(Abdul Basit Alvi)
The Delimitation of Constituencies Bill, 2026, has intensified tensions by proposing electoral changes in Jammu and Kashmir while controversially extending its scope to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), a region outside India’s control. The bill allows delimitation in these areas if they come under Indian administration and reserves 24 legislative seats for them, which would remain vacant in the meantime. Critics argue this creates a symbolic framework that incorporates AJK into India’s political system without actual governance, while supporters frame it as a reaffirmation of constitutional claims. Seen as a continuation of policies following the 2019 revocation of Article 370, the legislation fixes the assembly’s size at 114 seats, embedding this claim structurally. Many in Kashmir and within India question its practicality and legality, viewing it as more symbolic than actionable given the absence of any mechanism to conduct elections across the Line of Control.
International human rights groups have also raised concerns, emphasizing that reserving seats for people who cannot vote undermines democratic principles and contradicts the idea of representation based on consent. They argue it risks creating a new form of disenfranchisement and conflicts with the principle of self-determination referenced in UN discussions on Kashmir. Meanwhile, authorities and political parties in AJK have unanimously rejected the move, asserting that the region has its own governance and that India has no jurisdiction there. Some have gone as far as labeling the proposal a serious provocation, warning it could heighten tensions in an already fragile region, where residents view the measure not as symbolic politics but as a potential pretext for future conflict.
The response from within the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir has been one of deep political alienation. Mainstream Kashmiri political leaders, including those from the People’s Conference and the National Conference, have used the legislative debate to highlight the hypocrisy of the central government. Sajad Lone, a prominent MLA from north Kashmir, recently cautioned in the assembly that unresolved issues of reservation and political injustice pose an existential threat to Kashmiri youth that could trigger a bigger crisis than the rigged elections of 1987, which led to the armed insurgency in the valley . He argued that while the government talks about giving rights to people in AJK, it is systematically excluding and disempowering the Kashmiris living on its side of the LoC through policies of “otherisation” and unfair reservation quotas that leave only 30% of government jobs for the general category, despite the majority of the population falling into it . The comparison is damning: the Indian government claims to be concerned about the political representation of a population it does not control, while simultaneously ignoring the legitimate grievances of the population it has occupied for decades. As Lone pointed out, Kashmiri Muslims are treated as anti-nationals in their own homeland .
The Delimitation of Constituencies Bill, 2026, with its provisions for Azad Jammu and Kashmir, represents a dangerous and unprecedented escalation in India’s long-standing territorial dispute with Pakistan and its suppression of Kashmiri self-determination. By attempting to legislate over a territory it does not control and a people who have consistently rejected its claims, India is not only violating international law and United Nations resolutions but also creating a constitutional and political fiction that can only lead to further instability. The move has been universally rejected by the people of AJK, the people of IIOJK, mainstream Kashmiri political parties, human rights organizations, and even critical voices within India. The 24 seats will remain, in reality, forever vacant, serving as a permanent monument to the failure of political negotiation and the triumph of unilateral, irredentist fantasy. As the world watches, the people of Kashmir, on both sides of the LoC, continue to assert their right to self-determination, and they see in this latest “Indian drama” not a legitimate legislative act, but a desperate and delusional attempt to legitimize an occupation that has already lasted seven decades too long. The only certainty is that this bill, rather than bringing any resolution, has poured more fuel on a fire that threatens to consume the entire region.
Leave a Reply