Investor Presentaiton
Raising the Stakes in Jammu and Kashmir
Crisis Group Asia Report N°310, 5 August 2020
Page 21
V. Threatening Kashmiri Identity
A. Altering Jammu and Kashmir's Demography
On 1 April, the Indian government passed an order that, for the first time, allows In-
dians from other states to seek permanent residency in Jammu and Kashmir. The
decision was announced as the region was under another lockdown, on this occasion
to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. 122 In the eyes of most Kashmiris, includ-
ing pro-India parties, this change in legislation, and the circumstances in which it
was taken, is a clear indication that the BJP government's long-term objective is to
alter Jammu and Kashmir's ethnic, social and religious identity.123
The Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules (2020)
enables residency and property rights for various categories of non-residents, who
can now also apply for government jobs. Those eligible include persons who have
lived in the state for fifteen years and their children; those who have studied in the
state for seven years and passed their tenth or twelfth standard examination; chil-
dren of central government employees who have resided in the state for "a total of
ten years"; and migrants (and their children) registered with the relief and rehabili-
tation commissioner. Applications can be made online, and must be processed with-
in fifteen days, an unusually short timeframe for any Indian administrative procedure.
An unusual appeal mechanism also seems designed to discourage officials from
rejecting applications. 124
years
Concretely, these criteria imply that the children of a large number of officials -
and potentially security personnel - who were stationed in Kashmir over the
can now claim residency, access to government jobs and voting rights. Jammu and
Kashmir also hosts hundreds of thousands of migrant labourers, some of whom set-
tled decades ago. As of the 2011 census, more than 1.7 million of these migrants had
been living in the region for five years or longer, implying that they would today be
eligible to apply for residency. This number of migrants represents the equivalent of
14 per cent of the state's population. 125 The process of issuing new domicile certificates
has already started, with the first handed out on the very day that the Jammu and
Kashmir administration launched its online application service. 126 As of late July, it
had already issued over 400,000 certificates, after officials were asked to speed up
the process. 127
This change of legislation had been on every Kashmiri's mind since 5 August. Given
the BJP's ideological background, anchored in Hindu nationalism, many feared the
122 "Centre defines new domicile rule for J&K, includes those who have lived in UT for 15 years",
The Indian Express, 2 April 2020.
123 "Jammu and Kashmir domicile rules: centre trying to change demography of UT, claim political
parties", New Indian Express, 19 May 2020.
124 "J&K govt's new domicile certificate rules a move to undercut resistance from Kashmiri officials?",
The Wire, 19 May 2020.
125
Ajaz Ashraf and Vignesh Karthik K.R., "Why J&K's demography will change beyond belief",
Newsclick, 31 May 2020.
126 "First J-K domicile certificate goes to north Kashmir girl through e-application", Outlook India,
22 June 2020.
127 "Officers asked to grant J-K domicile certificates within two days: revenue secy", The Tribune, 31
July 2020.View entire presentation