Rajan Gandhi
Ever since taking oath for his second term PM Modi is in superlative mode, decisive political moves- Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act 2019, Triple Talaq, Article 370 and 35A of Jammu and Kashmir and now Ayodhaya Ram Mandir verdict, all promises of BJP manifesto for which every Indian was waiting for last seventy years have been fulfilled though its only first year of second term. All these developments are somehow directly linked with our UT Of Jammu and Kashmir as firstly Muslim majority of J&K, secondly J&K is bearing the brunt of terrorism for decades till now, thirdly both 370 and Ayodhya verdict have direct message for Kashmir, it’s time to move on. The seeds of hatred sown by Pakistan have drastic consequences as centuries old Sufism and Kashmiriat just vanished in the flow of terrorism resulting in ethnic cleansing of Kashmir with the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits who still have the unique distinction of living in exile in their own country, a human tragedy which never got the attention of the world and is still pending to be resolved despite abrogation of article 370, 35A and UAPA Law amendment. Most astonishing is the role of Kashmir centric political parties who left no stone unturned to add fuel to the fire just for the sake of vote bank politics. On one side its Omar Abdullah and his father Farooq Abdullah with a statement in 2008 during Shri Amarnath Land row that not an inch of land will be given for annual pilgrimage and more recently Farooq’s open challenge that even if Modi becomes PM for ten times he cannot remove 370. NC rule from 2008 to 2014 was full of trauma with corruption, murders, nepotism and what not. On the other side Mehbooba Mufti herself is a classic case of how a person can be so political novice that instead of utilizing whole hearted support by PM Modi to the extent that all her decisions challenging the sovereignty of India time and again were ignored and a highest ever financial package of almost one lac crores was kept at her disposal for development, but her focus remained on confrontation, consolidating Jamat’s ideology, helping separatists by pursuing their agenda, demoralizing security forces by even registering FIRs against army men despite AFSPA, rehabilitating terrorists, releasing stone pelters and what not. Her venomous statement that there will be no one to hold National Flag in the valley if 370 is even tinkered with just speaks about the state of her mind and ultimately time proved that she was living in fool’s paradise, far away from reality. But PM Modi and HM Amit Shah proved both PDP and NC were on wrong foot, just puppets in the hands of Pakistan and their top leaders are under detention with PSA slapped right now.
Ayodhaya verdict itself is an eye opener with a consensus judgment of all five judges including Muslim Justice S Abdul Nazeer and role of archaeologist KK Muhammed who was instrumental in providing enormous documentation with proofs that a non Islamic structure very much exists beneath the demolished Babri Masjid. Also exemplary is the role of battery of Hindu lawyers assisting and defending Babri Masjid case for Muslim side, a true picture of secularism and faith in Indian judicial system.
Not a single demonstration or communal violence or untoward incident anywhere in the country shows the maturity of Indians and our democracy. In fact Muslims are coming forward with donations to build the temple, a sign that whole India wants to ‘Move On’. There is simply no place for religious fanatics or fringe elements to niggle and jeopardize India’s march towards development. Fact is that all verdicts have been taken positively in true spirits by every Indian and it’s a fact that PM Modi has removed the decade old webs which entangled and bogged down Indian society for too long and now rest of tenure GoI can focus on economic consolidation and development.
From Jammu’s point of view, its nationalistic public is in jubilation mode since May 2019 with one after another Modi’s dose of reforms, especially article 370/35A and now Ayodhaya verdict. But it’s time for reality check. Ever since independence, Jammu got step motherly treatment by respective governments despite having a constant nationalistic approach. Discrimination at every level went on and on for decades and it’s the opportune time to correct the historical blunders. With the Civil Secretariat right now at Jammu, GoI should immediately focus on Jammu’s development work as there is no reason or excuse now for jet speeding Jammu’s projects, be it AIIMS or Metro or Tawi river front or any other long pending projects. Government has already initiated much needed land record reforms to clear the mess. Another area of concern and immediate attention should be corruption at all levels, especially at political and higher levels. With even CJI and SC under RTI accountability is the main focus. Anti Corruption Bureau is doing a commendable job but will they be able to nail the top politicians irrespective of party affiliation only time will tell. Major shakeup of bureaucracy is the need of the hour as it seems that present lot is enjoying the musical chair game for too long without any accountability. Recent Power crisis and Disaster Management at Kashmir valley and unabated fatal accidents at Chenab valley should be an eye opener how despite all the financial assistance provided by Central Government state officials have been simply unable to improve infrastructure, there is neither any planning nor a vision to remove bottlenecks.
Despite being major contributor towards state revenue Jammu has been discriminated in every departmental budget. Areas of Ramban, Rajouri, Poonch, Kishtwar, Doda, Bhaderwah, Banni are climatically equally good for Horticulture products but huge gap between budgets of Jammu Directorate and Kashmir Directorate speaks about the factual focus Jammu gets. Roping in of NAFED, NABARD and MSP/ MIS for Kashmir and nothing of this sort for Jammu again is not desirable at all. Similar is the story of Tourism Department, as with no mobile internet for more than hundred days now along with other problems, pilgrim inflow has largely dried up and as such requires immediate attention. Consolidation of Police force is another important aspect not to be ignored with our UT main target of terrorism and narco smuggling and unchecked Chenab Valley accidents. Jammu Zone mobile internet restoration followed by International Investment Summit at Jammu is the need of the hour as businessmen will prefer to invest at safe, secure, stable and peaceful Jammu rather than Kashmir.
As they say well begun is half done, one hopes that both Jammu and Kashmir division forget their regional rivalry and focus on development issues only, practically it’s time to ‘Move On’. Kashmiris have already shown the will to join mainstream as public transport has started operating normally after a gap of three months, record movement of trucks loaded with apples despite gunning down of outsiders, truckers and businessmen shows the present spirit of common Kashmiri. With Pakistan internationally isolated, new political leadership is the need of the hour for both Kashmir and Jammu. Will Modi-Shah duo be able to find Yogi or Fadvanis in Jammu or present lot of proven bunch of political novices who failed to live up to the aspirations of Jammu region will again be calling the shots, if BDC elections are any indicator central leadership must have already made up its mind, but when only time will tell.
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