Reservation System in J&K: A Step Forward or a Step Backward?
✍🏼Ikkz Ikbal The Jammu and Kashmir administration has recently approved 10% quota for newly added tribes. This has pushed the overall reservation quota to 70% in Jammu and Kashmir. The decision has sparked a debate over the very essence of fairness and opportunity. Representative picture The decision to increase the reservation quota to 70% at the expense of open merit is a blatant disregard for meritocracy and fair opportunities. Some consider this move as a step towards social justice, but it has also sparked heated opposition with critics decrying it as a death knell for open merit. The controversy erupted from the amendment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2005. A decision was taken to appease political interests. The increase in Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservations by 10%, at the expense of open merit, has left many people feeling marginalized and disenfranchised. With open merit reduced to a mere 30%, the remaining 70% of the population has been abandoned, their hopes