Srinagar:The Delegation of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Wednesday met the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Parliament of India, and submitted a detailed representation highlighting the pressing concerns of students, youth, aspirants, tribal communities, and marginalised sections of Jammu & Kashmir. The Delegation was headed by the Advisor of the Association, Peerzada Mehboob-Ul-Haq. The delegation comprised National Spokesperson Dr. Zubair Reshi, State President Mubashir Ahmad, Advisor Faizaan Peer, and several national and state office bearers of the Association, including Peerzada Kafeel, Abrar Ahmed, Showkat Reshi, Irfan Ahmad, and others.
The delegation extensively briefed the Members of the Committee including Chairman Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, Sanjay Raut, Neeraj Shekhar, and other distinguished members, on the growing socio-economic challenges confronting the youth of Jammu & Kashmir. The delegation urged urgent institutional intervention to address critical issues relating to unemployment, discrimination, educational distress, mental health concerns, tribal rights, and constitutional safeguards affecting students, aspirants, and marginalised communities in the region.
During the interaction, the delegation raised serious concern over the continued incidents of profiling, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination faced by Kashmiri students studying across various parts of the country. The delegation informed the Committee that such incidents create fear, insecurity, and psychological distress among students pursuing education outside Jammu & Kashmir and adversely affect social integration. JKSA urged the Committee to recommend robust grievance redressal mechanisms, sensitisation initiatives, and institutional safeguards to ensure dignity, protection, and equal treatment for Kashmiri students across India.
The delegation also highlighted widespread concerns regarding the present reservation policy and rationalisation framework in Jammu & Kashmir. Association apprised the Committee that the present structure has significantly altered the landscape of opportunities in higher education and public employment, particularly affecting open merit aspirants from Kashmir division.
The issue of rising unemployment in Jammu & Kashmir was also strongly raised before the Committee. The delegation stated that prolonged delays in recruitment examinations, lack of timely selection processes, shrinking employment avenues, and inadequate private sector investment have collectively created deep frustration among educated youth and competitive examination aspirants. JKSA urged the Committee to recommend fast-track recruitment drives, transparent examination mechanisms, and region-specific employment generation initiatives for Jammu & Kashmir.
The delegation further expressed concern over the growing mental health crisis among youth in the region. JKSA urged the Committee to treat youth mental health and drug addiction as urgent public concerns requiring coordinated institutional intervention through counselling facilities, rehabilitation programmes, awareness campaigns, educational support systems, and employment-linked engagement initiatives.
The delegation also raised the issue of inadequate implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in Jammu & Kashmir. JKSA informed the Committee that despite the extension of the FRA after 2019, forest-dwelling communities continue to face uncertainty regarding recognition of forest rights, habitation rights, and access to traditional resources guaranteed under the law. The delegation requested a comprehensive review of the implementation status of FRA in Jammu & Kashmir to ensure that constitutional and legal protections effectively reach the affected communities.
The delegation additionally demanded special age relaxation for aspirants from Jammu & Kashmir appearing in national-level competitive examinations including UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railways, and other Central recruitment examinations. JKSA requested the Committee to recommend a special relaxation package to provide substantive equality and fair opportunity to deserving youth from the region.
The delegation also urged the Committee to strengthen educational infrastructure, expand scholarship opportunities for economically weaker students, establish dedicated student facilitation and counselling centres, and ensure greater institutional outreach to address the concerns of students from Jammu & Kashmir studying across the country.
Association expressed hope that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs would take serious cognisance of the issues raised and recommend necessary policy interventions to uphold justice, constitutional rights, dignity, inclusion, and equal opportunities for the students, youth, and marginalised communities of Jammu & Kashmir. The delegation thanked the Members of the Committee for patiently hearing the concerns and for their assurance of taking up the issues at appropriate institutional levels.
