Avinash Azad
In a tense face-off in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, the government has shot down allegations of foul play in issuing domicile certificates, insisting that only eligible residents of the Union Territory are getting the coveted document—while brushing aside fears of a demographic shake-up.
Responding to a barrage of pointed questions from MLA Mir Saifullah, the administration doubled down on its adherence to the 2020 Domicile Certificate Rules, dismissing claims of non-residents sneaking in and sparking a fiery debate over identity, residency, and the future of J&K’s fragile demographic balance.
In a charged assembly session on Saturday, Saifullah grilled the administration on whether domicile certificates—those golden tickets to residency rights in the UT—are being handed out to J&K residents as promised. “Yes, Sir,” came the reply, rooted in the Jammu & Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificates (Procedure) Rules, 2020, rolled out via S.O. 166 on May 18, 2020 by the General Administration Department.
But Saifullah wasn’t done. He pressed further, asking if these certificates were slipping into the hands of non-residents in violation of the rules. The government’s response was a flat “No, Sir,” shutting down the notion of any village-wise, tehsil-wise, or district-wise list of outsiders clutching illicit certificates over the past two years. “No, Sir,” they reiterated, leaving no room for doubt—or data. The MLA then turned up the heat, questioning whether certificate holders were secretly living across India and if their issuance to non-residents risked altering J&K’s cultural and ethnic fabric. The government held its ground: “Domicile certificates are issued only to eligible persons under the prescribed rules, irrespective of caste, creed, or religion.” No hints of remedial steps were offered—because, in their view, there’s no problem to fix.
