Prof. A.N.Sadhu
The ruling alliance in Jammu & Kashmir is a coalition government of BJP and PDP. When this alliance was formed, it surprised everyone in and outside the state; may be even those who comprised it. One could think of any other alliance except this, for number of reasons. However, the people of the state and of the country took it under the commonly held belief that politicians are power greedy and for this they can enter into any mutually satisfying arrangement. The logic takes the back seat, in any such arrangements. Should such a coalition be there in a state which is already ridden with ambiguities on several fronts?
The so called main stream political parties of the state except the BJP are those parties who support the present status of centre-state relationship without making a firm statement of the state being an integral part of India. Any statement to this effect is either conditional or confusing. Sometimes a subtle difference is made between accession and merger; between political and emotional integration and between being just like any other state or a special status state. During the last seventy years, it has generated a lot of engagement opportunities for legal luminaries, political scientists and self styled concerned citizens venturing into providing a resolution to all the riddles to the satisfaction of the state subjects as also the countrymen, all adding to the existing volumes and confounding the confusion, further.
Viewing the evolution of the present status of Jammu & Kashmir, there never has been any synchronisation between the Kashmir centric mainstream political parties and the BJP. PDP came later compared to congress, NC and BJP and it got added to these mainstream parties under the leadership of Mufti Mohd. Sayeed. The main premise on which this party built its structure and cadres is the document of ‘ self-rule’.I think the party should be given credit for making its position very clear right from the beginning. This unambiguous position of the party manifestly defines its ideological stand. Where then was the scope of blending this stand with that of the BJP who have built their ranks on ‘one Pradhan, one vidhaan and one nishaan’. The argument given in favour of this alliance is that two single majority parties in Jammu and Kashmir demanded the formation of such an alliance so that two regions get equally represented in the government. The resolution to the conflicting views was sought through the Agenda of Alliance, which supposedly put emphasis on economic development; hoping that broader agreement will be arrived at the conflicting views held by the two parties, in due course of time. At the back of this formulation must have been the often repeated slogan of Mr. Modi” minimum government and maximum governance”.
In the normal course all such political arrangements are supposed to have been forged in the larger interest of the masses. Even when the politicians of the country have come under severe criticism of the people for what they have been witnessing since independence, the hope that things will get better sustains their faith among the leaders. The alliance between the two ideologically different political parties is a rare phenomenon and one would have wished that it succeeds and opens out new possibilities of convergence of views among the regions as also among the people of different faiths. It is fundamental to the success of such alliances that politicians act as statesmen, visionaries and honest well wishers of masses. Rigid stances neither contribute to individual benefits nor to public benefits. Harmonizing one’s stand with public welfare, needs courage and commitment to social cause than sticking to one’s rigid stance.
As of now, the alliance has neither earned the public appreciation not a certificate of better governance. Writing as a common man on the basis of feed back collected through regular interactions with the people, there is not much to be recorded in favour of the government. Be it the condition of roads, power supply, water supply, traffic management, law and order, there are more complaints than complements. The peace and stability has become elusive. The people are confused about the shape of things likely to take place in the days to come. Proroguing the Assembly session sine die, putting the passage and adoption of GST on hold, has raised many eye brows. The recent press reports are indicative of the differences surfacing on many vital issues and predictive of widening wedge between the coalition partners. It goes against the very spirit of the alliance which was named as ” Governance Alliance” whose purpose was stated as under.
“The purpose of this alliance is to form a coalition government that will be empowered to catalyze reconciliation and confidence building within and accross the line of control ( LOC) in J&K, thereby ensuring peace in the state” . Among other things it was expected to create conditions to facilitate resolution of all issues of J&K. The coalition seems not to have moved even an inch in this direction and no solutions are visible. The coalition partners should assess the progress on their mutually accepted resolution;” It shall be the mission of the coalition government to be the most ethical state in the country from the present day position of being the most corrupt state.For this new governance systems shall be introduced with national support and international expertise to provide honest, effective inclusive governance and service delivery”
It was envisaged that coalition government will facilitate and initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all internal state holders, which has made no headway so far. Over 5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits who were displaced in 1989-90 are still waiting for such a dialogue which does not seem to be in sight anywhere. Even the small confidence building measure of passing the Kashmiri Hindu Shrines bill has so far not been initiated. There are several other issues relating to regions and different section of population which have not appeared in government action plan. With continued disturbed conditions, the economic agenda is also lagging behind.
Sharing power alone, does not guarantee movement forward. The coalition partners should have some innovative ideas which may offer an out of box solution to some problems, if not, all. Some serious thinking and stern actions are required to correct the distortions and pave way for lasting solutions. Cynicism will tend to extinguish the ray of hope which is likely to spell gloom. Let that not happen, puts a heavy responsibility on the coalition partners to choose the right course in the spirit of statesmanship than political expediency. The geo-political developments warrant that the powers, that be should rise to the occasion and spare the adverse fall out in the future.
Non-performance of this alliance will not only be a reflection on their levels of political maturity but will also cast a shadow on the central leadership for lack of proper understanding of the real problems of the state. It may also make such arrangements very difficult in the future. Region centric government will be fraught with formidable difficulties of ensuring a balanced governance to the people of all the regions and faiths. Such a situation may also impact the reconciliation mechanism giving rise to bigger dissentions with a portent of weakening the unity and solidarity of the state.
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