Srinagar: A person who has resided in Jammu and Kashmir for 15 years will be entitled to domicile rights, according to the new J&K Domicile Policy notified by the Government of India on Wednesday.

The policy, that has drawn brickbats in Kashmir, was announced amid the 21-day all-India corona lockdown. It comes eight months after the Government of India abrogated Article 370 on August 5, taking away the special status that the Constitution of India conferred on Jammu and Kashmir.

The notification issued in the official gazette issued by the Government of India also said that a person who has studied for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10th and 12th examinations in a school within the region shall also be deemed to be the domicile of Jammu and Kashmir.

Domicile rights have also been given to persons registered as migrants by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner in Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides, the children of central government officials, all-India service officers, officials of public service banks, statutory bodies, central universities, and those at research institutes in J&K have also been considered for domicile rights provided their parents have served in Jammu and Kashmir for a period of ten years.

The policy comes on the heels of assurances given by the Government of India that demographic changes would not occur in Jammu and Kashmir. Last month, a delegation of the newly floated J&K Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari had met Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah and had received such assurances from them. The Apni Party has now opposed the new domicile policy and has demanded that it be put in abeyance.

Irshad Khan