The population of J&K state is about 1.42 crore people. Of this, the population of Kashmir valley (J&K excluding the Jammu and Ladakh regions) is about 54 lakhs.
This means there are about 21.6 lakh employable people in the state. Can’t 50% of the employable people – 10.8 lakh – be given jobs in corporate India, as part of a compulsory scheme by GoI to solve the Kashmir problem for ever?
A total of about 525 million people are employed in India, of which 22.5%, or 118 million, are employed by the formal sector. If we were to deduct those working in companies, firms or organisations with 19 or less employees, this number would probably come down (by another 10%) to about 106 million.
Can’t 1% of the formal sector employees (in organisations with 20 or more employees) be our Kashmiri brethren?
The 10.8 lakh people thus employed will provide livelihoods to another 27 lakh back home, which means that 70% of J&K’s population will have earnings because of this scheme. Will this be opposed by any formal company or firm or organisation with 20 or more employees? I think not.
I am not for any kind of reservations – but this one is important for India’s peace – and therefore growth. The scheme can be restricted to 10 years, by which time the same number of jobs can be created in J&K itself.