New Delhi, Jul 11 (KNS): The JK Peace Forum has knocked on the doors of the Jammu & Kashmir administration demanding immediate notification of a 5% supernumerary quota for registered Kashmiri migrant students in all professional and higher educational institutions across the Union Territory, arguing that rehabilitation remains incomplete without securing the future of displaced children.
In a detailed representation submitted to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the Education Minister and the Relief Commissioner, the forum pointed to an "ironic and painful" policy contradiction—while the Ministry of Education (erstwhile MHRD) had recognised the exceptional circumstances of Kashmiri migrants way back in October 2019 and directed concessions including supernumerary seats in institutions across the country, the Jammu & Kashmir government has failed to extend similar benefits within the homeland of the displaced community.
"If the Government of India has already recognised the educational hardships of Kashmiri Migrants, why has the Government of Jammu & Kashmir failed to do the same?" the forum asked in its submission.
The proposed 5% supernumerary quota, the forum clarified, would not reduce a single seat from any existing category, nor affect the rights of any other student. It seeks to create additional seats for a community that has endured one of independent India's longest periods of internal displacement.
The quota, if implemented, would cover admissions to medical colleges, dental colleges, AYUSH institutions, nursing colleges, engineering colleges, government universities, management institutes, law colleges, agriculture and veterinary colleges, as well as postgraduate and doctoral programmes—all from the academic session 2026-27.
"For thirty-six years, Kashmiri Migrant families have waited for justice. One generation lost its homes, businesses, educational institutions and livelihoods.
Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelAnother generation was born in exile and has never known its ancestral homeland except through stories told by parents and grandparents," the representation said in a statement.
"Today, those children are competing for admission into professional colleges without any meaningful educational rehabilitation policy from the Government of Jammu & Kashmir. How long must they continue to pay the price for a tragedy they never created?"
Citing Articles 14, 15, 21 and 46 of the Constitution, which mandate equality, protection of vulnerable sections and promotion of educational opportunities, the forum also invoked the Jammu & Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997, which recognises Kashmiri migrants as a distinct displaced community requiring continued protection and rehabilitation.
"If the Government can acknowledge displaced status while protecting migrant properties, why does that recognition disappear when the same displaced families seek educational opportunities for their children?" the forum questioned.
JK Peace Forum Secretary Satish Mahaldar said the demand was not for privilege but for equality and dignity.
"A nation is judged not by the promises it makes but by the justice it delivers. For thirty-six years, Kashmiri Migrants have heard assurances of rehabilitation. Yet their children continue to be denied educational opportunities in the very land they were forced to leave," Mahaldar said.
"History will remember whether the Government chose to act or chose to remain silent."
The forum has urged the administration to ensure the academic session 2026-27 becomes the year when "educational justice is finally delivered to the displaced children of Kashmir." (KNS)