Development Is Necessary But Elections Must Also Be Held In J&K
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2022-04-26 07:35:47
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Prime Minister Modi's visit to Jammu & Kashmir, his first since Article 370 was abrogated to bifurcate the erstwhile state and turn J&K into a Union territory, did little to shed light on the government's plans for the UT in the immediate future. The Prime Minister said that Central schemes are being implemented in J&K rapidly and announced schemes worth Rs 20000 more. The focus on development and infrastructure, while good, cannot be sole way to take the state forward. There are many problems in J&K which need urgent attention.
Ever since Article 370 was abrogated, the Union territory is totally under Central control with the presence of security forces in large numbers. While it was necessary to keep things in control after doing away with something which granted special status to the erstwhile state (as it was likely to lead to huge protests), it is getting prolonged too much. There has been no political activity for more than two years. In a democracy and a federal setup, it is the people's representatives who are best suited to develop the state and tackle its problems and not the Centre. Also, when the Centre keeps managing things for such a long time, it further alienates the people of the state. Hence, it is now time for the Centre to think about holding elections (although the elections to District development Councils were held successfully in November 2020) and letting an elected government take over. It should get the delimitation done fairly and announce elections. Later, without much delay, it should also grant statehood to J&K.
The people of J&K have suffered for long. While the government thinks that if development, along with better returns for businesses and jobs for locals and the attendant prosperity, happens the people will be happy, the problem in J&K is not that easy. Local aspirations and a sense of alienation from India cannot be tackled with development alone. Then there is the Pakistani interference through terror modules and even compromised political outfits. With the special status gone, along with Article 35A of the constitution which empowered the erstwhile state assembly to define "permanent residents" and provide special rights and privileges to them, the people of J&K fear that they will be swamped by 'outsiders'. The Centre has a lot of explaining to do and allay the fears before J&K returns to normal. The peace in J&K is unreal and is only due to the presence of the security forces. But the security forces cannot remain there forever as their presence reinforces the sense of alienation. Hence, it is urgent that political activity is allowed and elections are held to allow an elected government to work as governments in other states and Union territories do.
picture courtesy: image tweeted by ANI
