M.M.SHUJA
Kashmir has been known the world over as “Paradise on Earth.” However, its political history has been plagued with doubts and false promises. It is said that people in Jammu & Kashmir have been betrayed time and again by their own politicians or even New Delhi. The turbulent period has had an indelible impact on the region. Many lives have been lost of innocents and even those associated with mainstream political organizations who were Killed by militants, but the people of Kashmir continue to show magnanimity in the face of all these adversities. People in Kashmir have always shown their hospitality to tourists and visitors. Strangely enough, outside Jammu & Kashmir, cases have been reported where Kashmiri students, businessmen, and shawl sellers were beaten up simply because of their ethnicity. Political parties have made many promises in the past few decades regarding development and peace. Unfortunately, most of the promises seem to have gone unfulfilled. Once called the “Crown of India,” Jammu & Kashmir continues to remain a Union Territory due to constitutional amendments in August 2019. Ironically, political leaders, who sought more constitutional protection earlier, now only want back their statehood status.
History reveals that various Union Territories such as Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and other Union Territory became states at a later date. However, Jammu & Kashmir is distinct because it is the only state which has been demoted to a Union Territory. After the Assembly elections, the National Conference won a definite mandate to form the government. During the electoral process, various promises were made to the voters, and most of those promises need active collaboration from the Union Government in order to fulfill them. Nearly two years since its formation, the government seems to be operating within certain constitutional and administrative constraints. The Council of Ministers has not been expanded. According to many analysts, Jammu & Kashmir has an elected government but people feel that it is the bureaucracy that exercises more administrative power than the elected representatives. This burden rests on the shoulders of the common citizen. The price rise of necessities, unemployment, poor civic facilities, poor infrastructure, and delayed development projects have come to be a matter of public interest. The road conditions in Srinagar and neighboring areas are deplorable, lack of drinking water is still prevalent in many areas. Recent rains brought to light another weakness in the urban drainage system, which caused waterlogging and flooded the localities. The problem of unemployment among the educated youth is another major issue. People are becoming increasingly frustrated owing to lesser job opportunities as compared to other states and UTs. Activities of business and trade have also decreased for the Kashmir and Jammu divisions. Yet another problem highlighted by the citizens is the issue of duality in governance. With two governments running the affairs of the Territory, that too within the scope of constitutional powers, citizens often face difficulty determining whom to approach for a particular matter.
The demand for the restoration of statehood status is not limited to any single political party. Rather, it has emerged as a constitutional and democratic issue. Leaders belonging to all political parties have continually asked the Union Government to honor their promise. The Government of India has, moreover, told the Supreme Court that the statehood status would be restored at an appropriate time after delimitation was completed. What is this “appropriate time?” The restoration of statehood status cannot be discussed from the point of view of any partisan politics. After all, it deals with the issue of democratic representation and administration as well as the aspirations of millions of people. If Articles 370 and 35A were hindering the development of the region, then it makes sense that there is no reason to delay the restoration of statehood status. It is expected that political differences amongst the regional political parties do not act as an impediment in achieving this goal. Whichever political party it is, whether it is the National Conference, PDP, JKAP, JKPC, AIP, etc every single one of them bears both constitutional and political, as well as moral obligations to find a constructive pathway towards restoration of statehood.
One can take the example of Ladakh to illustrate the point; all political and social organizations united together to provide a common platform in front of the Union government to put forth their demands. The same spirit of consensus can bolster the case of Jammu & Kashmir. Delhi has frequently referred to Kashmir as the “Crown of India”. There is no denying that the crown does add to the prestige of the nation. However, the question is, if Kashmir is indeed the Crown of India, for how long do the people of Jammu & Kashmir have to bow down to the crown?
The author is a Senior Journalist/Human Rights Activist, can be reached at mmshuja@gmail.com
