Avinash Azad
In a blistering assault on the political establishment, the Joint Action Committee of Reserved Categories (JACRC) has unleashed a torrent of criticism against Scheduled Caste (SC) MLAs, the BJP-led central government, and the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory (JKUT) administration, accusing them of a decade-long betrayal of SC, Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Class (OBC) communities.
At a packed press conference yesterday, the JACRC—a formidable coalition of socio-religious groups, retirees, youth, and women representing reserved categories—laid bare a litany of broken promises, bureaucratic sabotage, and political cowardice that has left their communities languishing in neglect.
The JACRC didn’t mince words, charging SC MLAs, particularly those from the BJP, with abandoning their own people to toe party lines. Mohinder Bhagat, Working General Secretary, delivered a scathing rebuke: “These MLAs have sold their souls for party agendas, leaving their communities to rot. Where is their voice when the Lieutenant Governor’s administration guts our recruitment rosters? Why do they sit mute while reserved posts vanish?” Bhagat’s fury was palpable as he demanded that SC BJP MLAs force the LG, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and the dormant reservation subcommittee to act—or face the wrath of their constituents.
A Decade of Deception
The JACRC traced the rot back to the BJP-PDP coalition in 2015, when the J&K High Court struck down reservation in promotions—a ruling that sparked outrage among SC/ST employees. A subsequent Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court secured a blanket stay on the High Court’s order, yet successive governments, governors, and the current LG have refused to implement it.
Prof. G.L. Thapa, Working President of JACRC, thundered, “We’ve submitted memorandum after memorandum, but they’ve been tossed into the dustbin of indifference. This isn’t neglect—it’s a calculated assault on our rights.”
Post the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the BJP-led administration has only tightened the noose, according to JACRC leaders. They pointed to Order No. GAD-MTG0RBIV/2021-09-GAD (dated 03-02-2022), which withdrew hundreds of reserved posts, and the recasting of recruitment rosters as deliberate moves to dismantle SC/ST representation.
“They trumpet empowerment from Delhi’s rooftops, but here they’re strangling us,” Thapa raged. The committee demanded a white paper from both the JKUT and central government to expose their hollow claims of uplifting reserved categories over the past ten years.
Judicial Wins, Bureaucratic Blocks
The JACRC’s case is bolstered by a string of judicial victories that bureaucrats have brazenly ignored. Er. Sadiq Azad highlighted multiple rulings in their favor: interim High Court orders in 2018 (SWP No. 924/2018, 464/2018, 2430/2018), the Presidential Order (C.O 271) of 2019 extending the 77th Constitutional Amendment to J&K, a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) decision in December 2024 (OA 169/2023), and a High Court reaffirmation this month (WP (C) No. 336/2023, 06-03-2025). “The courts have spoken loud and clear,” Azad declared. “Yet JKUT bureaucrats keep feeding lies to the LG and the government, stalling justice at every turn.”
Empty Promises and Silent MLAs
The JACRC reserved special venom for the National Conference (NC), which, under Dr. Farooq Abdullah, vowed during election campaigns to review and rectify reservation imbalances. Months after forming a subcommittee to address these grievances, no meetings have been held, no stakeholders consulted, and no action taken.
“They dangled hope before us to win votes, then vanished into silence,” Bhagat spat. He also called out the BJP for failing to appoint an SC member to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC)—a post vacant for two years—demanding answers from SC/ST/OBC party leaders who’ve stayed conspicuously quiet. Six months ago, the LG administration altered the SC recruitment roster, further eroding opportunities—a move Bhagat branded as “a slap in the face” to reserved communities. “Where were our MLAs then? Hiding behind party banners while our future was auctioned off,” he said.
A Call to Arms
Sham Basson, summing up the JACRC’s demands, issued a stark ultimatum: restore reservation in promotions per court orders, reinstate the original direct recruitment roster (3,15,27,39), implement the Mandal Commission Report, conduct a caste-based census in JKUT, and appoint an SC JKPSC member—immediately. “We’ve waited long enough,” Basson warned.
“If these demands aren’t met soon, Jammu will see a rally so massive it’ll shake the corridors of power from here to Delhi.” The JACRC’s blistering critique has ignited a firestorm, exposing the chasm between political rhetoric and reality. With reserved communities rallying behind their call, the pressure is mounting on SC MLAs, the JKUT administration, and the central government to answer for a decade of inaction—or face the consequences of a reckoning long overdue.
