Time ticks very fast and so does the mood of the people. The initial euphoria over the abrogation of Articles 35A, 370 and reorganisation of the state is fast dying down with stark realities staring at the faces of the citizens. There is no doubt in their mind that there exists no magic band that would usher changes over night. None is expecting that and those who may be are living in a utopian world. The majority of the people are realists. They have accepted the changed reality and are willing to move forward. However, they feel disappointed when they see things worsening than improving. Unemployment, corruption, poor governance, red tape, non-responsive administration, Babugiri and ‘Raja-Praja’ attitude continue to haunt the people as hitherto fore.
‘Large projects require gestation period’, ‘large investments will take time to flow in’, “no loss of lives" is paramount and ‘no compromise on security’ are all well understood by the people. It is the widening disconnect between the people and the administration that is a cause of worry. Though the post 05 August dynamics are entirely different in the two regions namely Jammu and Kashmir yet there is one commonality and that is the need to win the confidence of the people. Nothing much has been done in this respect either by theCentral Government or the UT government headed by the newly appointed LG to raise the morale of the nationalists who have suffered immensely during the era of favouritism and discrimination. Lofty announcements made by the last Governor of the state remain more in paper or media and have yet to be implemented.
Pakistan was a nuisance then and it continues to remain so even today. The figures tabled in the Parliament by the Minister of State Home Affairs do not project a positive picture as far as law and order is concerned. As per him the figures related to cases pertaining to stone pelting/law & order in 2019 were 361 up to 04 August and 190 from 05 August to until 15 November. Going purely by statistics, while there were 51 cases per month prior to 04 August, the figure is higher at 54 cases per month post 05 August. Not a very rosy picture keeping in mind that period post 05 August cannot be compared with the earlier period due to entirely different and changed circumstances including increased force deployment. The brighter but important aspect is almost nil civilian deaths due to the retaliation by security forces. Pak sponsored terrorists have been able to create scare among the locals by resorting to random killing of civilians associated with trade and apple industry including the labour. The kinetic speed at which operations were carried out during Operation “All Out” has deaccelerated and Operation “Clean Up” has yet to gain momentum though in winters it is easier to track down and eliminate terrorists as they are forced to vacate their hideouts in the upper reaches.
The crusade launched against corruption by the previous governor received overwhelming response from all and sundry. People were over joyed when the skeletons started tumbling from the cupboard of J&K Bank, as the Bank was seen as a den of corrupt practices. But despite all the initial hullabaloo nothing much has happened till date creating a doubt in the people’s mind over government’s sincerity to deal with the corrupt. More than a dozen proven cases of corruption pertaining to prominent politicians including ex-ministers have been languishing for more than a decade with no forward movement at all. No action has yet been taken on those involved in JKCA and Roshini scams. Many other cases of corruption including a few involving the former CMs exposed by the previous governor have yet to be investigated. The much touted Employees Group Insurance scam seems to have been buried. This is what has disappointed the people who were anxiously looking forward to action against the corrupt so that a strong message goes across to the others. Gradually the confidence in the system is getting eroded.
Grass root level democracy was introduced in the state with much fanfare and the people participated in the elections to PRIs and ULBs in large number defying the terrorist threat and the boycott calls. But nothing seems to have changed thereafter. They are still crying for empowerment and financial independence. Promises made to them have yet to be fulfilled. The idea behind transferring the hub of power from Gupkar Road to towns and villages is good in conception but very poor in implementation leading to further erosion of confidence as far as general public is concerned. The lukewarm response to Back to Village 2 (B2V2) as compared to its first version will certainly be a cause of worry for the LG and his administration.
The announcement of providing 50000 government jobs to the youth of the state brought maximum cheers across the length and breadth of the state. However, till now it has been yet another story of disappointment. There is no indication from the government of even putting the process into motion. With every passing day many get dejected and despaired due to the feasibility of becoming overaged. Their confidence is in the boots. On the contrary, there were certain recruitments made by the police but the youth belonging to WP refugee community and the other deprived communities were denied entry due to not being in possession of Permanent Residence Certificate, which should have become irrelevant post abrogation of Article 35A. This eroded their self-respect leading to loss of hope and confidence. Much awaited Domicile laws have yet to see the light of the day adding to the prevailing confusion.
After abrogation of 370, people were happy with one nation, one flag, and one constitution and hoped that the policy of one nation one tax will be fully implemented here as well. But continued levying of toll tax at Lakhanpuron selected goods entering the UT has added to the list of dissatisfaction of the people. (To be continued)
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