Accuses NC-led govt of institutional delay, political evasion
SRINAGAR: Prominent Social and student rights activist Er. Ehtisham Khan, has sharply questioned the continued silence surrounding the long-promised rationalisation of the reservation framework in Jammu & Kashmir, asking the elected government to clarify the whereabouts and status of the much-discussed “file” which, according to repeated official claims, had already been approved and forwarded months ago.
In a strongly worded statement issued here, Khan said that more than five months have passed since the government publicly asserted that the matter had been processed and moved forward, yet there remains no transparency, no timeline, no explanation, and no visible progress.
“An entire generation cannot be kept suspended in uncertainty while the government continues to hide behind procedural ambiguity,” Khan said. “The same leadership that sought votes on promises of rationalisation and fairness has now retreated into complete silence. Before elections, there were lofty assurances. After elections, there has only been delay, diversion, and deliberate evasion.”
Referring to the protests and assurances given to students over the past year, Khan said the pattern has become painfully predictable.
“Whenever the issue reaches a boiling point, the response is not resolution but another timeline, another committee, another promise designed to buy time. First came electoral promises, then came assurances of six months, and now even those deadlines have dissolved into silence. This is no longer administrative delay—it is political unwillingness,” he remarked.
Khan said what makes the government’s conduct even more disturbing is the fact that the demand for rationalisation is neither radical nor unreasonable, but rooted in the basic principles of equality, fairness, and constitutional balance.
“No one is asking for privilege. No one is demanding exclusion. The demand is simply for a rational, evidence-based, and equitable framework where merit is not systematically suffocated and where a vast section of society is not pushed into perpetual disadvantage,” he said.
Expressing disappointment over the lack of urgency shown by the ruling establishment, Khan said even after multiple legislators raised the issue inside the Legislative Assembly and sought a discussion on the matter, the government has remained unmoved.
“The Assembly witnessed voices of concern, emotional appeals, and repeated calls for debate, yet the government chose indifference over introspection. That silence speaks louder than any speech,” he stated.
Khan further said the continued inaction has created a dangerous sense of alienation among the youth belonging to the open merit category, many of whom now feel politically abandoned and institutionally unheard.
“It increasingly appears as though these students are viewed as politically expendable. Their anxieties are ignored, their opportunities continue to shrink, and their future is treated as collateral damage in a larger game of political convenience,” he said.
Questioning the repeated references to the so-called “file,” Khan directly asked the government to place the facts before the public.
“If the file was truly approved and forwarded, where is it? What stage is it presently at? Who is accountable for the delay? And why has the government failed to communicate honestly with the people for over five months?” he asked. “A democratic government cannot continue operating through ambiguity and indefinite postponement on an issue affecting lakhs of students and aspirants.”
Khan warned that the longer the matter remains unresolved, the deeper and more irreversible the damage becomes.
“Every passing recruitment cycle, every academic session, and every delayed correction permanently alters lives. Lost opportunities are not theoretical losses—they are irreversible realities. Justice delayed in such matters does not merely inconvenience youth; it dismantles futures,” he said.
Concluding, Khan said that despite the prevailing silence and political reluctance, the issue cannot and will not disappear.
“A complete vacuum has been created around this issue, as though silence itself can erase public suffering. But silence does not resolve injustice—it normalises it. And as long as merit, fairness, and equal opportunity continue to be compromised, it becomes a moral responsibility to keep speaking, regardless of how inconvenient the truth may be for those in power,” he asserted.