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| J&K and New Delhi | | | Omkar Dattatray
Modi government has made impossible possible by connecting Kashmir with southernmost part of India -Kaniyakumari. Yes, physical connect has been made between the people of Kashmir and that of India. But what is more needed is the emotional, psychological connect and winning of the hearts and minds of gullible Kashmiris. Thus more than the physical connect, it is the connect of hearts which is required more so that people of Kashmir feel a sense of belongingness to India and forthis the gap between dil ke doori and Delhi se doori should be bridged so that people of JK read Kashmir will get the impression that Delhi is their own and the centre government of NDA headed by PM Modi really cares for the people of Kashmir. The traditional political parties and the common kashmiris no longer talk about the special status and position that had by virtue of Article 370 and for them also it is history but they very well articulate and demand statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. The plea for statehood was made by the chief minister Omar Abdullah indirectly while addressing the people in the inauguration of train service from Katra to Kashmir and he said that Manoj Sinha was promoted and Omar was demoted, meaning thereby that the powers of the duly elected government have been curtailed rather snatched and the real executive powers are concentrated in the central government representative the LG. The duly elected government and the people of Jammu and Kashmir feel orphaned and they want their democratically elected government should be conferred real powers so that they can fulfil the election manifesto and thus the people are given the impression that the Omar led coalition is really concerned about the issues and problems confronting the people of JK. But for this the prerequisite is that the psychological and emotional walls of distrust and doubt should be removed and for this GOI should at an earliest opportunity restore the honour and dignity of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. And this can be done by restoring the full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The conventional political parties of Jammu and Kashmir and the national opposition parties as well as the people of the Jammu and Kashmir are tired of hearing that statehood will be restored to JK at the appropriate and opportune time. Prime minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have infinitum times reiterated that statehood will be restored to the people of Jammu and Kashmir at the appropriate time. One wonders when will the appropriate and opportune time come when the GOI will restore the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir? People of Jammu and Kashmir feel alienation as their genuine rights and aspirations are eroded by the centre government and they demand immediate restoration of the statehood so that alienation is removed and the people are given rights and alienation comes to end. For this, the central government should bridge the emotional and psychological gap so that people of Jammu and Kashmir will feel relieved and they feel a sense of belongingness to the nation. For this what should be done is the restoration of the snatched statehood so that the people of Jammu and Kashmir feel that they are the inhabitants of the largest democracy of the world and democratic rights and privileges are given to them so that the alienation is given a good bye. Thus the GOI may have physically connected Kashmir with the rest of the country and the often repeated slogan of Kashmir to Kaniyakumari is one is incomplete without the emotional connect of the people of Kashmir and for this the centre government should at earliest concede the genuine demand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and restore the statehood so that people’s grievances are addressed and a cordial relationship is given the first priority by accepting the most genuine demand of the restoration/granting of the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The elected government of Jammu and Kashmir and its people have been robbed of powers and rights respectively by virtue of the implementation of the J&K re-organisation Act 2019 as stealthily the democratically and duly elected government of Jammu and Kashmir’s powers have been stolen under the camouflage of the Reorganisation Act to give the wrong impression that everything has been done constitutionally and lawfully but the fact is that the centre government has denied real democratic rights and aspirations of the people though elections which were overdue had been held. Still what democracy means, the people’s rights have been assaulted and in real sense it was an assault on the democracy itself. By virtue of the reorganisation Act 2019 and by making new rules, balance of powers have been titled in favour of the LG and the duly elected government has been left without powers and Omar Abdullah government is a lame duck as it has to get the approval of the LG even for the routine powers and functions. For giving DA to its employees, pensioners and family pensioners, the government has to get the approval of the LG. It is really an assault and murder of democracy. Elected government stands ripped of powers and authorities and even for day- to day functions, it has to get approval of the LG. Thus, the moot question is that elected and democratic government has been ripped of its powers. It is no exaggeration is say that the feathers of the government have been cut and without feathers, the government cannot run governance. NC president and former chief minister of J&K has said Kashmir rail link is a step towards bridging ‘Dil ki doori’ and ‘Delhi ke doori’. But perhaps the octogenarian leader has erred as the Dil ki doori will be bridged not by railway connectivity as it will definitely lessen physical distance but it will not bridge the gap of hearts between Kashmir and New Delhi and for that it is necessary to take steps so that psychological distance is bridged and Kashmiris feel that they are the sons of mother India and are cared by the Modi government. Thus, New Delhi should concentrate on bridging the distance of minds and hearts so that the distance of hearts is lessened at least if not bridged. In brief what is important is not physical connect but emotional and psychological connect which Modi government should sincerely try to bridge. However, the rail services will lead to larger tourist and pilgrim tourist footfall besides providing market for the fruits of Kashmir and the first thing is that railways will shorten the physical distance between Kashmir and Delhi. In the first instance the railways will serve as a cheap mode of transport for the people of Kashmir and for its perishable and imperishable goods and will open employment opportunities for the youth of J&K.
The author is a columnist, social, KP activist & Freelancer
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