By Latief U Zaman Deva
The Naya Kashmir, a socio-politico- economic treaties, released in 1944 by legendary leader Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah laid foundation for social justice which got reflected in the J&K Constitution 1957 , now
repealed.
From 1947 to 1967, in the absence of codified reservations, appointments to government jobs were made by the government departments themselves, without advertising the vacancies, or by the Recruitment Boards, where established. These bodies, in their own
wisdom, considered the socio-economic status of the candidates and their respective domicile areas while finalising selections and nominations. Entry into government services was used as a means of
gaining political legitimacy post the 1953 era, fully supported by the Union Government. The recruitment to gazetted posts was initially conducted through the successor forum of the pre-partition State Agency and from 1957 by the J&K Public Service Commission. Following the recommendations of the P.B. Gajindergadkar Commission, the State Government, via order No 252-GD of 1969 dated February 3, 1969, appointed a committee headed by J.N. Wazir, retired Chief Justice of J&K High Court, to identify Backward Classes in the state based on their social and educational backwardness.
Acting on the Wazir Committee’s recommendations, the State Government formulated the J&K Scheduled Castes & Backward Classes (Reservation) Rules 1970 and the J&K Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes
Reservation (Appointment by Promotion) Rules 1970. These rules were challenged in the Apex Court in WP Nos 175, 359 & 360 of 1979 titled Janki Prasad Parimoo and others v/s The State of J&K and others. The
court identified defects in the impugned rules, declaring them unenforceable until rectified . In compliance with this decision, a committee under the chairmanship of Justice Dr Adarsh Sen Anand was constituted under government order No 540-GR of 1976 dated 24.08.1976
to address the drawbacks highlighted by the Apex Court along with other related matters. Diverging from the Wazir Committee’s focus on social and educational paradigms, the Anand Committee included economic indicators while determining backwardness for the purpose of identifying classes or sections thereof as backward .Anand Committee’s recommendations led to a paradigm shift in the identification of socially and educationally backward classes by adopting an
area-specific approach based on social, educational, and economic indicators. Consequently, all genuine residents, irrespective of caste in an area or village declared backward, became eligible for reservations, including those residing in areas adjoining the Line of Actual Control, subject to fulfilling prescribed conditions.
Subsequent to the acceptance of the Anand Committee report the Deputy Commissioners and Directorate of Economics and Statistics were occasionally tasked with verification responsibilities based on fresh representations which saw a significant number of areas or villages notified as backward areas, along with additional caste-based classes. The Backward Classes Commissions from 1993 (K.K. Gupta-led Commission) & onwards have consistently recommended the inclusion of new areas or villages as backward without considering the exclusion of areas or villages that no longer qualify as backward. Similarl fiat for other categories or other social castes remained unchanged.The Supreme Court recently upheld the decision of the Madras High Court that struck down the 10.5% internal quota for Vanniyars within the
most backward classes of Tamil Nadu under the Act of 2021, citing the use of “antiquated data”. In the absence of a proper survey based on criteria akin to those adopted by the Mandal Commission, all additions
made by the government based on the recommendations of government departments and Backward Classes Commissions are unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny if challenged.The modicum of neutrality and autonomy once associated with the predecessors of the current Commission has
now vanished ( by now its term expired) as evidenced by the castes and areas it has recommended for designation as Social Castes and backward areas, respectively. Jogi and Nath, known as drum beaters,
Dubdaby Brahman and Achariyas, who serve as priests performing rites on various occasions, and Goda Brahman, who conduct marriage ceremonies and havans, along with Badara (guilters of utensils) and
Bojra (beggars for food and clothes), have been classified as OBC without comparative assessments of their counterparts in other religious communities. A notable example is the Jats, who, by no
stretch of the imagination, are socially and economically backward, yet have been notified as such. The approach of the latest BCC has been narrowly focused on specific communities rather than being holistic and based on a proper survey. In a series of decisions and
the enactment of other laws leading to over-centralization, the power of the States to identify backward classes has been stripped away
under the Constitution (One Hundred Second) Amendment Act of 2021.
SC’s, STs & Concerns
The Constitution (Jammu & Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order 1956 marked the beginning of codified reservations in the erstwhile state.
Compared to Scheduled Tribes (STs), the Scheduled Castes (SCs) have continuously enjoyed the benefits of reservations for the last 68 years and are now adequately represented in almost all organs of the
Union Territory, proportionate to their population.However, out of the 13 castes notified in 1956, a few have not benefited from reservations
due to poverty, which prevents them from accessing available educational opportunities.It is crucial to gather quantifiable data to draw conclusions about the adequacy of representation held in
government jobs by each of the 13 castes, and those found with an inadequate share should be categorised separately, and entitled to a separate quota proportionate to their population and disparities.
Under The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order 1989, twelve tribes and sub-tribes, mostly residents of the districts
of Leh and Kargil, were notified as Scheduled Tribes in relation to the state of J&K for the purposes of the Constitution of India.The non-inclusion of Gujjar and Bakarwal communities led to significant
unrest in the state, highlighting the Union Government’s lopsided approach. The beginning of the 1990s saw an uprising in significant parts of the state, and the Union Government realised the dangers of leaving the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities in a state of
antagonism.
By the Constitution (Schedule Tribes)(Amendment) Ordinance 1991,among others in State of Karnataka,Gujjar & Bakerwal in J&K were
also declared as Scheduled tribes. This was followed by another order in 8/1991 bringing within the ambit of STs “Gaddi “ & “Sippi”.
(The author is IAS (Retd), former Chairman J&K Public Service Commission & Advocate at Srinagar)
