Daijiworld Media Network - Srinagar
Srinagar, Nov 27: A fresh controversy has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after the Finance Department advertised 600 posts of Accounts Assistants, of which only 240 posts have been earmarked for the Open Merit (OM) category. The decision has triggered widespread resentment among OM aspirants, who have renewed their call for an immediate review of the existing reservation policy.
According to the notification issued by the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB), 360 posts have been reserved across multiple categories — 48 for Scheduled Castes (SC), 60 each for ST-I and ST-II, 48 for OBC, 24 for ALC/IB, 60 for Residents of Backward Areas (RBA), and 60 for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). OM youth argue that their share has been reduced to a fraction, putting them at a major disadvantage in government recruitment.
OM advocacy groups say that even the 240 Open Merit seats are not exclusively available to general category candidates, since aspirants from reserved categories can also compete in the OM pool. They claim this further reduces their chances of securing government posts.
Sahil Parray, a key voice representing OM aspirants, expressed deep frustration, stating that merit-based candidates are being “systematically excluded”.
“Merit-based youth are slipping into depression while watching their careers being handed over on a platter. Every exam, every notification is pushing General Category students out of the system. This is injustice and systematic exclusion,” Parray wrote on X.
Another aspirant, Zubair Ahmad, termed the reservation structure a “systematic destruction of merit”, expressing fear that the current policy is demoralising an entire generation.
Reservation has remained a highly sensitive issue in J&K in recent years, especially after the Centre expanded the list of communities eligible for reservation following the reorganisation of the Union Territory.
With discontent rising among youth, the latest recruitment notification has once again pushed the reservation debate to the forefront in Jammu and Kashmir.