By Prof. G.M. Athar
The people of Jammu and Kashmir State have struggled very hard for two decades from1931 to 1951 to abolish the Dogra autocracy and establish the democratic system of governance in the former princely state. All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference led by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was established on October 15, 1932 to start the struggle for social, economic and political empowerment of the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir.Keeping in view the need for an inclusive political struggle for abolition of Dogra autocracy and feudalism in the state, Sheikh Mohamad Abdullah converted All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference into All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on June 11,1939 to throw open the membership of his politiical party to non-Muslims of the state as well. The National Conference released its ‘Naya Kashmir’ Manifesto in July 1944 to build an evaluation society, prosperous economy and vibrant democracy in Jammu and Kashmir State. After the lapse of British paramountcy in the Indian Subcontinent on August 15,1947, the democratically elected government could not be established in Jammu and Kashmir State for four years partly because of the India-Pakistan War over Kashmir in 1947-1948 and partly due to the inability of the United Nations Security Council to resolve territorial dispute between India and Pakistan following the reference of ‘Kashmir Question’ to the United Nations on December 1947.Fed up with the political status quo in Jammu and Kashmir from October 1947, the All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference passed a resolution on October 27,1950, appealing Shri Karan Singh, the Head of Jammu and Kashmir State to hold elections for framing the Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly, to determine the nature of future Constitution and political affiliation of Jammu and Kashmir State.
Shri Karan Kara Singh issued the decree on May 31,1951 to hold the elections to frame the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir State.Depending upon the political considerations out of a total of 100 Assembly Constituencies for the entire Jammu and Kashmir State, 25 seats were kept vacant for the Pakistan Administered Jammu and Kashmir and the elections were held only in 75 Assembly Constituencies in the Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir State in September and October1951 and the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir State was inaugurated on November 5, 1951. After the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir State was adopted on November 17, 1956 and enforced on January 26,1975 the regular elections in the state were held to constitute the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir after every six years give people an opportunity to have an elected government in the state. However, there was no elected government in Jammu and Kashmir State from 1990 to 1996 because of the rise of militancy in the state in July1988. Following the withdrawal of support by BJP to the PDP-led coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir State on June 19 June 2018 the Jammu and Kashmir is without any elected government for the last four years and the state is being directly ruled by New Delhi through its Governors and Lt. Governors as was the case during the Mughal Period from 1586 onwards.
DELIMITATION OF ASSEMBLY AND PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR UNION TERRITORY:-
The origin of the electoral politics in former Jammu and Kashmir State has its origin in the Glancy Commission Report submitted by Bertrand James Glancy to Maharaja Hari Singh on March 22, 1932. The Glancy Commission Report recommended the establishment of of a Legislative Assembly called as the Praja Sabha having 75 members out of which 33 members were supposed to be the elected members. The first election for electing the members took place in September 1934.The delimitation of 75 Assembly Constituencies in Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir State in1951to hold elections to the;Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly took place on the basis of population data published by the Department of Census for the year 1941.The total population of the undivided Dogra kingdom was 40 lakh people in1941. Accordingly 40,000 was fixed as the average population threshold for an Assembly Constituency, with the result the Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly was supposed to be having 100 members out of which 25 seats were kept vacant for the Pakistan Administered Jammu and Kashmir. Subsequently the Assembly segments were increased at different points of time to suit the changing circumstances. Before the re-organisation of Jammu and Kashmir State on August 5, 2019, the state had a total of 87 Assembly Constituencies out of which 46 were in Kashmir Division, 37 in Jammu Division and the remaining 4 were in Ladakh Division. Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir wanted in 2007 to increase the number of Assembly Constituencies to125 but due to the lack of political consensus in the state legislature the move was not successful. After the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir State into the Ladakh Union Territory and Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory by the BJP led NDA Government at the Centre on August 5, 2019, the BJP exhibited special interest in delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory to politically empower the so-called loosers in the non-BJP rule in the Muslim dominated state. Accordingly the Government of India constituted a three member Delimitation Commission headed by Justice Ranjana Desai in 2020. According to the legal experts, the Government of India can not go for the delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory, because of the fact that the constitutional changes made by the Indian Parliament in the absence of an elected government in Jammu and Kashmir State on August 5, 2019 area in violation to the Constitutional norms and ethics of the country, and the matter is under the consideration of the Supreme Court of India. Without going into the legal and constitutional dimensions of ongoing delimitation process in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory the present study is an effort to adopt a scientific methodology for understanding the adequacy or inadequacy of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir and to suggest an objective framework for creating more Assembly and Parliamentary segments in the Union Territory. There is no other district in Jammu Division which qualifies for additional Assembly Constituency on the basis of required median area threshold.
THE ADAPTIVE APPROACH TO DELIMITATION OF ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES:-
As mentioned above once the elections to the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir State were held in1951 on the basis of the population data published by the Census Department of Jammu and Kashmir State for1941.The total population of the undivided Dogra kingdom was 40 lakh people in 1941.In order to delimit the future Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory the latest available population data has been published by the Department of Census of India for the year 2011.The Government of India has already taken the decision to increase the number of Assembly Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory from 83 to 90 and keep the number of Parliamentary Constituencies without any change in the Union Territory. So in this regard the top-down approach has been adopted by the Government of India to make the minor changes at the bottom-level to adjust the additional 7 Assembly Constituencies in the empirical conditions to fulfill the objectives of the present government. Accordingly the present section, the Adaptive Approach of Spatial Planning suggested by T. Harmansen (1971) and the methodology devised by Lalit K. Seen (1973) to study the adequacy and inadequacy of policy functions ass well as their selective decentralisation, has been adopted in the present study. The main objective of the present section is to identify the district level variations in the distribution of Assembly Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory. The identification of the inadequately served districts can guide in alloting the additional 7 Assembly Constituencies in the most appropriate districts. .
EVALUATION OF SHARE IN ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES OF KASHMIRI PEOPLE:- Given the fact that for a population of 12, 267,013 persons in Jammu and Kashmir State during the year 2011 the number of Assembly Constituencies is 90, which means that the average population threshold for each Assembly Constituency is 136,300 persons. By making tthe use of the average population threshold for a population of 5, 378, 538 persons in Jammu Division in 2011 the 10 districts must get a total of 39.46 seats which can be rounded off to 40 seats out of a total of 90 seats for the entire Jammu and Kashmir State.Similarly, for a population of 6,888,475 persons in Kashmir Division in 2011 the total number of seats due to the Kashmir Valley is 50.54 seats which can be rounded off to 50 seats out of a total of 90 Assembly Constituencies for the entire Union Territory. Given the population size of different districts of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory in 2011 Kupwara and Srinagar districts must get additional 1 seat each, whereas Anantnag district must get 2 additional seats. Kulgam district has presently 4 Assembly seats but as per the average population threshold it qualifies for 3.114 seats only. However, keeping in view the fact that it has difficult topography in certain areas and the population density is not uniform in the district, so withdrawing an existing Assembly Constituency would not be a wise decision. Contrary to it the Budgam district qualifies for half a seat more but given the existing limited number of seats available for redistribution, no additional Assembly Constituency can be granted to Budgam District.Thus the due share of Kashmir Division is four seats and the same can be alloted to the respective districts as discussed above. However, the Assembly Constituencies in the Kupwara, Srinagar and Anantnag districts need to be reorganised to ensure that the inadequately served tehsils get the first priority. The issue has to be addressed at the district level on the basis of the population distribution, accessibility and other objective ethno-lingual and socio-cultural factors, especially the reservation policy of the Government as and where applicable. There is no such district in Kashmir Division which qualifies for additional Assembly Constituency on the basis of median area threshold limit.
EVALUATION OF SHARE IN ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES FOR JAMMU PEOPLE:-
In Jammu Division the Doda, Rajouri and Udhampur Districts each qualify for getting additional 1 Assembly Constituency on the basis of population threshold. On the basis of population threshold Kathua district qualifies for 4.5 seats but at present it has 5 Assembly Constituencies. On the other hand Poonch district qualifies for 3.5 seats but presently it has only 3 Assembly seats. Riasi district qualifies for 2.3 seats but in reality it has 3 seats. The Assembly Constituencies existing in different districts of Jammu Division must not be reduced in any case but the efforts must be made to demand the additional seats to fulfill the demands of the people living in unserved far flung and densely populated areas. Thus the Jummu Division must be alloted three additional Assembly Constituency in the present circumstances.
Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory has varying geographical size of its Assembly Constituencies depending on variations in population density in different parts of the Union Territory. On the on hand Srinagar District being under served on the basis of population threshold for an Assembly Constituency has 247 square kilometres as the average size of its Assembly Constituencies whereas Kashtwar District having adequate number of Assembly Constituencies on the basis of population threshold has the average geographical size of its Assembly Constituencies as large as 2058 square kilometres. In order to address the problem of the large Assembly Constituencies in terms of the geographical area, the median area threshold for an Assembly Constituency has been worked out by adding the territory of the smallest Assembly Constituency to the largest Assembly Constituency and dividing the product by 2 that gives a value of 2057.75 square kilometres which has been rounded off as 2058 square kilometres. It means that all those Assembly Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir which have a geographical area of more than 2058 square kilometres qualify for having additional Assembly Constituencies. However, an Assembly Constituency can not be created for an uninhibited geographical territory, so the particular district’s value obtained from the population threshold and the area threshold are added together and then divided by 2 to get the mean value for an Assembly Constituency. For example, the average geographical area of an Assembly Constituency in Kishtwar District is 3868.5 square kilometres. Once we divide the geographical area of 7,737squre kilometres in Kishtwar District by 2058 square kilometres the standard median area of an Assembly Constituency it gives a value of 3.8 seats. But once the population of 230,. 698 in Kishtwar District is divided by the standard population threshold of 136300 persons, it gives a value of only 1.7 seats. So by adding 3.8 (median area threshold) and 1.7 (standard population threshold) we get a value of 5.5 and after dividing 5.5 by 2 we get 2.75 seats which can be rounded off to 3 seats. Since Kishtwar District is already having 2 seats so on the basis of population threshold and area threshold parameters the district needs to be given one additional Assembly Constituency. However, given the fact that the Central Government hass increased only 7 seats so either more one seat has to be demanded for the Kishtwar District or the people of Reyasi and Kathua districts have to be taken into conference make the adjustment of Assembly Constituencies in Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency to benefit the people of Kishtwar District. There is no other district in Jammu Division which qualifies for additional Assembly Constituency on the basis of median area threshold limit.
RESTRUCTURING OF PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES IN JAMMU PROVINCE:-
With respect to the Parliamentary Constituencies of Jammu Division only reorganisation within the set geographical conditions is more viable owing to the rugged topography and harsh climatic conditions and weather hazards.There are five Parliamentary Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory. The average population threshold for each Parliamentary Constituency is 2,453, 403 on the basis of 2011 Census. Only Jammu Parliamentary Constituency has a population of 2,965, 258 persons which means an excessive population of 511,805 persons from the average population threshold for a Parliamentary Constituency. It means that Jammu Parliamentary Constituency spread over Jammu , Samba, Rajouri and Poonch districts does not qualify for one more Parliamentary Constituency on the basis of population threshold. The median population threshold for a Parliamentary Constituency in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory has been worked out by adding the population of the largest Parliamentary Constituency to the smallest Parliamentary Constituency in terms of the size of the population and after dividing the product by 2 to get 2,617,940. It means the population of Jammu Parliamentary Constituency is having 347, 318 persons more than the median population threshold within Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory. From the Adaptive Planning perspective, the only logical and viable option available in Jammu Division is to restructure the Parliamentary Constituencies of Jammu region to divide the extra population between Jammu Parliamentary Constituency and the Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency.
DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH TO DELIMITATION OF PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE:-
According to Harmansen the developmental planning aims at dynamic and ambitious development. Applying developmental planning approach to suggest major changes in the provision of policy functions for political empowerment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory, it is very essential to understand the the peculiar topographical, climatic and communication infrastructure conditions of the Himalayan territory. The population of Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir would be more than 15 million by the year 2030. So the maximum population threshold of 150, 000 persons would be enough for an Assembly Constituency. Keeping the norm of uniform population threshold in view the number of Assembly Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir State must be increased from 90 to 100. Keeping in view the rugged topography and harsh climatic conditions, the criterion of minium population threshold need to be relaxed to have selective decentralisation of Assembly Constituencies in some remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir State.
The number of the Parliamentary Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir need to be increased in such a way so that it becomes easy for an elected parliamentarian to properly serve the electorate and the people are also in a position to avail the services.It would be the most appropriate to increase the number of Parliamentary Constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory to 8 so that each region gets proper representation in the Indian Parliament. The territorial reorganisation of the future parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir can be as under:
(1).Jammu and Samba Districts;
(2).Poonch and Rajouri Districts;
(3) Udhampur, Kathua and Reyasi Districts;
(4). Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban Districts;
(5) Anantnag and Kulgam Districts;
(6). Pulwama, Shupian & Budgam Districts;
(7) Srinagar, Ganderbal and Bandipora Districts; and
(8). Baramulla and Kupwara Districts.
In case the Supreme Court of India declares the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir State on 5th August 2019 as unconstitutional and the Ladakh Union Territory becomes again a part of Jammu and Kashmir State in that situation both Leh District and Kargil District need to be recognised as two separate Parliamentary Constituencies.
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION AND THE ROTATION OF RESERVED CATEGORY STATES:-
Here it is very important to mention that the principle of proportional representation to the schedule castes, schedule tribes and minorities need to be strictly followed to politically empower the marginalised groups of the society in Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly the principle of rotation of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies need to be followed to give proper opportunity to general category and reserved categories of population in the State.
CONCLUSION:-
The present study conducted on the basis of the population census of 2011 has revealed that on the basis of distribution of population in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory, the Kashmir Division deserves four additional Assembly Constituencies whereas Jammu region qualifies for only three. additional seats out of a total of Seven Seats. However, keeping in view the large geographical area of Kishtwar District it deserves a third Assembly Constituency but keeping in view the limited number of Assembly Constituencies sanctioned to Jammu and Kashmir, the Government of India must reconsider the decision to increase the number of Assembly Constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir to 100. Similarly the number of Parliamentary Constituencies need to be increased from 5 to 8 in the coming years if not in the months ahead.
The author can be reached at ghathar@yahoo.co.in
The views expressed are personal
