The J&K Impasse Must Be Ended
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-10-27 10:06:34
About the Author
That Home Minister Amit Shah chose to visit J&K amid renewed terrorist activity and rising violence in the UT against non-Kashmiris was good. He reviewed the security situation in details with top officers of the state police, the CRPF and the Army. But apart from restating the already known position of the Centre, Shah did not make any important announcements. He also chose not to meet representatives of any political parties in the UT. In fact, by picking on "three families" whose strong-arm tactics, according to him, did not let the erstwhile state develop, Shah made it clear that the resumption of the political process in the UT will be difficult and filled with hurdles. For, despite the Centre's attempts to bring in new people's representatives through the panchayat elections, it is clear that the Abdullahs and the Muftis still hold the key to political stability in the UT as those elected to the panchayats are not able to move about in public because of the threat to their lives.
Then, Shah reiterated that delimitation, elections and statehood would happen in that order, dismissing the demand from political parties in the UT to grant statehood first and then hold elections. It is clear that for the time being, the Centre wants a Delhi-type situation in J&K with the Lt. Governor calling the shots despite an elected assembly. But if that is not working in Delhi, it is also not likely to work in J&K. Further, unlike Delhi, the police will be controlled by the elected government in J&K. Hence, it will be better if the Centre makes its stand absolutely clear and draws up a timeline when J&K will be granted statehood. Then, it must sit with the political parties in the state, clear their mistrust over the delimitation exercise, complete it and hold elections fast. For their part, the J&K parties should allow the delimitation exercise as it is overdue (the last delimitation in J&K was done in 1995 using the figures of 1981 Census) and protest only when due process is not followed.
Any outreach effort is unlikely to succeed as long as the remaining restrictions are not lifted and the people do not feel they are free to move about and act as they wish to. If the people are made to feel that they in an open jail then they will view Delhi as the oppressor. There is no doubt that the government has to keep an eye on the security situation and prevent Pakistan from fomenting trouble in the valley, but a balance must be struck to make the common man feel free and secure. The abrogation of Article 370 was supposed to be the first step in correcting the situation in J&K. But the way things are moving (or not moving) it seems the government does not know how to progress to the next step.
