The decision of the state administration led by the Governor Satya Pal Malik to allow delegations of leaders of National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party to meet their incarcerated party chiefs is a significant step for restoration of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir. The government sponsored curfews and spontaneous shutdown in the state, especially in Kashmir Valley, have entered third month, and there is no light at the end of this long and dark tunnel. According to one report, six lakh skilled and non-skilled workers, half of them from Kashmir itself, have lost their jobs due to the prevailing tensions. Local economy stands crippled. Trade and transport sector have been the worst hit which will cast a long shadow on the state’s annual budget as well as the overall financial health of Jammu and Kashmir. There has been an increase in trauma related cases as people have been confined to their homes and even social gatherings like marriages are being organised in low-key fashions. Most importantly, the crisis that started on August 5 with the abrogation of provisions of the Article 370 has made the state a subject of ‘unnecessary’ debate across the world, thanks to the not-so-kind neighbour. Unnecessary, because the Article 370 had been reduced to its former shadow by the successive Congress governments at the Centre over the past seventy years and it carried little meaning for ordinary people of Kashmir who are looking for nothing more than little peace in their lives. If abrogation of special status was going to be that magic wand of peace, as the government is now claiming, why was such secrecy maintained and Kashmir was turned into a valley of scandalous rumours ahead of the August 5 move? It requires no science to see that the method used by the BJP led Centre to enable transition of J&K from a state to two union territories has been a failure. In past more than two months Kashmir has been debated like it was never before, and that too on global forums like G7 and UN. The investments made by New Delhi in strengthening the idea of mainstream politics in J&K in 70 years can’t be brushed under carpet. The arrest of heads of National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party coupled with heightened military deployment and internet shutdown has kept the Valley on the edge. It is now time to allow democracy to take roots in Kashmir.
The decision of the state administration led by the Governor Satya Pal Malik to allow delegations of leaders of National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party to meet their incarcerated party chiefs is a significant step for restoration of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir. The government sponsored curfews and spontaneous shutdown in the state, especially in Kashmir Valley, have entered third month, and there is no light at the end of this long and dark tunnel. According to one report, six lakh skilled and non-skilled workers, half of them from Kashmir itself, have lost their jobs due to the prevailing tensions. Local economy stands crippled. Trade and transport sector have been the worst hit which will cast a long shadow on the state’s annual budget as well as the overall financial health of Jammu and Kashmir. There has been an increase in trauma related cases as people have been confined to their homes and even social gatherings like marriages are being organised in low-key fashions. Most importantly, the crisis that started on August 5 with the abrogation of provisions of the Article 370 has made the state a subject of ‘unnecessary’ debate across the world, thanks to the not-so-kind neighbour. Unnecessary, because the Article 370 had been reduced to its former shadow by the successive Congress governments at the Centre over the past seventy years and it carried little meaning for ordinary people of Kashmir who are looking for nothing more than little peace in their lives. If abrogation of special status was going to be that magic wand of peace, as the government is now claiming, why was such secrecy maintained and Kashmir was turned into a valley of scandalous rumours ahead of the August 5 move? It requires no science to see that the method used by the BJP led Centre to enable transition of J&K from a state to two union territories has been a failure. In past more than two months Kashmir has been debated like it was never before, and that too on global forums like G7 and UN. The investments made by New Delhi in strengthening the idea of mainstream politics in J&K in 70 years can’t be brushed under carpet. The arrest of heads of National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party coupled with heightened military deployment and internet shutdown has kept the Valley on the edge. It is now time to allow democracy to take roots in Kashmir.
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