NAYA KASHMIR: OPTIMISM AND OPPORTUNITIES
It has been a little over two years since the Government of India’s historic step to abrogate the special status of Jammu & Kashmir and give Ladakh the autonomy that it had been longing for by breaking the shackles of Gupkar Road. This move was long due and it has completely overhauled the ground situation and is ushering in a new era of peace and development.The political elites have been falsely treating Article 370 and 35(A) of the Constitution that gave the state its special status as a permanent feature of Kashmir’s politics. This status was abused to nurture a system of political patronage and resulted in the state spiraling into misgovernance and corruption. Kashmir has lagged in almost every metric of development – economic activity, education, infrastructure, healthcare and employment. The toxic cocktail of militancy and separatism worsened the situation as the youth, let down by nepotism and corruption, became drawn towards militancy even as the kin and kith of separatists studied in foreign universities and lived in comfort. Kashmir has had a history of being a progressive society at the cross roads of civilizations, proud of its intellectual legacy and pluralistic outlook, but has now been reduced to a pale shadow of what it once was. This down trend is now being reversed by the shared vision of the Indian Government and Kashmiris of a Naya Kashmir. Over the last two years there has been a perceptible change on the ground which is evident from the reduced hold of the separatist leadership and the significant decline in stone pelting incidents as well as militant activities. Terrorist commanders and their masterminds in Pakistan have been denied space to operate and spread their propaganda to brainwash the local youth. The Union government has extended all progressive laws of the Indian constitution to the UT, including the Right to Education, Right to Work, Juvenile Justice Act, Women Representation Act, etc. These changes have sparked hope among Kashmiris of better prospects for their families and society as a whole. Even the administration is being overhauled and empowered as evident from the handling of the COVID pandemic. Infrastructure development has been the top agenda of the new administration, primarily in ensuring all year round connectivity and integration of the valley with the rest of the country. Several major tunnels are expected to be operational by 2024 and the Indian railways is keen on connecting Kashmir with Jammu, work on which is in the final stages of completion. Besides big projects, strengthening the Panchayati Raj Institutions has been a priority to deliver democracy at the grass root level. In the last few years, elections for Panches and Sarpanches, Block Development Councils and District Development Councils have been successfully conducted with encouraging voter turnout. These institutions are also infused with funds which the earlier state government had starved them of to ensure speedy completion of local work and directly address the needs of the local people. The ‘Back to Village’ initiative and rules mandating implementation of at least two developmental projects at every panchayat have ensured community participation in managing local affairs. The government is also investing heavily on its youth with several schemes and initiatives to train local youth for jobs and entrepreneurship in emerging sectors like AI, robotics, cyber security, web designing, fashion, banking and financial services. Budding entrepreneurs can also secure funding through the Entrepreneurial Development Institute. Bringing investors from across the country to invest in sectors like tourism, which has enormous potential, through changes in rules of how businesses can operate and in the land ownership rules, can boost employment and revenues for the UT. Kashmir has indeed shifted to a more democratic and efficient system of governance focused on development and problem solving, from the previous government that fed on people’s problems. Naya Kashmir has opened up a world of opportunities for people of all sections of society and has ushered in an era of peace and prosperity.
