Arun Joshi
It’s little short of two years that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Jammu and Kashmir on February 20 and this has led to an extraordinary excitement among the people who are hoping for big announcements from him. Now, in the changed Jammu and Kashmir, since abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 when peace is defining feature of this union territory, the people also are looking for some words on the Assembly polls. PM had promised J&K its chief minister, ministers and MLAs on August 15, 2019.
Modi has come to define himself as a leader who has earned a tremendous respect and influence for the country worldwide . Jammu and Kashmir is looking for its space in the country’s image , boosting the idea of India . Since this is the election year in the country – Lok Sabha polls are due in few weeks’ time – J^K aspires to have Assembly polls so that its original voices are heard in the UT legislative chambers.
They do hope that Prime Minister will deliver this message.
Prime Minister ‘s J&K visit is enormously important for the country as it will explain to the nation how this place and its people have drawn closer to the idea of India and summarily rejected secessionism, and rival ideas seeded into the soil for decades.
The abrogation of Article 370 demonstrated that there was a government at the Centre that could take a huge decision after having pre-empted the feared consequences. This was a political and geostrategic marvel.
But more than that were the Central government’s decisions that awakened masses to the reality that how imprisoned were they in their thoughts and perceptions which had shut them from the world view of development and progress. The development since August 2019 has changed the mindset . They realized that there existed a world outside the cocoons which had been sold to them as ultimate.
The visit coincides with the inauguration of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Indian Institute of Management, Jammu and inaugurate the most prestigious and game changing rail link between Jammu and Srinagar, linking the Valley to the rest of the country, as a formidable alternation to the road link vis Jammu – Srinagar highway. The highway remains prone to blockages and landslides. The railway is a dream come true for the Valley, its tourism stakeholders, fruit growers and merchants and the travelers. This may sound odd but the fact is that Kashmir has prepared itself to unshackle itself from all its confines. It wants to discover the world outside. railways will bring them discovery of the new world outside Kashmir.
Two of these three projects – AIIMS and IIM – were started during the Modi era and they have fructified now, he is living up to his reputation of laying foundation stone and inaugurating the projects within the time frame he sets. Although the train to Kashmir project was started in 1990s but sufficient funds were never allocated for the project. That kept on delaying the project. Until the arrival of Modi as Prime Minister of the country, it was taken as yet another project which should be seen on the papers, but to be completed on its own. The projects in Jammu and Kashmir were never given a deadline. The timeline was determined by the allocation of funds and snail pace of the work. In April 1983, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of the project of Udhampur- Jammu railway link, and it was completed 18 years later. Its original schedule for commissioning was 1988.
The delay in the projects brought a lot of negativity – there were cost escalation, which at times was multiple times higher than the original estimated cost. That injected its own frustration among the people, because the delay also gave rise to corruption. Two kinds of problems arose out of it, one, the politicians and bureaucrats used the delay as an excuse, the circumstances, topography and so on. Second, though it was ironic as well, that they used the projects as a sign of their hard work and kept the dream alive that projects were work in progress.
In regard to Jammu and Kashmir, the governments and bureaucrats could not imagine, or even if they did, such delays were a source of disconnect between the people and the idea of India. There was a feeling that the Centre was causing delays deliberately to keep the people denied of the benefits. This was seen as an intimidation, and the misuse of resources. Dul Hasti and Salal projects were inaugurated after more than two decades of laying of their foundation . This caused immense loss to the exchequer but also to the resources . The waters flown in river Chenab could not be utilized when glaciers were in good health . The delays resulted in the wastage of trillions of cusecs of water , which otherwise could have been used for generation of power . Modi has shown a different way of initiating developments in J&K, which has fostered better understanding of the idea of India . That’s the essence of the visit.
Arun Joshi is author of “Eyewitness Kashmir; Teetering on Nuclear War and senior journalist based in Jammu and Kashmir, writes on South Asian affairs)
Disclaimer: This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with www.prameyanews.com.
