The Delimitation Commission of India released its much-awaited report for Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, May 5, 2022. According to a Govt of India notification of March 6, 2020, Delimitation Commission, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai and comprising of the Chief Election Commissioner of India and the Chief Election Commissioner of UT of J&K was tasked with carrying out the fresh Delimitation of assembly constituencies in J&K.  On May 26, 2020, three National Conference Lok Sabha MPs Farooq Abdullah (ex CM), Hasnain Masoodi (an ex- J&K High Court Judge), Akbar Lone and two BJP MPs from the state – Dr Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore were nominated by the Govt of India as associate members of the Delimitation panel. The commission was tasked to redraw the Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies of J&K, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland. The members of the Delimitation Commission, visited Jammu and Kashmir and met leaders of national and regional political parties, administrators and civil society groups, including representatives of displaced Kashmiri Pandits and displaced persons from POJK.

Delimitation Commission for J&K UT, headed by Chairperson Justice (Retd.) Ranjana Prakash Desai, ex-officio members CEC Sushil Chandra (L) and State Election Commissioner, J&K, K K Sharma (R), finalise the Delimitation order.

Understanding Delimitation:

Delimitation is the process of “fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body”. Article 81 of the Indian Constitution says that seats in the Lok Sabha should be allocated among the different states in such a manner that, “the ratio between that number and the population of the state is, so far as practicable, the same for all States”. As to the territorial constituencies in each state, the Constitution says they shall be divided “in such manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it is, so far as practicable, the same throughout the state”. But population is subject to change and, hence a periodic review of the population and suitable adjustments in the allocation of seats to various legislative and elected bodies has been suggested. That is the work of Delimitation Commission and till date delimitation for Lok Sabha has been done four times – 1952, 1963, 1973, 2002. Following 84th Constitution Amendment (1976), strength of Lok Sabha was frozen at 543 till 2026

At the state level too, delimitation process is carried out at regular intervals to ensure that each constituency has approximately an equal number of voters. The process is also carried out when a state is divided (Punjab & Haryana, UP and Uttarakhand, MP & Chhattisgarh, AP & Telangana). State of J&K was split into Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh following revocation of its Special Status in August 2019. Hence the need for fresh delimitation before fresh elections can be held for the J&K State Legislative Assembly. Since Ladakh UT does not have a Legislative Assembly, no delimitation is needed. The Commission is a powerful and independent body whose orders cannot be challenged in any court of law. Its orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the respective State Legislative Assemblies. However, modifications are not permitted.

Till date, all commissions have been headed by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Chief Election Commissioner of India and Chief Election Commissioner of the concerned State are mandated to be part of the panel besides the Chairperson, appointed by the President of India under Clause (1) of Article 243 K or under Clause (1) of Article 243 L of the Constitution, as the case may be. Delimitation Commission sends a request to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or Speakers of concerned State Assemblies to nominate associate members for broad basing the discussion and decisions by taking into account opinion of the local MPs and members of State Legislature.

J&K – Special Background:

After the accession of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India in 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh ceded powers to an unelected government headed by Sheikh Abdullah. Elections for J&K Constituent Assembly were held in 1951. In 1957, a new constitution was adopted by the J&K Constituent Assembly, which established a bicameral legislature consisting of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council and the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. The State Legislative Assembly originally comprised of 100 members out of which 24 seats were reserved for POJK (areas of J&K under Pakistani Control since 1947). These seats remain officially vacant and are not taken into account for running of the house (for deciding quorum and voting majorities for legislation and government formation etc). Strength of the Assembly was increased to 111 in 1988(including POJK Seats). The total contestable and filled seats of the assembly remained 87 – of which 4 seats were reserved for Ladakh region. The Kashmir Province had 46 seats while the Jammu Province had 37 seats.

 

Twist in the Tale – Hijacking of the Agenda:

The state of J&K (101387 sq km) has 3 distinct geographical regions – Ladakh (59146 sq km), Jammu (26293 sq km) and Kashmir Valley (15948 sq km). In 1947-48 war, Kashmir valley lost the smallest portion of land {around Muzaffarabad and in Tithwal sector (Kupwara)}; the loss was highest in Ladakh (Skardu-Gilgit-Baltistan etc) followed by Jammu region (Poonch, Kotli, Mirpur, Bagh etc). An important question than needs to be asked is: Was Shiekh Abdullah was not interested in recapture of non-Kashmiri speaking territories of J&K beyond Uri because Muzaffarabad was not part of Kashmiri speaking area? Abdullah had limited hold in non- Kashmiri speaking areas of J&K, including Muslim dominated Jammu province areas of Poonch, Mirpur, Kotli, Bagh or Muslim dominated Ladakh areas like Kargil, Gilgit, Baltistan and Hunza. He kept his personal Kashmir constituency safe and played the Muslim card very well.

Through a very clever manoeuvre, the agenda and public discourse about J&K has been hijacked by the smallest geographical entities – Kashmir. This could probably be due to the then vocal leadership being primarily Muslim & Kashmir Valley based (Sheikh Abdullah, GM Bakshi, Sadiq, Afzal Beg). Congress put its weight behind only Kashmir based leaders – Nehru and later his progeny have had ‘special relations’ with Abdullah family all through. In every discussion/debate, national and international, only the word Kashmir is used instead of J&K. Likewise, territory under Pakistani control is referred to as POK instead of POJK. The narrative has been hijacked and represents only the interests of Valley and, its Muslims.

J&K Delimitation Commission Report – Key Recommendations:

  • The J&K Delimitation Commission has recommended that all five parliamentary constituencies in J&K shall have an equal number (18 each) of Legislative Assembly constituencies – a first!
  • The commission had earlier proposed increasing the number of assembly seats in the union territory from 83 to 90. Of the 7 new seats, 6 are in Jammu Division and one in Kashmir Division.
  • Now, out of the total 90 assembly constituencies, 43 seats have been proposed in Jammu and 47 in Kashmir. Till now, Kashmir had 46 seats, while Jammu had 37.
  • The commission, in a first, has recommended reserving 9 seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST), out of which 6 will be in Jammu and 3 in Kashmir Valley.
  • In a first, the commission has recommended nomination of minimum 2 members from Kashmiri Pandit migrant populace in the Legislative Assembly (one female mandatory). Such members may be given voting power at par with the power of nominated members, (Puducherry Model). This is a huge victory for the KP Community and a step towards recognition of their Refugee Status!
  • Commission has also recommended that minimum one displaced person from POJK be nominated to the State Assembly. 
  • The commission has revised the nomenclatures of 13 assembly constituencies (ACs), – 7 in the Jammu region and 6 in the Kashmir region.
  • The 24 seats reserved for Pakistan-occupied area of J&K shall remain vacant till POJK administratively becomes part of the J&K. Number of seats remains unchanged.

Importance of Changes -A Historical Opportunity at course correction:

Revoking the temporary and arbitrarily inserted Article 370(and 35A) has provided Govt of India and the people of J&K a historical opportunity at course correction by removing the deliberate tilt in favour of Kashmir valley (read Kashmiri Muslims). Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of J&K has been increased from 107 to 114(inclusive of POK reserved seats but minus Ladakh seats).

As soon as the Notification for constitution of the Delimitation Commission was issued, the Kashmir based politicians of all hues threw tantrums to sound politically correct to their constituency. Kashmir based ‘Nominated Associate Members’  (all MPs), announced a boycott of the Delimitation process! It took the political sagacity of Mr Narendra Modi to coax them back by holding an All-Party Meeting on June 24, 2021 – allowing them room for playing out their theatrics. Invariably, Kashmir based leaders have started crying wolf, clamouring that the exercise is a ruse to “add more Hindu-dominated constituencies” and that,” the committee is disfranchising the largest minority in the country” to ensure that there will be fewer Muslim MLAs”. The cat is out of the bag – in India, elections are not held on religious lines. Had that been a fact, Hindu majority states of Rajasthan, Bihar and Maharashtra could never have had Muslim CMs. These accusations obviously fly in the face of facts —two proposed seats are Hindu dominated, one has a predominantly Muslim population, and three have a mixed demographic profile. An independent political analyst told me that these lies have no basis – Jammu, which has a high Hindu population, does not get a single additional seat because it does not meet the parameters of topography or terrain or accessibility. In Kishtwar, population is 70: 30 favouring Muslims yet it got an additional seat because it is hilly, remote and backward.  Rajouri and Reasi are Muslim-dominated. “This allegation is misplaced and a lie,”. Newly proposed seats of Rajouri, Reasi, Kishtwar and Kathua are vast, mountainous areas and accessibility is a challenge even today. I seriously doubt if any of these Kashmir based so-called Muslim leaders have even heard of places like Nagseni, Marwah, Warwan, Dachhan Paddar, Chhatroo, Mughal Maidan and Machail in Kishtwar district or Darhal, Qila Darhal in Rajouri District, Mahore, Arnas, Bhamag tehsils of Reasi District and Bani, Bilawar, Basohli, Nagri-Parole areas of Kathua District. All these are Tehsil HQs yet far flung – even 75 years after independence, proper roads are missing.  I have had the privilege of having travelled to several of these places and can vouch for their backwardness due to poor infrastructure, particularly roads. Besides, Rajouri, Samba and Kathua are bang on Pakistan border – always in news for Pakistani shelling and infiltration. These territories deserve more attention – what better than giving a voice to the people of these remote places!

As per the mandate, Delimitation panel has redrawn boundaries of new constituencies based on objective parameters applicable across India. So why is the Kashmir based political leadership crying wolf? What are they really afraid of? The answer is simple – Kashmir based leadership has enjoyed political and financial clout disproportionate to their numbers since 1947. They are afraid of dilution of their hegemony. If Jammu, bigger in area and population were to get its due share in a democratic set up, it obviously would lead to reduction in prominence enjoyed by the valley-based leadership. In the last 75 years, EVERY SINGLE CHIEF MINISTER has been from Valley (GN Azad is an exception since he belongs to Doda District; married to a Kashmiri lady, he speaks Kashmiri fluently).

It is apparent that:

  • Every Kashmiri leader has played the victimhood and Muslim Minority card to the hilt since 1947!
  • Their objective was to keep the ‘fear of Indian hegemony’ alive in the minds of common Kashmiris even while enjoying the loaves and fishes with Indian money.
  • Every important Kashmir based politician has spoken with a forked tongue since 1947. They would use different words and language while speaking with powers in Delhi but the tone and tenor would change the moment they landed in the Valley.
  • Farooq and his coterie agreed to various points discussed with PM in June 21, 2021 meeting, attended Delimitation Panel meeting in December 21 but changed their stance later on, to please the terror mongers.
  • After making Kashmir valley ‘minority free’ in 1990, Kashmir based leaders are finding it a difficult pill to swallow that 2 KP Migrants and one from POK are being recommended for the Assembly.
  • A powerful segment of media has always helped project Kashmiris as the victims – facts be damned. The Kashmir Files has taken the mask off their agenda marked faces!
  • Media image building has helped some of the Kashmir based leadership with a larger-than-life image. Nobody questions the dubious role of Farooq Abdullah and Mufti Syed in 1984-1996 period that ultimately led to the forced Exodus of 500,000 Kashmiri Pandits from the valley. It was an administrative failure of monumental proportions – yet they are touted as a champion of democracy and human rights. Even self-acknowledged murderers like Yasin Malik have been given their share of haloes by our puissant media persons.

Time has come for the Indian political class in Delhi to show some spine. If Jammu people get to play a larger role, so be it! Abolition of Article 370 has led to grant of citizenship rights to refugees from Poonch and Muzaffarabad who came to India in 1947. It has led to the grant of citizenship rights to Valmikis and other Scheduled Cast members invited by J&K Govt for manual scavenging in 1957 – all these 65 years they were not given the right to vote by the Kashmir dominated administration. That is what hurts our privileged class of self-proclaimed elite who think they have a divine right to rule J&K.  Like the crown-prince of the grand old political party of India, it appears our Kashmiri leadership is suffering from a ‘entitlement syndrome’. It is time to call their bluff.

I also hope that the report and its follow up shall sprinkle some ice cold water on the hot heads within our community who have been demanding that they be paradropped into Kashmir. Central Govt has been treading with caution but has taken concrete steps towards correcting historical wrongs. Anti-India lobby in US and Europe is pretty strong; Ilhan Omer et al have strong political and financial backing. We have seen the venomous fangs and stings of the powerful Media houses and so-called Academia in the recent treatment of Vivek Agnihotri and The Kashmir Files. We also have an army of Jaichands in Indian media and academicia who are always sniping at anything that Modi Govt does towards rectification of historical wrongs or removal of biases. Better cautious and sure rather be swift and rash! The other side is losing and, they know it!

 

Sanjeev Munshi
sanjeevmunshi@hotmail.com
9099188501

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