Aroosa Hafeez, The Orient News Research Section

The Himalayan former princely state has long been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan since independence. India stripped of Kashmir’s special status on 5th August 2020 and redrew the state’s internal boundaries. India made the region a simmering cauldron of discontent. The unilateral decision of India was the unconstitutional measure, which caused a burning effect throughout Kashmir and has ruined the normal functioning of the region. India invoked controversial and draconian laws in the region. Almost all Kashmiri politicians were arrested after the Government of India revoked the special status. Thousands of security personnel were sent in and the Valley was clamped down with severe communications blackout. Indian government quietly amended 138 state laws that were protecting the indigenous identity of Kashmir. The long-drawn Kashmir conflict claimed thousands of lives and made the economy bleed, and has posed grave threats to the region.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed Kashmir’s residency laws for the first time since 1947, in a bid to snuff out any challenge to the occupied territory. It systematically paved the way for settling colonialism in J&K by forced demographic change, institutionalizing a system of domination over native Kashmiris, and obviating the people’s exercise of their right to self-determination. The new set of laws announced for IIOJK by Indian government included domicile rights for Indian citizens, which altered the demographic status of the Muslim-majority Himalayan region. In a slew of legislative changes after BJP government ended IIOJK’s semi-autonomous status, a significant aspect of the March 31st order defined “domicile” with regard to government employment.

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 only eligible to become permanent residents. The law also opens jobs to ‘outsiders’, which was not possible before the abrogation of J&K’s special status. Under the law, a person living in J&K for at least 15 years is eligible for all jobs in the Union Territories. It also extends domicile rights to children of Central government employees who have served in the UT for at least 10 years. New Domicile law is perhaps the greatest evidence of just how the Indian state wishes to reshape the demography of the region.

The law has overridden the erstwhile 1954 law, which empowered the state government to define the “permanent residents of J&K”, and to determine who had rights over jobs, property and land. Non-locals were not eligible for jobs due to special constitutional safeguards incorporated in the constitution of India.1927 law, promulgated by the king of J&Kand subsequently continued through Article 35A of the Indian Constitution, denied outsiders right to own property in IIOJK. It also stripped a Kashmiri woman of right to property if she married a person from outside the state. This law was apparently brought in, to protect the demographic identity of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the 2011 Census, Muslim Population in Jammu and Kashmir is 85.67 Lakhs (68.31 percent) of total 1.25 Crore. Christian Population in Jammu and Kashmir is 35.63 Thousand (0.28%) of total 1.25 Crore whereas, Hindu are minority in IIOJK. The 97 %Muslims majority Valley stays a sore point for the Hindu supremacists because it remains the epicentre of the anti-India revolt. IIOJK is the actual target of the demographic flooding, where the Hindu right sees Muslim population as a threat. The demographic flooding and the actual settlement of outsiders will simultaneously reduce IIOJK into Muslim minority and will transform a 73-year-old political dispute into a religious one.

This new domicile law has disastrous ramifications on the economy, industrial sector, central Government employees and tourism industry. Land can be transferred to non-J&K residents, who can permanently reside in J&K. Tens of thousands of Indian citizens can now apply for government jobs in J&K. Demographic flooding in IIOJK will automatically impact the results of a potential plebiscite or referendum in India’s favor. Moreover, it will allow Indian companies to grab local land. The government has issued several other orders that are culling Muslims and paving the way for non-local enterprises to tap the region’s resources. According to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) unemployment rate of IIOJK is 15.89% in comparison to the Indian average of 6.7%, the new domicile laws will worsen the problem to an unimaginable level.

Indian award of nationality to Indian nationals in IIOJK isjust to change region’s Muslim-majority into second-class citizens, a demographic minority, & pave way for ethnic cleansing. As IIOJK undergoes the biggest changes since India’s independence, the shrinking political space and denial of civil liberties had likely pushed every Kashmiri to join and support freedom fighters which they consider capable of confronting Indian forces.

Indian policy towards Kashmir is caught between a rock and a hard place. There are no signs that shows about the path India took will lead to peace and development in the region. The threat of demographic change, loss of livelihood and increased competition for scarce resources in the region has electrified an already incensed population. While Kashmir is being transformed beyond recognition as every day passes, all the factors have created a situation of hopelessness in Kashmir. BJP fascist regime has engineered demographic change to dilute the region’s ethnic and religious identity which has just fuelled anger among native Kashmiris.The implications of new domicile law is only calamitous.