Dr Karuna Thakur
India voted for a change of Government in Parliamentary elections of 2014, as crucial components of governance- transparency, accountability and responsiveness had become deficit in a situation of multiple power centers. There was also a leadership deficit that India experienced for nearly two decades: it missed the presence of a mass leader, someone who could connect with people in a common man’s language of belonging and weave dreams of a better world for them – no matter how realistic or unrealistic. What followed in the elections was also unexpected – in a decade of fluid party alignments and coalitions , where political waves had been written off as an occurrence of the past, predictably with no likelihood of return in the foreseeable future, the Modi wave swept the nation – simply because it promised to deliver what India most wanted : good governance and leadership.
However, the phenomenon of waves does not apply easily to the State Assembly elections where multiple factors – regional, local and cultural, come into play to determine the political outcomes. It is in view of these regional realities that Jammu has to plan an agenda for maximal political gains. It is important to recall that for many years after independence, regional sentiment of Jammu was termed by critics as an outgrowth of Raghunath Bazaar politics( the trading hub of the city). Such an observation was clearly meant to disregard the political impulse of people who were stakeholders in a state which had made the transition from monarchy to democracy and changed their status from subjects to citizens. Though the Accession was accepted by the people of this region as an indisputable act of union with India, substantive terms of accession, subsequent instruments and policies of the political elite left them with a deep sense of political marginalization.
Political Discontent
Jammu’s discontent is well known: it is primarily political – a sense of disempowerment , which among other things is evident in the inability of its nominees in the legislature and Government to take autonomous decisions: who function under, what may be termed as ‘forced inertia’ , which prevents them from taking effective action in favor of those whom they represent . Clearly, it is a dilution of principle of representative democracy that those entrusted to rule or represent people ‘s interests fail to do so because of internal dynamics of control and dominance, and end up pursuing politics of survival rather than effective governance. An example of how governance is compromised and public money grossly underutilized in such a situation can be cited by reference to the recent reports which revealed that out of Rs. 1259 lakh released by the union government for the financial year 2013– 2014 under Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan for strengthening of Panchayati Raj in the State, the actual amount spent by the State was only Rs. 89 lakh, while other huge amounts meant for capacity building and infra structure development at grass root level remained completely unutilized. (Daily Excelsior, November 4, 2014.) Even the Interlocutors’ report on Jammu and Kashmir , submitted to the Government in 2011, observed how in at least five out of ten completed five year plans from 1950 to 2007, ten to twenty five percent of funds remained unutilized. It further observed that out of a total allocation of Rs. 1200 crore in 2010 -2011 made by the Union Government under the Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan in the state, only less than fifty percent was utilized. These prevailing conditions underline the imperative need that self perception of this region: its sense of political denial and dominance be defined and remedied by the people through legitimate instrument of elections by making meaningful choices in favor of those who understand , address and translate regional aspirations in the best possible way. It is for the people to set the agenda for change if they wish to overcome their political despondency
Parochial or Liberal
Interestingly, political assertion on the part of Jammu for its share of empowerment evokes sharp reactions, and is termed as parochial by critics. But in Jammu and Kashmir, boundaries of who is parochial or liberal are hard to define. Ideally, a liberal state is neutral – it is a symbol of liberal values: equality, justice and non discrimination. But in Jammu and Kashmir, the State Is neither liberal nor neutral, rather it represents a distinct ethno-cultural bias of dominant political elite. They clearly espouse the interests of one region – one culture and one community. Surely in a multicultural context, if the state does not stand up to be either neutral or liberal in character, it is bound to make the other communities insecure and stimulate ethno- cultural or regional mobilization as a natural reaction. What the State presently witnesses is precisely that- political mobilization along identity lines, because that appears to be the only route to recognition and empowerment.
Identity
Closely linked to the issue of empowerment is the issue of Jammu’s identity, which needs to be redefined, as there can be no self assertion without self definition. Somehow, the primacy of politics of conflict in the state has eclipsed creative thinking about deeper issues related to the region. As a result, a coherent image of Jammu’s identity remains elusive in the public sphere: it seems ambiguous, fragmented and dispersed in terms of geographical space, culture and politics. What is Jammu then? Surely it is much more and far beyond the urban parts. And in order to consolidate political claims boundaries of what constitutes Jammu have to be expanded and renegotiated: both politically and symbolically so that the entire region identifies with it and takes pride in the same. It would mean retrieval of regional history, cultural heritage, folklore and heroes of all shades, and their projection in a systematic way as part of a large regional canvas. This retrieval is not to be seen as a defense of conservatism, but rather as an endeavor to revitalize a sense of regional belonging and pride, and at the same time as an initiative to set the terms of a political discourse. It is important, because democracy becomes meaningful only when it is rooted in social realities and not divorced from them.
To put it simply, one can suggest that since diversity is an inescapable reality of this region, it has to be accepted and made integral to any political – electoral framework. It would be not be too unrealistic then, to pitch for an exclusive region with inclusive politics. If working as a regional entity is empowering enough, it should be given a chance – in that case it would be a regional route to deepening of democracy in the State.
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