A Glimmer of Hope in Paradise
Despite a call for a boycott of the polls, Kashmiris voted in record numbers in the elections. The results and the increased turnout offer a glimmer in a region with a painful history.
But while militancy has fallen in the state, not much has changed. One of the best news pieces I read on the election sounded a note of both caution and hope. This is a region after all, where the presence of the Indian Army has long undermined civil rights and where the government has offered its hardest edge. The government’s response has allowed the damage in the state to become cyclical: increasing resentment among civilians and sympathy for terrorists, and in turn, more terrorism, and even greater crackdown by the state.
Terrorism has contributed to J&K remaining under-developed and poor, and the thousands of unemployed young men only add to the militancy. A big part of our response needs to be in pulling the state out of poverty. A minister within the UPA government recently told me of how he has been encouraging Indian entrepreneurs to invest in the state – he believed that development would be key to reducing the violence. I agree – the three Café Coffee Day outlets that opened up in Srinigar come with the small chance of normal life, development and employment. The promise that such investments offer does more to turn people away from militancy than increasing the army presence and gunning down separatists.
Tags: development, elections, employment, kashmir, polls, poverty, terrorism
December 30th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Poverty in J & K? As per 1999-2000 data J & K has the lowest percentage of people below poverty line among all Indian states. (3.48 Vs 26% All India)
http://delhiplanning.nic.in/Economic%20Survey/ES2007-08/T21.PDF
January 2nd, 2009 at 2:39 am
Rajat: Thanks for your response. But accurate poverty numbers in J&K have been difficult to collect. Official figures also put unemployment at less than 10%, but independent news reports indicate that the number is much higher. This has given various militant organisations the upper hand when it comes to recruiting young men into terrorism (There is plenty of coverage around this. See for example: http://www.zeenews.com/exclusive/2008-11-22/485517news.html). This lack of jobs - due to the lack of investment - is a chronic and growing problem.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Presence of Indian army versus rise in militancy is like a chicken-and-egg problem. Nevertheless, I think education, awareness and ultimately keeping people in the economic loop will help not only J&K but any state in India. I think simple crimes like theft to major ones like militant action is because people are scratching their head to find ‘opportunities’ and those that they end up choosing are hurtful to the greater population. Getting them back to school, teaching them a vocation, and equipping them to meet the current economic trends will allow to address, or even solve, the problems that J&K, India, and other countries face. This is the new cycle we need to foster.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I would appreciate if this comment can reach Mr Nandan.
Dear Mr Nandan - I am totally carried away with your detailed writing on TRUE INDIA.
Your book re-kindles the spirit of true patriotism required for each of us.
I feel this book will create the revolution required in India for the Indians to alleviate from all the miseries surrounding us.
But for this, this book should be read by each and every indian in the villages, small cities, big cities, colleges, police stations, secreatriats, parliment.
I feel you should translate this book into key indian languages like Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi etc to reach to the masses.
it should also be sold with service mentatility at the lowest price possible so that it reaches mroe and more people who can read and understand True India and come together to take the action required for us to move forward with better vision and thinking.
Thank You
Best Regards
January 7th, 2009 at 4:23 am
Even if poverty numbers in Kashmir are hard to figure out; one can make a ‘hunch’ that they will be not much different from rural Rajasthan - or indeed north Karnataka. How come you do not see any militancy there?
The state has shown it’s hard edge in Kashmir - but reality is that it has been compelled to do so (remember the ‘Azaadi’ rallies asking for secession). We have to learn to face realities - the problem in Kashmir is militant Islamism. That enemy has to be fought on the battleground of ideas and free debate. The issue is not good governance; if that was the case Mr. Jagmohan would not have been so unpopular in those parts.
I respect your achievements and your intents, but in the case of Kashmir; thinking of it as a governance/ development / investment problem is an inadequate diagnosis
June 15th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Hello Nandan SIr,
I acutallu agree with some of our members ideas. Today actually we can see that terrorism has acutally given a bad image not only in india , but also in the world. we can see that many countries suffer due to lack of poverty, health reasons and also due to many other reasons. In today’s world, i can just tell u that by 2012 the world is finished , it can’t be seen for ever. so from today onwards, we need to save ourselves, the greenery and other things like water food and many things. if we can save these things then we will be able to protect ourselves, and others.
save water
save life
restrict poverty and save the trees
M.S.Suhas
+91-9725381647