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| Make a new beginning | | Put behind what is not worth carrying | |
As you read this on first Monday of the New Year, it is still not too late to make resolutions for doing well in the coming times and leaving behind what is not worth carrying. A change in calendar is a momentous event in our human lives because it gives us the opportunity to look back, to assess and to decide what to jettison from our lives and what to continue with. And although there are many changes of years that we may follow — a financial year, a religious year, a personal year — to move from December 31 to January 1 is a significant milestone because it involves turning the page and the clock, never to go back. And what a year it has been. We started it in the depths of political uncertainty which was soon to become certain when Congress announced after a hung verdict that Omar Abdullah will lead the coalition government. The new government was soon to take charge of things and make renewed promises to the people. Later in the year we also had a general election which confirmed once again that we have a mature electorate which looks for results and also for stability. The clean sweep for the National Conference and Congress in Lok Sabha elections was however not so much a thumbs up for the coalition partners as it was a thumbs' down for many other parties, especially those which have consistently harped on divisive politics to win votes. The new J&K, it appeared, had other ideas about the future. It has been a particularly bad year for the PDP and BJP, both of which have to now regroup and re-strengthen themselves if they are to survive. In some ways, having a good opposition is essential to a democracy, so there is work to be done. We managed to stave off a total economic recession only to have agriculture suffer a failed monsoon. Rising prices and inflation remain with us, even if our growth prospects are good. It was a landmark year in other ways as well. Infrastructure development projects saw a new impetus coming in from state and center. There was huge expansion in the education sector. Grant of two Central Universities put Jammu and Kashmir at the top of higher education charts. There were, however, three all time lows in the year. PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig’s allegations against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah not only paralysed the legislative assembly for many days but also raised questions about ethical morality in politics. Alleged rape and murder incidents in Shopian still remain an ugly mystery even as the CBI probe has concluded that there were accidental deaths and not what people protested about. Evidence fudging in Amandeep murder case was a stain on the already challenges image of J&K Police but cops moved swiftly to uncover the scam and put accused behind bars. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Srinagar visit in October and two weeks before that Home Minister P Chidambram’s announcement of a dialogue with separatists are perhaps the threads from the previous year to be picked up for the new year.
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