Pakistan’s foreign ministry summoned India’s envoy to Islamabad, M. Suresh Kumar, to voice its opposition to the Indian Delimitation Commission’s “farcical” report on redrawing electoral constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), which it said exposes the “ulterior motives” of the Indian government to “disenfranchise and disempower the Muslim majority population” in the region.
A press release by its ministry of foreign affairs said, “Any illegal, unilateral and mischievous attempt by India to allow disproportionately higher electoral representation to the Hindu population to the detriment of the Muslim population, is a mockery of all norms of democracy, morality and India’s obligations under the UN Security Council Resolutions and international law.”
🔊: PR NO. 1️⃣9️⃣9️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣2️⃣#Pakistan categorically rejects the report of the so-called ‘Delimitation Commission’ for the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) May 5, 2022
🔗 ⬇️https://t.co/hwJ7r2Tiqj pic.twitter.com/UwQeJmNwz6
Pakistan claimed that the report could not be accepted as it has already been rejected by several political parties in the disputed region, who shave alleged that the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is seeking to establish a puppet regime in J&K.
For instance, Kashmir People’s Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti said, “The Delimitation Commission has overlooked the basis of population and acted as per their wish. We outrightly reject it. We don’t trust it.”
Similarly, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M.Y. Tarigami said the process was “suspicious” and sought to instil mistrust amongst people. He also highlighted that the Delimitation Commission’s changes violated the 84th Amendment of the Constitution that barred delimitation exercises until 2026.
In this regard, Pakistan claimed that the Indian government is trying to ‘legitimise’ its decision to abrogate the special status of J&K back in August 2019. It also reminded Kumar that the J&K conflict is “an internationally recognised dispute and a long-standing item on the agenda of the UN Security Council.”
The Delimitation Commission’s final report was published on Thursday. While the process is usually conducted based on Census population, this time around the report relied on several other factors, including size, remoteness, and proximity to the border. Furthermore, the Commission accounted for “geographical features, means of communication, public convenience, contiguity of areas as various factors.”
Jammu & Kashmir Delimitation Commission signs the final order for Delimitation of the Union Territory pic.twitter.com/zanO90eBKW
— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2022
As a result of Thursday’s report, each Parliamentary Committee will comprise 18 Assembly Constituencies. The Commission awarded six more Assembly Constituencies to Jammu, which will now hold 43 out of the 114 seats in the Assembly. Likewise, Kashmir has been granted one extra seat, giving it 47 seats.
Furthermore, the Shia-dominated region of Srinagar has also been added to the Baramulla constituency in Kashmir. The Commission also reorganised existing constituencies. For instance, the Pir Panjal area, which comprises Poonch and Rajouri, has now been added to the Anantnag seat in Kashmir. It was a part of Jammu’s parliamentary seat. This decision is said to be aimed at removing the regional distinction between Jammu and Kashmir.
The Commission reserved nine assembly seats for Scheduled Tribes. Moreover, it recommended the “provision of at least two members from the community of Kashmiri Migrants (Kashmiri Hindus) in the Legislative Assembly.” In addition, the Committee suggested that the Central government “should consider giving representation in the J&K Legislative Assembly to the displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, who migrated to Jammu after Partition.”
According to an analysis by The Indian Express, the changes mean that the Hindu-dominated Jammu, which houses 44% of the region’s population, will now hold 48% of the seats in the Assembly, a significant increase from its previous share of 44.5%.
Delimitation was to be based on the 2011 Census. Ten districts in Kashmir had a 56.2% share in population, as per Census, while 10 districts in Jammu had 43.8% share. Kashmir has been allotted 52.2% seats, less than its share in population, while Jammu is allotted 47.8% seats. pic.twitter.com/AEKYokEqR5
— Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa (@vijdankawoosa) May 5, 2022
Of the six new seats in Jammu, four have been set aside for Hindu-dominated regions. Meanwhile, Kashmir’s new seat is situated in Kupwara, a stronghold of BJP-ally People’s Conference.
The Delimitation Commission was set up by the central government in March 2020 in pursuance of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, which sought to increase the number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. It is headed by former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai. Its members include Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra, J&K Chief Election Officer Hirdesh Kumar, and five MPs from J&K.
The Commission was initially given one year to conclude the delimitation process. However, after three MPs from the local National Conference party boycotted the proceedings, the process was delayed.
Prior to August 2019, erstwhile state J&K’s Legislative Assembly had 111 seats. Out of these, 46 were in Kashmir, 37 in Jammu, and four in Ladakh; 24 additional seats were reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. As per the J&K Representation of the People Act, 1957, the power of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies rests with the central government, while the delimitation of Assembly constituencies was to be carried out by the state government.
After the August 2019 decision to declare J&K and Ladakh as separate Union Territories, the power of delimitation of both the Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies was declared to be governed by the Constitution. Furthermore, J&K were left with 107 seats. Thereafter, the Reorganisation Act increased this number to 114, with 90 reserved for J&K and 24 for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
J&K has not had an elected government since June 2018. Home Minister Amit Shah has previously vowed to conduct elections as soon as the delimitation process is complete.
In fact, last October, he said, “Kashmiri youth will get opportunities, so a right delimitation will be done, which will be followed by-elections, and then the status of the statehood will be restored. I have said this in the Parliament and this is the roadmap.”