J K News Today Commentary

Jammu, July 1:

Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu has done well by making it clear that the domicile policy was in no way going to open floodgates for non-J&K people to the union territory and that the investors have never created problems in any part of the country, especially when he cited an example of Gujrati investors in Maharashtra.

Ever since the domicile policy was announced in April, there has been a large scale propaganda machinery of the separatist-inclined groups , and also some of the erstwhile mainstream leaders that the policy is going to change the demographic character of the Union territory. Some are just referring to demography, others are quite blunt that it will undermine the Muslim majority character of the place.

For long Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir until August 5 last year, when it was scrapped constitutionally with a parliamentary vote, was considered as a safeguard of the Muslim majority character of the state , special rights to own the immovable property, secure jobs and scholarships. But at the same time , the constitutional provisions of Article 370 and 35A were instrumental in denying the citizenship rights to the West Pakistan refugees, Valmikis , Gurkhas and several other sections . Though they were equal citizens of the country like the J&K residents , yet they had no access to the rights that J&K citizens had.

Since the propaganda had gained ascendency and was creating a lot of doubts in the minds of the people , Murmu has taken the right step by removing those unnecessary apprehensions , and he has clarified it once and for all that J&K stands to benefit from the policy as it would bring investment and speed up the pace of the development all across the Union Territory.

He has stated a fact that J&K is yearning for development and employment and that will come only with the investment that has been enabled by the new domicile policy.

The new domicile policy is not free for all. The domicile certificate can be obtained only by those who are the state subject holders of the erstwhile state and those who have lived in J&K for t least 15 years.