A A Latief u zaman Deva
SNS KASHMIR
SRINAGAR ,AUGUST ,20:
CEO’s invite to ”forces, Students & Labourers”.
Armed forces are registered as voters and exercise the franchise in the Constituencies they ordinarily would have been residing but for postings outside the concerned Assembly/ Parliamentary Constituencies and therefore can’t legally seek registration as voters at places of their postings who have been enabled to retain the status of residency of their native places despite continuous absence therefrom as they are scattered around the country including at borders and inaccessible regions. They aren’t & can’t be associated with respective socio- political parties wherever posted as that would be a security risk with potential for their identification and susceptibility to dragnet of espionage of forces inimical to the country coupled with the adverse impact the routine transfers and postings in their respective careers shall have on them should they have to be re-registered each time as voters at new places of postings.It is in this backdrop that their deemed residential status at places of their origin or the one formally declared stand protected.
It can’t be reversed in JK in face of uniform application of law in rest of the country and to this extent the uncalled for call of the CEO to ”forces” for availing of the opportunity to register as voters is against Sections 19 & sub sections 03 & 08 of section 20 of the Representation of the peoples Act 1950 & Rule 07 of Registration of Electors Rules 1960.
No of non- natives ordinarily residing in JK need be arrived at on the basis of Census 2011. There were about 06 lakh persons who can be said to be non- natives as their mother tongues are those languages which are not recognised/prevalent spoken ones in JK. Out of them 4 lakhs are in Jammu Division, 1.80 in the Valley and 0.20 in Ladakh and on the basis of preceding decadal growth rate of 23.7 % the population of such people could be up to 7.50 lakhs. The Army, security forces, central Govtt employees and migrant workers form this Segment of the non- natives out of whom forces may be in bulk numbers & by now replaced by their substitutes due to routine changes and transfers who in either case aren’t eligible for registration as voters in JK. Since on the basis of press reports the CEO has specifically mentioned Labourers & students apart from ”foces”, their( first two) entitlement if any need be examined on the basis of law and position in parallel cases in other Deptts.
The CEO on certain remarks can’t be faulted on technical grounds like in per centage of population of 18 years & above & @ 60% of the total population the projected number of voters. In accordance with the Census 2011 the population of the UT of J&K is12267013 & by applying the decadal growth rate of previous census @ 23.70% the projected population for 2021 could be 152 lakhs & @ 60% thereof the number of voters could be over 90 lakhs but against registration of about ten lakh new voters between 2011 to January 2019 the number for 03 years from July 2019 to September 2022 can’t be 25 lakhs but 03 to 0 4 Lakhs only. In Jammu Division the % of voters over the projected population of 2018 is above 60% but the position in the Kashmir region is alarming and far below the standard position.The discrepancy in the number of voters between the two regions is owing to the reluctance of sections of society in Kashmir Division to register themselves as voters & hopefully the enthusiastic majority may now come forward during the ensuing revision of electoral rolls otherwise the biased and tamed media ignorant of ground realities will start questioning the genuineness of Census data of 2011. The west Pakistan refugees & valmakies totaling 36000 are included in the voter lists & others below 18 age included in the population along with their communities falling in age of 18 & above. Out of 5.80 lakh non- natives almost 99% don’t qualify for registration as voters being armed forces personnel and migrant workers. The eligibility of ” non- native students” for registration as voters is determined on the basis of their larger periods of stay in JK ” as against at their native places during the durations of study which can equally be applied as one of the conditions in the determination of claims of migrant workers who generally work in Punjab and Haryana during winter months before moving into JK in late spring followed by their movements to Ladakh for financial gains. Overall their forays into JK are intermittent and factually & customarily they live settled lives back homes. This is also the bedrock for determining the ”ordinarily residing” under tax regimes and should apply mutatis mutandis in determining the claims of migrant labourers from rest of the country. However the quasi judicial like duties in this behalf can’t be expected to be discharged judiciously by Boath Level officers who in general are at lowest rungs of the non- gazetted services or class IV employees/ Daily Wagers regularised from time to time.
The unresolved faultlines in JK may attain akinness to Assam plunging JK in life threatening ethnic and linguistic animosities towards the mainlanders working in UT and to ward it off the ECOI should step in for clarifying the position.
The Systems introduced in JK reduced an ” uprising like situation” of early nineties” to manageable levels but would be found wanting for solutions in ethnic strife in view of pan UT fulminations against certain wrong declarations of CEO.