Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai on Wednesday tabled a Bill in the Lok Sabha to nominate two members from the “Kashmiri Migrants” community, who “migrated” when militancy was at its peak in the 1989-90, as members of the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. One of the members will be a woman.
It also proposes to nominate one member from “Pakistan-occupied Kashmir”, displaced in the 1947-48, 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan. The Bill aims “to preserve their political rights” and “overall social and economic development.”
The special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was struck down by Parliament in August 2019 and the former State was bifurcated into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the latter without an Assembly. Jammu and Kashmir has been under Central rule since 2018 and Assembly elections are yet to take place.
The statement of objects and reasons of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 states that “at the time of the militancy in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir in the late 1980s, particularly in the Kashmir [division] in 1989-90, a large number of people migrated from their ancestral places of residence in the Kashmir province, particularly the Kashmiri Hindus and Pandits, along with few families belonging to Sikh and Muslim communities.”
It said that initially “all the migrants were moved to Jammu” and later on some chose to move to other parts of the country, namely Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune. As per the data available with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, there are currently 46,517 families having 1,58,976 persons who registered with the Relief Organisation over past three decades.
It said that in the wake of the 1947 Pakistani aggression, 31,779 families migrated from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Further, during the wars of 1965 and 1971, 10,065 more families were displaced from the Chhamb Niabat area. As such, a total of 41,844 families were displaced during 1947-48, 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan.
Many representations
“The Delimitation Commission received many representations from the two communities regarding reservation of seats in the Legislative Assembly to preserve their political rights and identity.” The commission recommended representation by way of nomination.
It shall be given on lines of Section 15 of the 2019 Act, which provides for the representation of women. The commission increased total seats of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly from 107 to 114 with reservation of nine seats for Scheduled Tribes for the first time. The Bill will insert new Sections 15A and 15B in the 2019 Act.
