Multifaceted transformation ushered in by the abolition of Article 370 is reshaping the contours of Kashmir’s destiny and offering a glimmer of peace
Although the recent Bollywood release Article 370 has received rave reviews from movie-goers and critics alike, the discourse around the film in the power circles of Delhi has not been equally charitable. The reason behind the discomfiture is the film’s scanty representation of the role played by India’s political leadership in making the audacious legislation and its implementation a reality.
Bureaucrats privy to the machinations that went on behind the scenes to abrogate Article 370 complain of a raw deal accorded to the Modi-Shah duo by the film while depicting their parts. The film allegedly curtains much of the insights, contemplations, arguments and painstaking efforts of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah that went into making the law that ended an era in the valley.
To be fair to the Yami Gautam starrer movie and the team behind it, the film facilitates a surgical view of the politics coupled with Islamism that wreaked havoc in the valley for decades. It is also precise in manifesting the post-apocalyptic gloom and hopelessness that ruled the social psyche in the region. However, the portrayal of the entire gamut of firefighting efforts that went on in Delhi’s power corridors is a bit too much to expect from a Bollywood flick.
The abrogation of Article 370 is only a part of the systemic shift in Delhi’s view of the Kashmir issue.
The effect of the new shift in the Kashmir paradigm led by the Modi-Shah duo in dealing with the issue is much more widespread and layered than it appears. They invariably touch every life in the valley. Paradigm shifts occur in societies when the existing ones fail to resolve anomalies. This was true also about the new paradigm in Kashmir that surfaced during the Modi regime. While assuming office in 2014, the Modi government had to deal with the existing perspective on Kashmir which in itself was afflicted with the proverbial Stockholm syndrome.
The fear that any change in Kashmir’s status would lead to wanton bloodshed in the valley had by then taken policy and lawmakers hostage. However, instead of dealing with the burning issue a policy to nurture it was adopted. The earlier successive governments justified Article 370 on grounds of protecting the state’s distinct demographic character as the only Muslim-majority state in India. Despite its highly discriminatory nature, they were against the principle of “One Nation, One Law and One Head of the Nation.’ Rather the governments repeatedly pampered the state with more funds while in its restive condition, giving the bruise the reason to burgeon every time.
Government data shows that during the second five-year plan between 1957-58 and 1961-62, the state received the highest per capita grant-in-aid of Rs 41.7, which was almost seven times the average of all the states which was only Rs 6. Similarly, the per capita central assistance for J&K was the highest and double the average of the rest of the states. J&K also got Rs 117 per head for its population against an average of Rs 57 for the remaining states.
To put the figures in perspective, between 2000 and 2016, J&K with 1 % of the total Indian population received 10 per cent (Rs 1.14 lakh crore) of the total central funds, the highest among the 10 special states in India.
However, despite such largess from the government for the past 70 years, its economy continued to remain in the doldrums with large deficits showing up on its annual budget. A significant part of the problem was the inability of the state government to properly utilise the funds, which were diverted to different non-developmental projects. Moreover, regular organised insurgent violence perpetrated by resurgent military groups both within the country and those across the border, mass strikes, shutdowns, etc meant that J&K failed to keep pace with the growth trajectory of other states.
A detailed analysis shows that the main reason for its poor growth and recurring violence in the Himalayan state was the imposition of Article 370, which resulted in corruption, nepotism, and misappropriation of funds by those in power.
Moreover, there is enough evidence to suggest that the appeasement and pampering of separatists by the ruling party to stay in power. It has also meant giving a free hand to separatists and extremists to propagate an anti-India narrative, diverting youth’s energy into destructive activities instead of building the state.
The absence of local self-government over the years—the last municipal elections were held in 2005-- meant that locals were not a participant in the development process. Socially weaker sections such as SC, and STs never got the benefits of central government policies.
The abolishing of Article 370 put an end to the entire ecosystem that perpetuated violence, injustice and gloom in Kashmir and extended the rule of the Indian constitution to the valley. Now every institution in the valley is bound to uphold the sanctity of the constitutional values of equality, justice and fraternity. Now, no Kashmiri is dependent for their rights on the local political lords who splashed on the pool of development funds with complete impunity granted by Article 370.
Five years after the abrogation of Article 370, J&K is being described as a Valley of peace, prosperity, and all-round development, thanks to a well-crafted strategy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ably implemented by the Home Minister Amit Shah.
With bandhs, street violence and acts of terrorism brought under control by security forces, courtesy of the zero-tolerance policy, the local economy has got the much-needed boost with new incentives, development of state-of-the-art educational infrastructure, and empowering the poor with welfare benefits.
Moreover, the Narendra Modi government announced several far-reaching measures, including the implementation of a reconstruction scheme of around Rs 80,000 crore known as the Prime Minister’s Development Package, on November 7, 2015, to strengthen the socio-economic infrastructure and for the development of Jammu & Kashmir. It also announced a new transparent and target-oriented Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Policy 2021-30, whose aim is to attract fresh investments, create employment opportunities, develop backward regions and nurture existing businesses. To help entrepreneurs, a single window portal has been launched. It is a single point of contact for end-to-end facilitation for setting up businesses.
Till November 2023, Investments worth Rs. 2326.65 crore have flowed into the Union Territory. Handloom and handicraft exports have doubled, and tourism has reached unprecedented levels, further boosting the economy. The year 2023, saw a record 4.45 lakh Amarnath visitors in J&K without a single incidence of violence.
Social welfare schemes too have seen transformational changes. It has seen the launch of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY-SEHAT) on December 26, 2020, which provides universal health insurance cover of up to Rs 5.00 lakh per family to all families of Jammu and Kashmir. Reservation for non-gazetted police ranks has been implemented, promoting gender equality. Now the canonical dialogue, “Kashmir is a lost case,” delivered by Zooni Haksar, the protagonist of the film Article 370 played by Yami Gautam is no longer the case.
(The writer is an economist & retired HoD, Economics Department, St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi. Views are personal)
