Srinagar : Three days after redefining the domicile for Jammu and Kashmir, the government of India issued amendments to rules and reserved all government jobs exclusively for domiciles.
The amendments, however, seem to have hardly pacified J&K residents as the changes in rules are understood to only delay the onslaught on entitlements to land and jobs from non-locals, who can claim domicile rights with much easier qualifications.
On Tuesday, the government of India issued new domicile rules for Jammu and Kashmir and gave domicile rights to persons and their children residing in J&K under a variety of categories.
Domicile rights were sanctioned for persons who had resided in J&K for at least 15 years or studied for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10th or Class 12th examinations in schools here.
Those registered as migrants by the relief and rehabilitation commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir, central government officials, all-India services officials, officials of Public Service Undertakings, autonomous bodies of central government, public sector banks, statutory bodies, central universities, recognised research institutions of central government who had served in Jammu and Kashmir for at least ten years were also given domicile rights, along with their children.
The new domicile law reserved only Class IV jobs for the domiciles while throwing open the higher posts for non-domiciles.
However, after political uproar including even from the ruling BJP’s Jammu unit, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday issued amendments that reserved all levels of government jobs for domiciles.
Altaf Bukhari, who has floated his own party (Apni Party) on the plank of land and job rights to J&K residents and restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, pointed out “loopholes” even in the amended J&K domicile rules.
A statement issued by JKAP on Saturday said they will “continue efforts to get this new law revisited in its entirety to remove the remaining loopholes till it satisfies the aspirations of people of Jammu and Kashmir”.
Omar Abdullah, former J&K Chief Minister, who had described the new domicile rules as “insult heaped on injury”, flayed the amendments, too.
On his Twitter handle, Omar equated the amendments to the “whims and fancies of the Centre” and said it was “high time that the people of Jammu and Kashmir get to decide the laws governing them”.
He also demanded restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and holding elections.

Irshad Khan