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The Modi government, since May 2019, has done its best to marginalise the established political parties in Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after its August 5, 2019 bifurcation and the end of its special status appeared to have two purposes. One, on a day officially observed as Panchayati Raj day, he projected the thousands of people’s representatives elected through the panchayat system — freshers, as it were, in politics — as the “real” engines of governance at the “grassroots” of the former state. “Empowerment” of the people has been a pet theme of the Modi government after the BJP pulled out of the ruling coalition led by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2018, setting the stage for the events of the following year. The Modi government, since May 2019, has done its best to marginalise the established political parties in Kashmir. It is no secret that the most empowered section in J&K is the bureaucracy, accountable only to itself. The panchayats are a small cog in the wheel of the administration, and their members, elected in a process marred by violence and living under the threat of militants, know it. It is widely understood that only an Assembly election can truly empower the people through their chosen legislators, just like it does in the rest of the country. The delay in holding these elections was justified in the name of a delimitation process. Putting it off any more can only confirm the government’s continuing contempt for the will of the people and the democratic process in J&K.
The second objective, to announce investments by some of the biggest companies in the United Arab Emirates, is possibly far more significant and consequential, from a strategic point of view. The UAE is an important member of the Organisation of Islamic Conference and as such, is an influencer in the Islamic world. Two years ago, it took the radical step of shaking hands with Israel. Now, the government claims, the Arab country’s most important business houses appear ready to invest in the Modi government’s “naya” Kashmir. There is a message in this for the people of Kashmir, including the diaspora, a significant number have made the UAE their home. As well, it is a message to Pakistan, which describes the UAE as a “brother country”. The secret India-Pakistan backchannel talks were reportedly held in that country. It is to be seen what, if any, impact this might have on the positioning over Kashmir by the new government in Islamabad.
In his outreach to the youth in the Valley, the prime minister said, “You will never suffer the way your parents, grandparents did in the past.” This welcome message of hope can be realised on the ground only if the youth become stakeholders in the building of the state. The investment push, infrastructure development and the flow of tourists into the Valley need, for their fruition, a genuine political process, an essential aspect of a democracy.
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