The Legitimate Desk Kashmir Perspective
Last week when the Union Home minister Amit Shah concluded his two days visit to Kashmir and left for New Delhi, he favoured the extension of Presidents rule in Jammu and Kashmir for more six months.
Shah proposed the bill in both the Houses of parliament that triggered a huge debate.
“Today the situation is such that we have to extend the President’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir for every six months. Its roots are in the incompatible alliance of PDP and BJP in 2015,” Congress leader Manish Tewari said in the Lok Sabha while initiating the discussion on the Statutory Resolution for extension of the central rule in the state moved by Home Minister Amit Shah.
The opposition from the Congress opened the window of an opportunity for Amit Shah to speak on the Kashmir, its historical and political relations with the previously princely state of British India.
These historical blunders, shah said, led to Kashmir’s political powers being hijacked by “three families” and refused to let democracy reach the grassroots.
“The 1987 elections, for instance, was reportedly rigged by the Congress in favour of its alliance partner, the National Conference, whose leader Farooq Abdullah went on to become the chief minister but had to eventually resign due to his failure to tackle rising terror graph and President’s Rule was imposed,” Shah said in his speech.
He said and accused the two families (Abdullahs and the Muftis) of maintaining an “iron grip on everything from panchayat polls to Lok Sabha election, stifling democracy in the process.
All in all, Shah had this historic opportunity to open the Pandora of blunders committed by Congress in Kashmir. Not only this, Shah in fact presented a unique perspective on Kashmir and said that former Prime minister Manmohan Singh failed to move beyond three words of Insaniyat, Jhumhuriyat and Kashmiriyat promised by former Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He believes that BJP has to even rectify mostly the mistakes that his rival political party had committed. He in fact warned of going across the border in case Pakistan continued to trouble him in Kashmir. Shah delivered an extensive speech on Kashmir and behaved as a saviour to the situation. He presented the bill for extension of Presidents rule after holding the thorough discussions with local administration in Kashmir. Shah apparently seemed looking Kashmir situation beyond political project and wants to settle down once for all. He reportedly took valid suggestions from the local administration which according to sources complained against the successive regimes for restricting the merit and imposing nepotism and corruption in the system. Such sham practices of the successive regimes have in Kashmir alienated common people and pushed them to the wall.
Ahead of his speech in parliament Amit Shah was in Kashmir. When he concluded his visit he directed the Chief Secretary to hold the presser unlike his predecessors. This was evident to find him empowering the local administration that will be looking after the state affairs for some time in absence of elected government. Shah aims to rejuvenate the administrative set up of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of releasing any financial budget for the grass root level development.
It is to be believed that centre may release over whopping Rs 4000 crores to the local panchayats anytime soon. The two metro train projects at a whopping Rs 8000 crore are also to be executed and completed in just four years time. Prior to release of funds, the New Delhi wants to clean up the local administration in Kashmir and strict orders have been issued to Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to act against mighty and rich if they are involved in corrupt practices.
Moreover, Shah is also working on a plan to disempower the traditional stakeholders in Kashmir who have so far been accused of exploiting the common people for personal interests.
“So far, only three families were running the entire government in Kashmir. Now, 40,000 people are appointed as Panch and Sarpanch in various villages in Kashmir, we have given power to the people, instead of taking it away from them,” Shah said in the Lok Sabha.
When the Prime Minister Narender Modi won the elections first time in 2014 and formed the government with sweeping majority, its Kashmir policy looked directionless. It was felt that Modi wants to handle Kashmir problem with iron fist.
However, Shah has shown clarity on Kashmir unlike the previous political dispensations. In the second tenure of BJP Kashmir seems on the top of agenda.
“Unlike the Congress and certain other political parties, which are comfortable with treating Jammu and Kashmir as a special case, the Bharatiya Janata Party has always pushed for a more integrationist approach that entails treating it as just another state of the Union. This is why it is against special provisions, which Mr Shah reiterated were “temporary”,” writes Hindustan Times in its editorial.
BJP seems committed in dis empowering the traditional stakeholders that includes mainstream and separatists.
Shah didn’t stop her only; he also exposed the separatists and revealed their children studying abroad.
Shah seems to be investing on a three pronged strategy. While on one side he is restoring the public faith in the system, on the other side he is also trying to destabilize the dynastic politics in valley. More, Shah is also engaged in exposing the separatists to reduce their influence in the public sphere. This perspective is new in the Kashmir and has never been adopted by successive regimes in Delhi. Shah’s Kashmir track seems full of thorns and needs a time to understand how well he will be succeeding in changing the age old perspective with realism.
