Separate status had virtually emboldened separatist elements to muster courage and call for a separate country, colluded with Pakistan forces and terrorists to destabilize the state and to keep the people under an eternal poverty with no growth and development agenda. The royal families have been looting all these years and it takes courage to take such a bold decision. I am very glad to see that Kashmiri’s are also supporting this decision. A great decision taken by the government and it is good for the country and its development. Thus a historical blunder is corrected after 72 years.
Democracy is thriving for 78 per cent by giving what is right for the people of J&K without even listening to concerns of those people. Democracy is based on social contract align with general will. But concern here is that the will can even be general while excluding those who are going to be impacted. No doubt it a historical decision. Kashmir is no doubt an Integral part of Union of India. But we need to understand as much as Kashmir is India the Kashmiris must feel that they are Indians. Now the task upto the government is to prove this decision a dividend for the Union of India not a disaster. Finally surgery has been attempted. J&K never was at peace during last seven decades of its special status. It is better to find a permanent solution to this issue instead of prolonging the unnecessary loss of lives.
After playing politics with the situation since Independence we are finally taking a step towards stripping this state of the artificiality injected into it. It would have been best had the stated been truncated, with Jammu being the third component. This will then confine the anti-India elements to just the valley. It is shameful that PDP and NC have been playing politics with this issue for so long. If they had the country’s interest first, they could have convinced their constituency to give up violence, to get educated, and to improve their standards of living, rather than throwing stones and shouting anti-India slogans. True a brave move and it looks like BJP is walking the extra mile to see some sensible action and the long term benefits must be realised and set in motion once administrative controls are drawn. Our Pandits are refugees in our own motherland.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
