M.M. Shuja
Kashmir is reputedly known as a heaven on Earth, but Politically it has all along been a desert torn apart by recurring agitation and leadership crises which repeatedly pushed the Public into adversity. The downgraded Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir continues to face numerous unresolved issues, and for many of its people, here can be no sight of it ending. After prolonged Lieutenant Governor’s rule, elections were held. People voted in large numbers, brimming with hope that long-standing issues of unemployment, bad roads, inadequate healthcare, and poor education would finally get resolved. National Conference won a decisive mandate in the valley and people got ready to see meaningful change. Now after almost Two year, little has changed on the ground, and suffering of the people remains mostly unmitigated. The public continued to show little interest in approaching the Civil Secretariat either in Srinagar or Jammu even after the return of an elected government. Hope has been replaced by disappointment. Most people are the belief that nothing will change under the current regime.
A blame game now overshadows governance. The ruling party blames limitations imposed by the Lieutenant Governor for the lack of progress, while the latter has gone on record to explain that he retains the Home Department alone and the elected government should show its mettle in other areas. In the tug of war, it is the people who suffer as problems of daily life continue to mount. Political analysts say that though the powers of a UT cabinet are admittedly limited, models like Delhi- where Arvind Kejriwal drove big changes in Health, Education, and subsidized electricity- prove that good governance is possible, and if National Conference leadership knew this was how things would be at the UT level, the critics argue, they should not have made promises they knew were beyond their administrative powers to fulfill during the election campaign. An elderly man from South Kashmir put it rather bluntly: “If a leader is strong, there can be no hurdle- people will get relief”. He rejected the government’s argument that constraints of UT are holding them back and asked why Omer Abdullah did not do better between 2008 and 2014 when, despite the special status under Articles 370 and 35A, the administration faced one of the biggest unrests in 2010. Has any University or Medical College established during his tenure? Many voters now believe that free electricity and one lakh jobs were promises impossible to fulfill from the very start. The UT faces severe financial constraints, and large-scale employment generation is all but impossible. As the government completes its 2 year with little to show, citizens fear the next three years would be spent blaming each other in Srinagar & New Delhi. During election campaign when people were promised two hundred units of free electricity why in the power the electricity terrify has been increased to 6.83 Percent which has further added to the miseries of the Public.
There is consensus across party lines among voters today that after Ghulam Nabi Azad and Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, J&K lost the kind of visionary leadership which could negotiate assertively with New Delhi. From 2002 to 2005, the coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed brought visible improvements in law and order and pushed some significant developmental projects- Islamic University of Science & Technology, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, of Mughal Road, Chenab Valley connectivity, advances in Tourism & allied sectors. From 2005 onwards, Ghulam Nabi Azad carried forward that momentum: introducing double-shift work systems to fast-track projects, creating eight new districts, establishing five medical colleges, constructing super-speciality hospitals in both regions, setting up district hospitals, building flyovers and & developing the Tulip Garden. During those years, the public shared a closer & more trusting bond with the political leadership. Today several regional parties are trying to find political space but none of them has succeeded in building strong, edible platforms. The public is tired of repeated political disappointments. The rhetoric around Articles 370 and 35A has become irrelevant; people increasingly treat these issues as political history. At the same time, no party has succeeded in persuading New Delhi to restore statehood even as the Union Government continues to promise it. The Youth of J&K are deeply frustrated, and their patience is now wearing thin. It is essential that the Government of India initiates concrete and empathetic steps for the welfare of the youth & overall development of the region. Political parties should desist from making unrealistic promises & instead pledge only that which is administratively & financially feasible. Both regions of J&K are facing hardships, and failure to address these could further widen the gap between the public and political leadership. New Delhi is fully aware of the economic limitations of the J&K, and lasting progress will not be possible without active and sustained support from the Union Government. Further delay can detorate the situation.
The Author is Senior Journalist / Human Rights Activist, can be reached at mmshuja@gmail.com
