat matrix and quota composition just in time for the exams. However, the deadline is nearing and the report is nowhere in sight,” he lamented.
Adding that the aggrieved students tried their best to provide their support to the government in this exercise, Mujeeb further stated that they cooperated with the government at every step. He added that the students even provided them with independent research, data about the social composition of J&K, and various memoranda that would assist the subcommittee.
“It was not like the government did not have data, or had not kept stock of our grievances — because our communication with them was open. We were expecting justice, but nothing happened,” he sighed.
Despite government inaction, Mujeeb stated that their fight was far from over. “Just today, one of the students who were part of the protest confronted Education Minister Sakina Itoo about the report, at a public meeting in Bandipora. She told him it would be done in due time,” he narrated.
He added that the students would wait for the report until June 10, and decide on the next course of their actions depending on its release.
