Anil Anand
NOT AT HOME IN J&K; spoke the headline of the lead editorial in The Indian Express dated October 27, 2021. The editorial reflected on the three-day high-profile visit of Union Home Minister, Amit Shah to the Union Territory (UT) thereby indicating that all is not well on the ground. It assumed added significance as it was his first visit after August 5, 2019 significant constitutional changes resulting in partial abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.
More than that its significance also lay in the fact that the visit came immediately after incidents of target killings by the terrorists, of minority community members and outsiders in Kashmir Valley, and also renewed infiltration attempts by Pakistan trained terrorists on the LoC and continued stray incidents of targeting the security personnel and innocent citizens.
Since the UT is under direct rule of the centre, with no assembly in place, it was imperative that under the prevailing circumstances either Prime Minister, Narendra Modi or Home Minister, Amit Shah should visit the area to instil confidence at different levels including the security forces. The more so in the case of the latter (security forces), following the killing of army personnel in a prolonged and still ongoing encounter with Pakistan sponsored terrorists in the thick forests of Poonch located right on the LoC.
These developments have to a great extent blown off the charade of normalcy that the local authorities have been claiming in the aftermath of August 5, 2019 changes. The fact that when the Centre and the Lt Governor’s administration were looking forward to attract investment and promote tourism and industry in a big way, it has dealt a blow to their plans particularly when outsiders performing minion jobs in the Valley were made the soft-target.
Under the circumstances Mr Shah’s visit was meant to act as a balm and discount theories that such attempts were meant to derail the ambitious plans aimed at ushering the UT in an all round development. Accordingly, a lot of hype and hoopla was attached to the visit with a lot of focus on optics and less on addressing the realities on ground. This is another matter that the grievances of local people particularly in Jammu region went unheard as due to packed schedule of the Home Minister none of the representative bodies of the people, political and more importantly apolitical, could get a hearing.
Nothing could have been worse timed vis-a-vis Mr Shah’s J and K visit than the Indo-Pakistan cricket match in the ongoing T-20 world cup in which India lost. Instances of celebrating Pakistan’s victory with raising slogans in its praise were reported from certain places in Kashmir and Jammu regions to the great discomfiture of the Lt Governor’s administration. And rightly too as this happened when the country’s Home Minister was on tour.
The Jammu and Kashmir police did swing into action and registered cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the students of two medical colleges in Srinagar who allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans as part of the celebration and made some arrests in other parts of the UT. The cases were registered and arrests made after some unverified videos were circulated on social media, in which some youngsters were seen raising slogans and singing the Pakistan national anthem.
Although such pro-Pakistan protests are nothing new in Kashmir, it was the first such spectacle after partial abrogation of Article 370 giving special status to the erstwhile state and its subsequent demotion to a UT. The security forces, to a great extent, had been able to contain rogue elements fanning trouble though palpable tension prevailed all through in Kashmiri society as a protestation to the constitutional changes.
These condemnable outbursts by groups of celebratory crowds has raised a question mark on the claims of the administration about ground situation and that the people particularly in Kashmir have wholeheartedly accepted the changes. Anyone who challenges the sovereignty of India has to be dealt with accordingly and in that connection the J and K police have taken the right initiative.
However, the developments must spur the authorities to not close their eyes to the ground realities. Developing and implementing a narrative that does not carry the aspirations and difficulties of the people along and merely focuses on the government’s agenda will not serve the purpose. It will succeed only if people of the UT are the focal point of any narrative in the true sense.
For the government’s plans and policies to succeed it is imperative that the promises made by it since August 5, 2019 to the people should have been implemented even if in a phased manner. Currently there is more hype than the actual implementation on ground and many of the policies are seen as anti-people rather than serving them.
While the government’s focus is on big-time projects, the administration has lost sight of the immediate bread and butter issues of the people. Although there are varied political perceptions over the constitutional developments in Jammu and Kashmir regions, the bread and butter issues are hurting the two regions in equal measure.
Both the central authorities and the UT administration were expected to be more responsive to the urges and aspirations of the people of the regions. There is a widespread perception gripping both Jammu and Kashmir that the response of the administration has not lived up to the promises held out to the people two years back.
The latest developments have also taken the sheen off the claim that removal of Article 370 was the root cause of all the ills plaguing the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and that its dilution is the all encompassing remedy. In this context, ostensibly, more focus seemed to be on developing a national narrative based on the developments in the UT rather than the one based on the aspirations of the local people.
There is no harm in building a national narrative but without attaching any electoral rider to it. The unsavoury developments in the backdrop of the Indo-Pakistan cricket match could have been prevented had the administration not lost sight of the local feelings. Interestingly, the expression of this feeling of discontent is different in Jammu and Kashmir regions. Nevertheless, it should shake the administration out of slumber and spur it to act fast.
A major remedial major would be to open greater channels of communication with the people. The process should start with the Lt Governor becoming more accessible to the society at different levels and putting in place mechanisms for quick redressal of their problems and grievances.
The entire political system including the ruling BJP should be propelled into action. It is only possible if the Centre and the Lt Governor’s administration assure them of proper space so as to act as an effective bridge between the people and the delivery system.
All this while it will be at one’s peril to ignore the overall political aspect of the entire issue as the developmental agenda and political process should go hand-in-hand.
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