Srinagar: The cabinet sub-committee constituted by the Jammu and Kashmir government to examine the issue of reservations in the Union Territory (UT) has drafted its report and will submit it in the next meeting of the cabinet.
“The Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted to examine the issue of reservations has drafted its report within the stipulated time frame of 6 months. The report will be placed before the Cabinet when it meets,” Minister for Education Sakina Ittoo posted on her X handle.
The committee was constituted in response to widespread concerns following a March 2024 amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, under the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The amendment increased reservation in government jobs from 43% to 70%, largely due to the inclusion of the Pahari community under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.
The policy sparked protests and opposition from several quarters, prompting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to set up the Cabinet Sub-Committee to reassess the implications of the move. The panel was given six months to complete its review.
The cabinet sub-committee was formed in December last year after protests by students outside the residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here against the existing reservation policy.
The protest was led by National Conference (NC) leader and Lok Sabha member from Srinagar Aga Ruhullah Mehdi.
With the Centre granting reservation to Pahari-speaking people in the UT, the open merit category has been reduced to just 30 percent while 70 percent are reserved for various communities.
Students, especially those undergoing training in medicine and surgery, were protesting against this policy, saying it promotes mediocrity where merit should reign supreme.
Meanwhile, reacting to the news, MLA Handwara and Peoples Conference President, referring to his post on X on 28 May, 2025, posted on X: “My guess on reservations sub Committee report was not wrong. So if there is a report it is to be submitted to the cabinet
“I hope I am wrong in the context of the reservations and all pervasive sense of foreboding prevails.”
On May 28th Lone had posted that the issue of reservations is all set to come up for discussion again.
“I will be honest. I don’t have a lot of hope. The committee formed by the present government is a typical run of the mill, time buying, excuse-making bureaucratic gibberish. It will end up with either seeking another date or come up with a statement mired in ambiguity, or a decision to make one more committee.”
He had posted that government neither has the brain nor the brawn.
“You really do need brains to understand the complexities of reservation in J & K. And you need a lot of brawn to take a principled stand on it.”
“I refuse to trivialise the concept of reservations by relegating it to snatching employment from person A and giving it to person B. That is a part of the problem. The damage is much more.
“Reservations have to be at an optimal level. They cannot be excessive. Excess of reservations crowds out talent, disincentivises intellect, and sets in motion a process which subjugates meritocracy for all times to come.
Nations are built by outstanding young men and women who excel in their chosen subjects. The whole concept of schools, universities, examinations, academic specialisations is to have system in place which identifies these outstanding intellectuals in different fields. Nations are built by these rarest of rare supremely superior intellectuals, identified in a rigorously competitive system of selection,” he had posted.
“Out here in J & K, reservations is not a stand alone social tool in totality. It is unfortunately also a political tool; it is regrettably also a retributive tool. The planners and perpetrators are in search of a new normal in the society and reservations is their magical reset button.
“The problem of reservations is simply not about numbers. It is much more. And It is a post dated cheque for disaster. Societal resets have not worked anywhere in the world and will not work here,” his post read.
CSC report must reflect what students have articulated: NC MP Aga Ruhullah
Says meeting students, reservation rights activists on Jun 11 to discuss issue in detail
While the Cabinet Sub-Committee formed to examine grievances related to the Union Territory’s revised reservation policy, has completed its report and is set to present it before the Cabinet in its upcoming meeting, Member of Parliament from Srinagar and National Conference leader Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi has asserted that the recommendations must reflect the concerns raised by the students.
As per the news agency KNO, Ruhullah, who has been at the forefront of the demand to roll back the revised reservation policy, said he is scheduled to meet with students on June 11 to discuss the issues leading up to the sub-committee’s report.
“I expect what the students expect—that their demands, concerns, and grievances are addressed with fairness and transparency. There is a clear call for rationalization of the reservation regime and it must be carried out in line with what the students have articulated,” Ruhullah said.
He added that a delegation of student leaders and reservation rights activists is scheduled to meet him on June 11 at 10:30 AM to discuss the issue in detail.
Earlier on Tuesday, Minister Sakina Itoo, who chaired the sub-committee, provided an update on the progress. “The Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted to examine the issue of reservations has drafted its report within the stipulated time frame of six months. The report will be placed before the Cabinet when it meets,” Itoo said in a post on X.
The committee was constituted in response to widespread concerns following a March 2024 amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004, under the administration of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The amendment increased reservations in government jobs from 43 percent to 70 percent, largely due to the inclusion of the Pahari community under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.
The policy sparked protests and opposition from several quarters, prompting then-Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to establish the Cabinet Sub-Committee to reassess the implications of the move. The panel was given six months to complete its review.
PDP’s Parra calls for making Cabinet committee report on reservations public
PDP leader Waheed Para on Tuesday said the Omar Abdullah government should make public the report of the Cabinet sub-committee on reservations in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the intentions of the government were under question.
“Students are demanding answers, not delays. Why hold back the Cabinet committee report on merit? After your govt’s adverse stand on merit in court, intentions not actions are under question.
“After six years of an unelected government, the least people deserve from it is transparency. Make the report public,” Para posted on X.
The PDP leader was reacting to Education minister Sakina Ittoo’s post, in which she said the Cabinet sub-committee has completed its report and will submit it when the council of ministers meets next.
“Jammu and Kashmir is a conflict-ridden region burdened with decades of trauma, depression and the highest unemployment rate in India. Sixty-five per cent of its population is youth, who are struggling between hopelessness and dreams of a better future.
“As a border state with immense strategic importance, our youngsters are not just an opportunity but also a challenge if ignored,” Para said.
He added that amid fragile peace, terror threats and cross-border skirmishes, the youth of Kashmir have chosen the path of competing on merit.
“They want to be doctors, engineers, civil servants, and builders of a better tomorrow, which is perhaps the best thing that can happen to any nation.
“Yet, the biggest hurdle to their dreams is not violence but the systematic embargo on merit. The only region in the country where youth are punished for being meritorious is sadly J&K,” Para claimed.
The MLA from Pulwama also said that reservation was important to uplift the downtrodden, but it cannot, under any circumstances, come at the cost of merit.
“That’s precisely why we’ve been demanding pro-rata rationalisation of reservation,” Para added.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah may not have created “the monster of this flawed reservation policy but it was your party, your MLAs, and your parliamentarians who promised its correction”, he said.
“With an absolute mandate of 50 seats in a region where 70 percent depend on merit, what exactly are you waiting for? Which business rule, which statehood, which sub-committee is stopping you? It’s a shame that a party whose founder stood for autonomy cannot even stand for merit today,” Para said.
The PDP leader also said that if leaders cannot unite for the youth and the principle of fairness, “what future are we talking about? Let merit lead”.
