India introduces new domicile law amid coronavirus lockdown

Source: AFP

The Indian government has introduced a new set of laws for Indian-administered Kashmir, including domicile rights for Indian citizens.

Experts and residents fear the law will alter the demographic status of the Muslim-majority region.

Under the new law, those who have resided for a period of 15 years in Indian-administered Kashmir or studied for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10/12 examinations in educational institutions located in the region are now eligible to become permanent residents.

The announcement comes eight months after the Indian government stripped the disputed region of its limited autonomy that had protected the region for decades from demographic changes.

The new law announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs also gave domicile status to the children of central government officials who have served in Indian-administered Kashmir for a total period of 10 years.

The announcement comes as the country of 1.3 billion people is under a 21-day lockdown due to coronavirus fears.

The Indian government changed the geographical and political status of the Indian-administered Kashmir region on 5 August, 2019 after it abrogated Article 370 – a law that constrained rights over jobs, scholarships and land to the permanent residents of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Thereafter, the region was divided into two federally-administered territories with limited power vested in the hands of the local people to decide their future.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had justified the stripping of the region’s special status by asserting that it will generate development.

Retired Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, who challenged the abrogation of Article 370 in the Supreme Court, said, “It is a permanent resident by stealth. It should worry the Kashmiris.”

While the law has triggered fear among Kashmiris about the permanent settlements by the outsiders, the experts say it will lead to demographic flooding.

“The whole purpose of revoking Article 370 was to settle outsiders here and change the demography of the state. Now this provides the modalities and entitles so many categories of Indians whose settlement will be legalised over here.” Sheikh Showkat Hussain, professor of legal studies based in the region said.

However, the leaders of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) justified the step, saying it will secure jobs only for the domiciles of the region.

“We have been pitching for it. Everyone in Jammu and Kashmir is happy. Let people who live here for 15 years get the benefits. No other outsiders will get it,” said Ashok Kaul, the general secretary for the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the new law, jobs up to the lowest level of non-gazetted rank are reserved for Jammu and Kashmir domiciles.

Rakesh Sinha, BJP leader and member of the upper house of Parliament, denied that the new law was an attempt to change the demography of the state.

Omar Abdullah, the former chief minister of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir who was recently released after seven months of detention, criticized the government for bringing in the law when the focus should be on fighting the current pandemic.

Khurram Parvez, a human rights defender based in the region, said, “By virtue of this order, outsiders are also going to be the claimants of jobs in Jammu and Kashmir, which already has a huge unemployment problem. This is an act against the interests of unemployed youth.”

The BJP has been opposed to the special status given to Indian-administered Kashmir in 1947 when British India was partitioned. Kashmir’s status could not be decided at the time as its then-ruler signed an Instrument of Accession with India, with New Delhi granting it a measure of autonomy – its own constitution, a separate flag and right to make laws.

Prime Minister Modi made the abrogation of Article 370 as one of his poll planks in the 2019 elections that he won by a landslide.