<p>The delimitation of assembly constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir, undertaken by a commission set up by the government in March 2020, seems to have been a political exercise rather than a fair plan to redraw the boundaries of seats based on population changes. The proposals are of a draft nature but have been disclosed in public, though not officially notified yet. They have attracted widespread criticism from all political parties in the Kashmir Valley who view the exercise as an attempt to reduce the electoral and political importance of the Valley in relation to the Jammu region. The Commission has suggested the addition of six assembly segments to the Jammu region’s 37 and one to the Valley’s 46. It has also proposed the first-time reservation of nine seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and seven seats for Scheduled Castes (SC). In effect, it has redrawn the Union Territory’s political map.</p>.<p>Delimitation is an exercise undertaken in democracies to ensure continued fair and equal representation to all constituents in legislative bodies. The important criterion for this is population but in J&K the commission has taken into consideration the constituencies’ geographical features, communication facilities and contiguity, public convenience etc as factors. With the new proposals, the commission has relatively increased the political representation of the Hindu-dominated Jammu region and reduced the representation of the Muslim-majority Valley. Based on the 2011 census, there is a population of 1,46,563 in Kashmir per constituency, and 1,24,437 in the Jammu region. Other factors cannot make such a big difference because they had always been taken into consideration in past delimitation exercises and should be equally valid in both parts of the state now. The disproportionate increase in the number of seats in the Jammu region would give an advantage to parties that have sway there, and at present that happens to be the BJP. The basis for this is the communal polarisation in the UT on regional lines.</p>.<p>The plan to increase the number of Assembly seats is contained in the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. But there is obvious manipulation in the way it has been done. Some governments undertake such exercises to give a veneer of legitimacy to their plans to politically dominate territories or populations, especially of minorities, which are not seen to support them. The rationale of delimitation in J&K itself is not clear as the delimitation exercise for the entire country has been postponed. The proposals will be considered in the Valley as part of the series of unpopular and repressive measures taken by the government after the reorganisation of the erstwhile state. They will increase the sense of alienation among the people and further weaken the pro-India sentiment and forces in the Valley.</p>
<p>The delimitation of assembly constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir, undertaken by a commission set up by the government in March 2020, seems to have been a political exercise rather than a fair plan to redraw the boundaries of seats based on population changes. The proposals are of a draft nature but have been disclosed in public, though not officially notified yet. They have attracted widespread criticism from all political parties in the Kashmir Valley who view the exercise as an attempt to reduce the electoral and political importance of the Valley in relation to the Jammu region. The Commission has suggested the addition of six assembly segments to the Jammu region’s 37 and one to the Valley’s 46. It has also proposed the first-time reservation of nine seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and seven seats for Scheduled Castes (SC). In effect, it has redrawn the Union Territory’s political map.</p>.<p>Delimitation is an exercise undertaken in democracies to ensure continued fair and equal representation to all constituents in legislative bodies. The important criterion for this is population but in J&K the commission has taken into consideration the constituencies’ geographical features, communication facilities and contiguity, public convenience etc as factors. With the new proposals, the commission has relatively increased the political representation of the Hindu-dominated Jammu region and reduced the representation of the Muslim-majority Valley. Based on the 2011 census, there is a population of 1,46,563 in Kashmir per constituency, and 1,24,437 in the Jammu region. Other factors cannot make such a big difference because they had always been taken into consideration in past delimitation exercises and should be equally valid in both parts of the state now. The disproportionate increase in the number of seats in the Jammu region would give an advantage to parties that have sway there, and at present that happens to be the BJP. The basis for this is the communal polarisation in the UT on regional lines.</p>.<p>The plan to increase the number of Assembly seats is contained in the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. But there is obvious manipulation in the way it has been done. Some governments undertake such exercises to give a veneer of legitimacy to their plans to politically dominate territories or populations, especially of minorities, which are not seen to support them. The rationale of delimitation in J&K itself is not clear as the delimitation exercise for the entire country has been postponed. The proposals will be considered in the Valley as part of the series of unpopular and repressive measures taken by the government after the reorganisation of the erstwhile state. They will increase the sense of alienation among the people and further weaken the pro-India sentiment and forces in the Valley.</p>
