When the revenue department of Jammu and Kashmir replied to a question raised by MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para on 28 October, it did more than release a set of numbers. It quietly uncovered how unevenly social justice has been mapped across the Union Territory. The district-wise data on caste and category certificates issued over the past two years reveal disparities so sharp that they call for more than bureaucratic explanation, they demand a new conversation on the way opportunity is structured between the two divisions.
Between 2023 and 2025, the department issued 70,268 Scheduled Caste (SC) certificates. Of these, over 99 per cent came from Jammu Division (JD), while barely 0.6 per cent were issued in Kashmir Division (KD). In the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, 87 per cent of certificates originated in JD and 12.7 per cent in KD. The pattern extends to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Actual Line of Control (ALC) groups, with 88.5 per cent and 85.2 per cent respectively concentrated in JD.
Only in one category—the Residents of Backward Areas (RBA)—is the situation reversed: About 67 per cent of those certificates were issued in KD, the remaining 33 per cent in JD.
These are not dry figures from an office ledger; they trace the very geography of access. Where certificates accumulate, so do the benefits of reservation, college seats, job lists, promotions, and welfare entitlements.
It is tempting to attribute the difference purely to population patterns. Jammu, with its larger Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe presence, will naturally have more beneficiaries. But the same reasoning does not explain the imbalance in EWS or ALC categories, which cut across caste and religion.
The real fault lies in policy design—a one-size-fits-all reservation mechanism applied to regions that differ in economy, connectivity, and administrative reach.
Numbers alone do not capture what this means on the ground. When one division receives nearly all the reserved-category certifications, the shortlist for recruitment inevitably reflects that skew. Over time, citizens begin to feel that a measure created for justice has turned into regional favour. Such perceptions, even when unintended, corrode faith in governance.
But the imbalance visible today is not permanent. It stems largely from inertia—the habit of doing things the old way. A small procedural change in how vacancies are advertised can make the entire system appear, and function, more just.
Also read: Reservations for Kashmir’s Paharis meant to help them but it could start new fires instead
Tried and tested remedy
The remedy does not lie in abolishing reservation or tampering with constitutional safeguards. It lies in decentralising opportunity. One credible reform can be to advertise jobs division-wise or district-wise instead of running a single Union Territory-wide recruitment drive. This will not alter the percentages for SC, ST, OBC, EWS, RBA or ALC. It will only ensure that each division receives its fair slice of vacancies based on population and developmental needs.
Vacancies can be distributed using a two-step formula: About 70 per cent according to population share; the remaining 30 per cent adjusted through indicators such as literacy, unemployment, health facilities, and road access. Each advertisement will show its division-wise breakup, the reservation matrix, and a legal reference number so citizens know the ground rules before applying.
The idea is hardly radical. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and several Northeastern states already follow area-based or district-based recruitment to ensure participation from remote and tribal belts. Even the All India Services use state-wise cadre allocations, an implicit recognition that geography matters in representation. For Jammu and Kashmir, such an approach will address two chronic problems: Regional imbalance and public distrust.
Districts like Kupwara, Kulgam, or Kathua cannot compete evenly with Jammu or Srinagar when the entire process is centralised. Division or district-wise notification will allow candidates to compete within comparable conditions, preserving merit but levelling the field.
It will also calm the politics that shadows every hiring exercise. Each major recruitment, whether by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission or the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board becomes a contest of accusations between regions. A transparent allocation will end the speculation by showing, in plain numbers, how many posts belong to which division and why.
Also read: Casteism in Kashmir was swept under the rug. SC decision on Article 370 will help address it
A warning signal
From a legal standpoint, nothing prevents such a step. The J&K Reservation Rules 2005, as amended, already empower the government to define areas and classes for special consideration. A simple government order can operationalise division-wise notifications without touching the constitutional architecture of reservation.
Administratively, the model can be tested through a pilot, say in education or rural development, before a wider rollout. The revenue department’s data provides the baseline needed to craft the formula for population and deprivation weights.
If implemented well, this reform can also strengthen regional accountability. Local officers will verify certificates and monitor rosters within their own jurisdictions, making it easier to trace irregularities and ensure that benefits reach the genuinely eligible. Over time, it can rebuild confidence in the fairness of recruitment, which has suffered under repeated controversies and cancellations.
At its heart, this is not a policy debate but a human one. In Jammu and Kashmir, a government job carries more than a salary—it represents recognition, stability, and belonging. When whole regions feel shut out, alienation deepens. When opportunity is shared fairly, trust grows.
The revenue department’s figures should therefore be read not as a technical report but as a warning signal. If one division holds 99 per cent of SC certificates and the other barely registers a fraction, it is not just an administrative quirk, it reflects a deeper drift in moral balance.
A division or district-wise recruitment model will not take away anyone’s rights; it will give meaning to those rights across the map. It will replace competition between regions with a common faith in fairness.
The debate over reservation in J&K has long been politically charged, but it need not remain frozen. The government’s own data now provides a neutral starting point for reform. It shows that while the intent of social justice remains intact, its execution has turned spatially uneven.
The answer lies in re-designing opportunity so that equality feels real in both regions, not rhetorical in one and residual in the other.
Dr. Ashraf Zainabi is a teacher and researcher based in Gowhar Pora Chadoora, Jammu & Kashmir. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)