Sir,
If the first draft report of the delimitation commission was misleading, the second revised draft is almost bogus. The new proposals are neither logical nor factual; if the phrase ‘politically motivated’ is polemically inadmissible the least that can be said is that it is wayward. Both drafts when taken together and also the plethora of objections including the reaction by the mainstream stakeholders, all reflect a total lack of pragmatism in the very construct of the constituencies. After watching all the theatrics for the last one year or more, one comes to the harsh conclusion that what the governments have been doing, in this case, is driving the whole flock with one stick. Certain unavoidable criteria have to be established as the fundamentals along which delimitation should be made. Forget the norms structured over the last seven decades. These were all false, fabricated and politically motivated, not one party or group or regime but by all who had managed to become the demagogues. The criterion to which one may refer is geography, demography, religion, officially recognized community status, reserved and non-reserved categories, immigrants, exiles and internally displaced persons and minorities of all denominations. These are the realities and hence no use painting them in a colour you like. The concepts of cultural nationalism or social nationalism etc. will not work. We have to identify each category of population and allocate them seats through a mechanism of fairness and justice and full representation. Our policy planners should make a deep study of Canton formula as in Switzerland and adapt it to their requirements. That will help solve the issue of electoral constituencies in J&K.
K N Pandita
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