An official spokesman announced that the Jammu and Kashmir administration has approved a 10 percent reservation for four newly added tribes, increasing the overall reservation for the Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Union Territory to 20 percent. Additionally, the administration has sanctioned the inclusion of 15 new castes in the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and raised the reservation for the OBCs to eight percent.

In February, the Parliament approved two bills that grant reservation to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local bodies and include four additional communities -- Gadda Brahmin, Koli, Paddari Tribe, and Pahari Ethnic group -- in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs) in Jammu and Kashmir.

The spokesman stated that the administrative council, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, convened here and approved the proposal from the social welfare department to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Rules of 2005.

This amendment aligns with the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Act of 2023, the Constitution (Jammu & Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Act of 2024, the Constitution (Jammu & Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Act of 2024, and the recommendations put forth by the Jammu and Kashmir Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Commission of 2020.

The spokesman stated, "In response to the addition of four new tribes, namely the Pahari Ethnic Group, Paddari Tribe, Kolis, and Gadda Brahmins, to the Scheduled Tribes Order applicable to Jammu and Kashmir by the Parliament, the administrative council approved a 10 percent reservation in favour of the newly added tribes, thereby increasing the overall reservation for STs to 20 percent."

To ensure that both the previously notified and newly added tribes receive equal and separate benefits of reservation, the administrative council approved a reservation percentage of 10 percent for each of them individually.

The administrative council also approved changes in the nomenclature and synonymy of certain castes as recommended by the SEBC Commission. Furthermore, it endorsed replacing the term "physically challenged persons" or "handicapped" with "Persons with Disabilities" in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the spokesman announced.

He stated that the amendments would address the longstanding demands of these communities for adequate representation in government jobs and professional courses. They had been deprived of these opportunities due to their social, educational, and economic backwardness.

Image source: The Hindu