Will Jammu and Kashmir remain hostage to the narrative of regional conflict?
Will Jammu and Kashmir remain hostage to the narrative of regional conflict?
WRITTEN BY JAVED IQBAL WANI AND L. DAVID LAL
21 September 2020
Much has happened since the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in August last year. As India continues to ease nationwide lockdown measures, it is worth remembering that the people of the newly carved union territory of Jammu and Kashmir were placed under lockdown well before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several political leaders and activists were detained under the Public Security Act. Although some of them were recently released, many are still under detention. Sadly, last year’s events are not a unique occurrence for the people of the Kashmir Valley. They have experienced incessant curfews, cordon and search operations, detentions, custodial torture, enforced disappearances and sexual harassment for decades. The pandemic-induced lockdown has only made everyday life for Kashmiris more difficult.
The Indian government’s parochial attitude towards the people of the region has become clear over the past year. It has not taken enough steps towards ameliorating Kashmiri fears of Hindu nationalism and overreach by the Indian state which has put them at the crossroads of an active confrontation between three nuclear powers in South Asia. Unfortunately, beyond the debates about the freedom of Kashmiris, there are many important questions that have failed to become part of India’s mainstream discourse. In this article, we intend to raise the key issues of governance, infrastructure, access, and democratic rights which have the potential of directly impacting the lives of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
New Dehli’s failure to understand the region
A perception deliberately propagated about the region by the Indian establishment is that its development has been hindered primarily due to militancy in the valley. However, if militancy is the sole reason for its hindered development, then how does one explain the lack of basic infrastructure in Jammu? Unprecedented levels of unemployment, electricity shortages, dilapidated and unequipped schools and hospitals are the everyday-lived realities of the people of the Jammu region. Similarly, Ladakh has suffered in the tussle between J&K.
The Indian state must treat the people of Jammu and Kashmir not as subjects but as citizens of a modern democratic country. It must stop treating the people of the region as an enemy-population and the region as a war zone where human rights violations are permissible and loss of life, liberty and property are treated as necessary collateral damage in a counter-insurgency campaign.
A second perception is that the separatists controlled the state’s political narrative. If that were the case, how did parties like the National Conference, the People’s Democratic Party, Congress, the Bhartiya Janta Party, the Panthers Party etc, secure mass support and form governments? All parties have failed to convince the people about a common agenda that serves the common interest rather than that of Indian political elites. There were more protests in the erstwhile state regarding jobs and development than for the politics of separation. Unfortunately, neither the Indian state nor the erstwhile state government has paid attention to them.
Political neglect has been sustained by the VIP culture of the politicians, lack of transparency and accountability in governance, and the scarecrow of militancy that has trumped all other legitimate questions of development. Conditions are abysmal at government schools outside the vicinity of cities and towns in the region. As a result of the pandemic, government school teachers have repeatedly been instructed to teach online mostly through WhatsApp. In a region where internet speed ranges between poor and non-existent, such a push seems merely an effort by the state to make its presence felt and manage public perception rather than impart education.
Rebuilding the relationship between the people and the state
The Indian government must demonstrate a commitment towards granting dignified and equal citizenship to facilitate an organic integration of Kashmir’s people. The government of India needs to initiate a wide-ranging political dialogue based on a bottom-up approach. Continued governance with an iron-fisted hand will make Kashmiris further distrust the efforts of the Indian state. The constitution of district-level committees to survey the mood and aspiration of the people is urgently required in the new political environment post-Article 370. Otherwise, decades of enforced silence and exclusion from the political institutions will continue in a new form. The Indian state must correct wrongs that sabotaged the relationship.
Recent government decisions such as the de-induction of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and the restoration of 4G on a trial basis in two districts of J&K is an encouraging sign for the people. Projects such as the Jammu-Akhnoor Road, the Chenani-Sudhmahadev Road, hydro projects in Ujh and Sahpur Kandi, and investment in various other infrastructure projects has meant renewal for the first time in decades. A similar push is required for the revival of local businesses in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the territory’s economy has suffered a loss of $24.4 billion due to the lockdown initiated pre-COVID in August 2019. The onset of the pandemic further aggravated economic suffering, causing an additional estimated loss of $18 billion. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy has reported an increase in job losses within the region of 15 per cent to 22 per cent since the abrogation of Article 370. Key sectors such as the handicraft industry, tourism, transport, food processing, horticulture and floriculture have been hit severely. There are around 250,000 artisans working in the handicraft industry making Kashmiri carpets, shawls, woodcarving, papier mache, phoolkari etc, who have suffered due to the August lockdown imposed by New Dehli.
Yet, the government has not announced a relief package for the tourism sector despite demands by various stakeholders such as the Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India, the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Alliance etc. The new union territories were ranked in 36th position in NITI Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index 2020. The unsatisfactory performance in the index can be attributed to poor policies, lack of infrastructure and an uncertain situation in the region.
Building a future for the people of Jammu and Kashmir
We suggest three ways to stabilise the new relationship between Kashmir and New Delhi. One, the Indian state must treat the people of Jammu and Kashmir not as subjects but as citizens of a modern democratic country. It must stop treating the people of the region as an enemy-population and the region as a war zone where human rights violations are permissible and loss of life, liberty and property are treated as necessary collateral damage in a counter-insurgency campaign.
Second, hold free and fair elections at the earliest opportunity and strengthen other institutions of democratic participation. The new delimitation exercise of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir must neither aim nor give the impression of changing the demography of the constituencies but strive to include earlier marginalised regions. Constitute dedicated committees to map educational employment, health imbalances, as well as infrastructure, audits on roads and access to electricity that will shape dedicated policies to address the existing gaps. India must work to regain the trust of the Kashmiri people and be viewed as a critical stakeholder in peace and sustainable development.
Third, restore high-speed internet services to the UT and create mechanisms to enhance access by Kashmiris to institutions whilst offering them an atmosphere of accountability and transparency. The state’s people should be made active participants in all government programmes such as Digital India, Skill India, Make in India, Tourism, etc, while actively and meaningfully including them in the discourse of collective development. India must engage with the people to sustain democratic institutions and development and accept the ecological sensitivities of the J&K region.
The Indian state must double its efforts to ensure the abrogation of Article 370 is not seen within J&K as an act of power, control and authority. Instead, we should look to highlight how the act aims to ensure that basic rights, as enshrined in India's constitution, are equally extended to the people of the region.
DISCLAIMER: All views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of the 9DASHLINE.com platform.
Author biography
Javed Iqbal Wani is an Assistant Professor at Ambedkar University, New Delhi. L. David Lal is an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Information Technology-Guwahati. Image credit: United Nations/Flickr.