Modi has had a great impact on J&K

There was something new about the elections held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2014. The atmosphere in the state was different this time from what was seen during the run-up to any of the polls earlier. There were three major indicators showing that the state had undergone some irreversible socio-political changes.

First, the large turnout at the booths in all phases certainly showed disenchantment with the existing regime. But going beyond that, it seemed also to reflect the Kashmiri people’s clear dissatisfaction with the politics of status quo that they had been subjected to all these years. The two regional parties of the state had positioned themselves somewhere between the overestimated bunch of separatists on the one hand and an overlordship of the state under the facade of Article 370 of the Constitution, on the other.

Faith in polls

This setting stands altered as the electorate did shift to the PDP from the NC, but with an acceptance of J&K as an integral part of democratic India. This is why the familiar poster campaign of the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen (HuM) against the election proved to be a losing battle. Jamaat-e-Islami — the parent body of HuM — once had a significant number of sympathisers in the administration but it has lost this advantage with the advance of democracy in the state.

Secondly, the changing scene in J&K put the focus of people’s attention squarely on the performance of the parties that had long been ruling the state. The days seemed to be over for the ruling elites who presumed that they had no accountability for fiscal discipline and good governance. The frequent pampering of the separatists’ lobby, tendency to blame the state government’s own failure to keep peace in the state on the extraneous plea of India-Pak relationship, and a dubious communal response to the Centre’s initiative on the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley, all significantly weakened the Kashmir-based parties.

What proved transformational for J&K, however, was the third factor — the advent of a strong alternative government at the Centre led by Narendra Modi in place of a regime that had shown no interest in handling the internal and external environ of Kashmir beyond giving employment to a motley set of interlocutors. Modi’s impact on J&K, evident during the electioneering, pushed the sub-regional divides somewhat into the background and brought the integral character of the state to the fore. The BJP securing the largest number of votes in the integral state of J&K in the 2014 polls, points to this.

Inviting a debate on the usefulness of Article 370 served to underscore the point that the Centre’s resolve to improve the lot of the people in the state could no more be impeded by the political vested interests who had had the free run there on the strength of this constitutional tag.

The Centre is committed to protecting J&K from external threats and internal subversion. Calls for revoking AFSPA routinely surfacing as a poll campaign issue for the parties of the state, did not cut much ice this time. The attempts made by Pakistan to raise the level of cross-border terrorism in J&K during the elections there, spoke for the importance of strong security measures of the Centre.

Central inspiration

The Centre should encourage political elements from the Valley who are prepared to give up empty rhetoric and willing to work for the development of the state. The democratic progress of the state and the advance of the politics of development cannot, however, be allowed to be hindered by the advocates of parochialism.

Progress

The PDP, the largest single entity in the new Assembly, must build its credibility as a regional party with nationalist credentials if it wants to facilitate its political alignment with the ruling party at the Centre. If it continues with even the slightest endorsement of separatism, this will become difficult.

There is little doubt that the average Kashmiri wants to have peace and prosperity within democratic India. Parvez Rasool, the young captain of J&K cricket team, was excited as much over his team’s victory over Mumbai in the Ranji fixture as he was on his inclusion in the list of probables for India’s World Cup team.

It is natural that the BJP, heading the government at Delhi, will now have a greater say in the affairs of J&K.This should help the state to get on to the path of speedy progress.