Part Ten
- Muslim officials in J&K largely compatible with their population levels
- 145 Muslims among 376 District Collectors in its history
- 10,727 Muslims out of 17,928 registered doctors
- 2,890 Muslims among 5,759 dentists in the UT
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Jammu and Kashmir has the highest number of Muslim officials across all the government departments and other domains as it is India’s only Muslim-majority region with a population of 85.67 lakhs, according to a new book Muslims in India – Ground Realities versus Fake Narratives. The book offers interesting statistical insights about the community’s representation in the government and administration.
The number of J&K State Police Service officials stands at 226. Out of them, there are 117 Muslims. Similarly, the State Administrative Service has 356 Muslims out of a total of 695. The total number of IPS officials in the UT now stands at 85 of which 14 are Muslims while there are 11 Muslims out of 58 IAS officers in the J&K Cadre. Over 163 Muslims were among 456 District Collectors in its history. Eight of the 34 Chief Secretaries have been Muslims. Three of the 15 Police Academy chiefs have been Muslims and the Police Housing and Welfare Corporation was headed by five Muslims out of 19.
As per the Census 2011, the territory has a total population of 1.25 crores of which 28.44% are Hindus; 1.87% Sikhs, 0.90% Buddhist, 0.28% Christians, and 0.01% others. As many as 75.19% of the population resides in rural areas and the remaining 24.81% in urban areas. Home to the country’s seventh-largest Muslim population functioned as a State from 1952 to October 2019 when the Narendra Modi-led BJP government revoked its Special Status that existed since Independence, and disbanded its statehood, making Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh the two UTs.
J&K had its own Constitution before the Special Status was annulled without the consent of its legislature. Its Legislative Council, formed in 1957 was formally abolished in October 2019 as per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act.
In September-October 2024, Jammu and Kashmir had its first Legislative Assembly polls in 10 years with National Conference (NC) forming the government after winning 42 seats in the 90-seat House. Legislative Assembly elections in J&K have been held 11 times since 1951 while parliamentary polls have been held 12 times since 1967. Municipal elections have been held five times since 1947, the last being in 2018. Over the past six decades, Muslim-majority Kashmir’s share of seats in the Legislative Assembly increased nine per cent while Hindu-majority Jammu’s increased 43 per cent, according to Election Commission of India data.
In 1962, J&K had 75 assembly constituencies, with 43 seats for Kashmir, 30 for Jammu, and two for Ladakh. In 1972, J&K still had 75 constituencies, but Kashmir’s seat share had fallen by one, Jammu’s had risen by one; Ladakh stayed the same. In 1987, the assembly added a seat, which went to Jammu, raising its total to 32. In 1996, seven seats were added – five went to Jammu, four to Kashmir, and two to Ladakh. In 2021, the delimitation exercise was supposed to increase the number of Legislative Assembly seats to 90, excluding Ladakh since it was now a union territory. Seven seats were added to J&K, with six going to Jammu. The delimitation carried out in 2022 increased the seats of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly from 87 to 90.
As of November 2024, four of the six Lok Sabha MPs from J&K are Muslims – three representing NC and one Independent. The NC has won 35 of the 47 assembly seats in Kashmir emerging as the single largest party, in the Muslim-majority region. The BJP has won 29 out of the 43 seats in Jammu, emerging as the dominating political party in the Hindu-majority region. BJP has no Muslim MLA in its fold. All the 14 chief ministers of J&K as of November 2024 had been Muslims while three out of eight deputy chief ministers have been Muslims. The Jammu and Kashmir has seen 10 governors and 22 lt. governors in its history.
The full-fledged high court for Jammu and Kashmir, set up in 1928, had seen between 1947 and 2022 a total of 34 chief justices of whom nine were Muslims while 30 out of 89 high court judges were Muslims. The Jammu & Kashmir Police, established in 1873, had seen a total of 34 inspectors general/director generals of whom one had been a Muslim – Peer GH Shah who served from 1982 to 1985. Currently, out of 77 SPs and ASPs in the UT, 24 are Muslims; 17 out of 85 SDPOs and DSPs are Muslims and 35 out of 288 inspectors and sub-inspectors (Law & Order) are Muslims.
Jammu & Kashmir has now a total of 11 Government Medical Colleges, including AIIMS Jammu. As of 2023-end, the UT has a total of 10,727 Muslims out of its 17,928 registered doctors. Also, 2,890 Muslims are among its total 5,759 dentists. About 1,852 Muslims are among 1,876 Unani practitioners. Out of 18 vice-chancellors of its three central universities, three have been Muslims. Similarly, the eight state universities have seen 66 vice-chancellors which included 32 Muslims. As many as 44 out of 69 officials are Muslims in the Drug Control and Inspection teams. In the Labour Department, the number of Muslim officials stands at 14 out of a total of 28. There are no Muslims in the top three officials in the State Legal Services Authority while the panel lawyers stand at 475 out of 690.
Eleven Muslims including one Special Secretary are in the Revenue Department out of a total of 23 officials. The number of Muslim officials in the management/inspection teams of the Excise/Prohibition department is six out of a total of 21. Seven out of 17 officials in the Anti-Corruption Department are Muslim. In the Public Works Department (PWD), 469 are Muslims among a total of 566 officials. In the Road Transport Corporation (RTC), 34 out of 49 officials are Muslims. Officials from the community in senior management teams of the Forest Department are 130 out of a total of 252. Out of 30 chiefs of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, 10 have been Muslims. Seven out of a total of 52 Indian Forest Service (IFS) officials are Muslims. Eight of the 21 chairpersons of the Public Service Commission had been Muslims while 20 out of a total of 52 members had been from the community. Out of three State Women Commission chairpersons, two had been Muslims, and six out of 18 members have been Muslims.
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