Till they come to terms with their age!
With Jammu and Kashmir Combined Competitive Examination, on December 7, Sunday, a precedent has been set – no more age relaxation in such exams in future. This year has delivered a final verdict, and it will be applied to all exams, no ifs and buts.
Those who could not appear, nothing is going to change for them .Their age was above 32. They could not sit in the PSC exams held on Sunday. Their success would have led them to appear in the mains and then possibly made them JKAS officers in due course of time. Perhaps, they might be regretting why they didn’t prepare in time which could have enabled them to sit in the exams. They became over-age. That is where things collapsed for them.
But, will they really think so and accept the fact about their age. It is very difficult to say, at this moment. They see conspiracy of the system against them. They must have felt that they were best qualified to crack the exams.
All along they must have drawn confidence from the fact that there were precedents of age relaxation in the previous exams. They also believed that the precedents of age relaxation will apply to them too. But things did not go as per their expectations.
More than the merits of the issue of the age relaxation, blamegame traded on social media. There was a contest to pin the blame on the other side. Ultimately, the de-facto authority in the UT of J&K- Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha prevailed. Even last minute letter by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to JK PSC chairman did not help. That tells the story.
The holding of exams as per schedule became an operational necessity. The PSC could not have postponed the exams at the last moment. It was also uncertain whether Raj Bhawan and Chief Minister’s office will ever be able to come to an agreement.
Whether the postponement of the exams would have been injustice to the thousands eligible for appearing on December 7 ? This debate will rage on for quite some time with fierce arguments and counter arguments over the respective powers of the LG and the elected government. Inevitably that will bring in several other dark issues to fore, concerning conflict in the land having internal and external dimensions.
Unfortunately, in the recent times LG and elected government have been found on two opposing sides of the fence. It is quite harmful for the democratic and systemic health of the territory. The two sides have formalized their anger and frustration with each other in full public view, little realizing that this disorder is a recipe for perpetuation of the conflict that Jammu and Kashmir wants to read in the past tense only.
In Jammu and Kashmir, this is not the squabble that will remain within two sets of government as witnessed in Delhi during the AAP government, it will have far serious consequences. The fact that J&K is a UT at the moment is known to all on the other hand, the elected government is pitching for the return of the statehood, on the other.
Emphasizing and celebrating the UT status is affront to the elected government. J&K is a UT. It is known to all. But repeating that time and again in celebratory tone makes a statement that resolutions on statehood would not change today’s reality. This has its own effects.
And, the overstated statements that without the statehood, nothing is possible are unhelpful. For sure, the issue of the relaxation of age for JKAS aspirants left out in the cold will be cited as one more example of belittling the elected government’s mandate and absence of statehood. There is another related fact – it is not the elected government because NC is ruling the UT. NC is there because of the massive mandate given to it by the electorate. The election was held within the parameters of the Indian constitution, hailed by all the consequential leaders of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had hailed the verdict. That should have not left any scope for ego clashes. NC must know its obligations and deliver within the powers that have been given to its government till the Centre honours its promise of granting statehood . That may take years- that also is the reality .
The last month of 2025 has reinforced the point that it was a very difficult year for J&K, This controversy has added yet another fault line. It is not a question of fight between two unequal power centers, but it is rife with the risks of further alienation. The year that began with terror attack in Pahalgam when spring was blooming and tourists were enjoying holidays, appeared to be concluding with Delhi blast, the conspiracy of which has been traced to this territory. In between the floods caused devastation. Now this age-relaxation controversy has broadened the area of frustration.
A profile of the 32-plus aspirant or those between 33 and 37 years of age will reveal why the element of alienation may widen. They are crucial demographic component. This age group was born between 1988 and 1992. They have seen the conflict marring their childhood and have gory memories of their past.
At that time, apart from Pakistan’s designs, there were strong elements of internal unrest. They have seen the conflict in its intensity – midnight knocks by militants and security forces alike, shootouts and bomb explosions. They have also been a witness to the stone-throwing agitations of 2008, 2010 and 2016, and seen militants getting hero’s funerals. They have lived with the two sets of phenomenon - extreme violence and graveyards closing in on to their doorsteps, and also beginning of a new era of normalcy, where they could live life normal style. The second spell was projected as an era of grand opportunities, which they could avail, to heal themselves and their land. The danger is that for them the difference between the past and the recent years may get blurred. The political narrative is already there to deepen this mindset. They will bear this silent grudge until they come to terms with the fact that the age was not on their side.
