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| Mufti appreciates ground realities | | Bridging inter-regional differences | |
Early Times Report
jammu, Oct 21: Patron of PDP and J&K Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed on Tuesday did well to appreciate ground realities as they exist in the state's three distinct regions - Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. He also did exceedingly well to suggest that it was imperative to bridge the differences between the communities and the regions of the state. "The requirements of our three geographical regions (Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh) are distinct. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the needs of the people living in these areas," he, inter-alia, said in Srinagar while interacting with Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) probationers belonging to 2013 and 2015 batches.
Mufti Sayeed is not just the Chief Minister. He is also the Home Minister and as Home Minister he is aware of the ground situation, as also aware of what the people inhabiting different regions feel and stand for. It was not an off-the-cuff remark. Nor did he beat about the bush. His statement was well-founded and, hence, politically very significant.
Indeed, the inter-regional and inter-communal relations in the state are far from normal. Even the 2014 assembly election results had established that the people of Jammu province, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region were a divided lot and that they had distinct aspirations. In Jammu province, for example, the people voted overwhelmingly for the BJP, which had fought the elections on the Jammu-specific and nation-centric planks. The BJP won 25 out of 37 seats from the province and created history. As for the PDP, the Congress and the NC, they won four, four and three seats, respectively, in Jammu province. In other words, a very vast majority of population in Jammu province voted for its empowerment and complete integration into India. It is a different story that the BJP let down the people of Jammu province for enjoying loaves and fishes of office.
In Kashmir, a vast majority voted for the PDP. The PDP won 25 out of 46 seats from Kashmir and the NC won 14 seats, the Congress won four and the remaining three seats were won by other parties, including CPI-M. All the Kashmir-based parties contested the election on Kashmir-specific issues and all of them opposed the BJP saying its victory even in one assembly constituency in the Valley would be dangerous for Kashmir. In fact, they had all joined hands against the BJP and appealed to the Kashmiri electorate not to cast their votes in favour of the BJP. Besides, all these parties contested elections on planks ranging from self-rule to greater autonomy or limited accession of J&K with India. The people of Kashmir inflicted a crushing defeat on the BJP with all its candidates, barring one, losing their security deposit.
As for Ladakh, its people voted overwhelmingly for the Congress party, which contested the election on Union Territory status plank. They rejected outright the BJP, the NC and the PDP. The Congress captured three of the four seats from the region and the remaining one seat went to an independent candidate, now with the PDP. It was for the first time that the Congress captured three seats. The defeat of the BJP in Ladakh was all the more significant because only six months before it had created history by winning for the first time lone Ladakh Lok Sabha seat. The BJP had won the Lok Sabha seat because it gave the people of Ladakh to understand that a vote for the BJP would mean grant of UT status to Ladakh, but it suffered a massive defeat in the assembly election in the region because it had given up demand seeking UT status for Ladakh.
The statement of the Chief Minister that "the requirements of our three geographical regions are distinct" needs to be viewed in this context. One thing is very clear: The contradictions in the political perceptions of the people of Jammu province, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh region are irreconcilable and the existing political, administrative and constitutional set-up has outlived its utility. If the powers-that-be really wish to bridge the inter-regional differences, they have to reorganize the existing system taking into consideration the distinct needs, compulsions and aspirations of the different people inhabiting different regions. There is no other alternative available. |
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