Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2023

A: The J&K Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2023 is a proposed amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019. The Bill offers reservation of 9 seats in the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly for Scheduled Tribes (STs) for the first time. It seeks to complete the process of reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir, where assembly elections are long due. It aims to increase the strength of the legislative assembly of the union territory to 114 from 107.It aims to reserve three seats in the J&K assembly for nominated members from displaced communities.

A: Two seats are reserved for the "Kashmiri migrant community," with at least one nominee required to be a woman. One seat is allocated to a member from the "displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir" category.

A: The three nominated members will be nominated by the Lieutenant Governor of J&K.

A: The bill justifies the quota for "displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied J&K" based on their suffering during various conflicts, including the 1947 Indo-Pak war and subsequent wars in 1965 and 1971. The quota for "Kashmiri migrant community" is attributed to the time of militancy in J&K in 1989-90.

A: The reservation of 9 seats for Scheduled Tribes is a significant step towards providing political representation and empowerment to the tribal communities in Jammu and Kashmir.