“Increasing the quota for reserved categories violates the constitutional cap and is shrinking the opportunities for candidates in the open merit.”
Sahil Parray*
The reservation system in India is a system of affirmative action that provides a percentage of seats in government jobs, educational institutions, and legislatures for groups that have faced historical injustices. Though, it was initially supposed to be in place for a few decades it was continued as the objective was not achieved as per the amendments made in the act, leading to its extension from time to time.
To prevent a positive step from becoming an anomaly, the Supreme Court of India in Indra Sawhney & Others vs. Union of India also known as the Mandal verdict, ruled in 1992 that reservations could not exceed 50 percent, anything above which it judged would violate equal access as guaranteed by the Constitution.
It thus put a cap on reservations.
However, the recent amendment to the Indian constitution exceeds the 50% cap. Some states introduced laws over this 50 percent limit and are under litigation in the Supreme Court. For example, in Tamil Nadu, the caste-based reservation stands at 69 percent and applies to about 87 percent of the population.
In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the recent amendment in the J&K Reorganisation Act, giving a 10% quota to the Paharis and increasing the OBC quota to 8% has taken the reserved percentage to 70% for only 30% of the population, leaving only a mere 30% for the 70% of the Open Merit segment of the population.
This shrinking of opportunity for job aspirants in the open merit category is in addition to the existing burden of lack of jobs and spiraling unemployment in recent years.
J&K held the third spot on the list of highest unemployment rates in India at an alarming 23.1% as per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in 2022.
It is pertinent to mention that the government sector is the largest source of employment in J&K. The youth are heavily dependent on government jobs due to the absence of a thriving private sector as in the other states of India.
A mere hundred-post advertisement from recruitment agencies like JKSSB or JKPSC draws lakhs of applicants – a trend that has been in the making for decades and continues unabated.
Each year lakhs of fresh graduates and post-graduates from various backgrounds, having spent lakhs on their higher education get added to this rat race for diminishing possibilities for livelihood and survival.
This new reservation policy in J&K that prevents many youth in the open merit category from getting admission to the colleges of their choice is not only limiting their opportunities but also has taken a heavy toll on the mental health of the youth.
The NEET UG 2024 counseling results for Jammu and Kashmir reveal a significant disparity in admission requirements between unreserved and reserved categories.
For J&K Government Medical Colleges, 50% of the seats are reserved for female candidates. The last OM candidate (female) selected UT rank 736 and NEET rank: 67055 scored 609 marks while in the reserved category Economically Weaker Section (EWS) the last candidate (female) selected with UT rank 3854 and NEET rank 516235 scored 336 marks. This amounts to a difference of 273 marks.
The cut-off for the male candidates is higher. For the Open Merit (OM) category, the last male student who secured admission to Government Medical College, Rajouri, scored 648 out of 720. He had a UT Rank of 259 and an All India Rank of 28057.
For the male reserved category (EWS), the last male student to secure admission had an NEET score of 404 with an All India Rank of 366462 and a UT Rank of 3279. He was granted admission to Government Medical College, Doda. This substantial difference of 244 marks has resulted in adverse effects on meritorious students from the unreserved category, who face much higher competition for limited seats despite their academic achievements.
The policy besides being unjust has the potential of creating social divisions and exacerbating the levels of brain-drain.
Amid the legislative assembly elections, the political parties and leaders have a chance to highlight this issue. But very few like Srinagar MP Syed Aga Ruhullah Mehdi have spoken about it. The youth should glance at the manifestos and statements of their candidates thoughtfully and make an informed choice so that this anomaly can be addressed.
The elections imbue some hope among the youth. Let us hope amends are made soon to address these expectations before it is too late.
The tumultuous events in Bangladesh serve as a lesson to the government that youth cannot be taken for granted with unjustifiable reservation policies. A neglected spark can light up a fire. In a volatile place like Jammu and Kashmir, events don’t take time to shape up new and uncomfortable realities.
*Sahil Parray is a student activist and tweets at @iamsahilparray
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The post Reservations above the 50% limit in J&K are unfair first appeared on Kashmir Times (Since 1954): Multi-media web news platform..
The post Reservations above the 50% limit in J&K are unfair appeared first on Kashmir Times (Since 1954): Multi-media web news platform..