No more waiting

In its December 2023 judgement on the petitions against abrogation of Article 370 of the constitution, the supreme court left unanswered the question of constitutionality of downgrading a state to UT. Many people think that the question was left unanswered because Article 3 of the constitution which deals with formation of states and related matters has not clearly spelt out anything on this although it has given the parliament powers to form a new state, increase or diminish the area or alter the boundaries of a state. Be that as it may, the reality is that the court did not clearly rule against downgrading of J&K from state to UT but directed the centre to restore the statehood ‘at the earliest’.

For good governance in J&K, statehood is a prerequisite

The J&K Reorganization Act, 2019 which created the UT of J&K did not create a fully empowered elected government in the UT. Lack of empowerment is playing out as the main reason for governance deficit right from the beginning after the elected government took charge in October 2024. Good Governance, according to UNDP definition, rests on the principles of legitimacy and voice participation, direction (strategic vision), performance, accountability and fairness. All these five principles are beyond the reach of a half empowered elected government. Denial of good governance due to lack of empowerment makes the arrangement highly unsuitable and even unfair. Restoration of statehood will ensure a duly empowered elected government which alone will be able to remove the governance deficit, provide good governance and implement effectively the myriad development schemes and programmes initiated by the central government post 2014.

By its geographical size, diversity and population of over one and half crore, J&K does not offer itself easily amenable to a UT type of administrative and legislative arrangement. Good governance will always remain elusive notwithstanding the good intentions of the union government and the elected UT government. An elected government is inherently accountable for any governance deficit whether it is adequately empowered or not. Empowerment is not the concern of the electors, they expect the promises to be fulfilled and problems solved. This is what makes the position of the present elected government in J&K precarious and continuation of the UT status untenable.

Statehood will not mean adding risk to the security situation in J&K

Threats to internal security in J&K owe their origin mainly to external machinations irrespective of the type of elected government, UT or state. It will be incorrect to assume that the security grid will weaken if statehood is restored. Whether state or UT, security is handled by the security forces including state police who have time tested mechanisms for coordination and joint operations. Apart from unified headquarters (UHQ) which is headed by the CM in a state ( presently by the LG in UT) and has all the top commanders of security forces including state police, intelligence agencies and senior most civil officers as members and functions as the top oversight forum, there are operational command groups down below at different jurisdictional levels which meet regularly to plan and coordinate operations.

The culture of camaraderie within the security establishment in J&K has taken deep roots over the years and officers of different wings stay in continuous contact to ensure security. There is no scope for any CM or minister or politician to intervene or interfere in the day to day planning and execution of the work of security forces and this can be verified from the senior most commanders of security forces who have worked in the state on previous occasions prior to 2018. Statehood will not create any obstruction in the work of security forces or dilution of their morale because the past experience bears witness to this. On the other hand, civil inputs improve scope for protection of civil population during operations from any collateral damage. Nonetheless if the collateral damage does takes place, it is often the civil administration and the elected representatives who help to calm the situation.

Restoration of statehood will trigger political activity at the grassroots level and healthy competitive politics

Post August 2019 constitutional changes, the grassroots level political activity in Kashmir reduced to almost zero till the announcement of assembly elections in 2024. It is undeniable that the August 2019 changes pertaining to Article 370 and 35-A and downgrade to UT came as a big blow to the mood and pride of the people of J&K, in particular Kashmir who had never imagined that the central government will ever take such a step, fraught with high risks, internal and external and also what was believed as the constitutional and political basis of accession. The trauma of loss of special status is still there among the people, although the politicians made a mockery of the so called resistance and of their own pledges to defend the special status.

As things stand, the only redemption, both for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the central government who have been making repeated commitments about restoration of statehood at the appropriate time, that time is already here. Undeniably, the central government will possibly not get a more reasonable and cooperative Chief Minister to deal with while negotiating the transition to statehood. The mood of the people is also positive and that makes the present time the appropriate time for restoration of statehood. Since the central government made the argument that removal of special status was meant to bring J&K at par with other states, then there should be no hesitation in restoring full statehood which J&K deserves, not half, not reduced, not truncated.

For now the present UT government needs to work harder for an image make over

Unfortunately the present elected government seems to be missing the forest for the trees and trees for the forest. It talks about non-issues like PSA which has been there since 1978 and has on many occasions been misused even during long years of statehood. There is no tearing hurry about its repeal. After restoration of statehood, use of PSA will need to be regulated in a way that it is not misused. Then having it on the statute will not matter much till it is substituted or repealed completely. PSA or PSA type law may still be required to be used against timber smugglers, habitual offenders and gangs who commit serious offences to endanger public order or security of the state.

As stated above in a previous para, one of the principles of good governance is direction or strategic vision. The top most functionaries of the elected government keep talking about the party manifesto and of fulfilling all the promises made therein. But that alone will not strengthen Jammu and Kashmir economically and financially, socially, administratively and politically. Read digital governance, technology adoption, skilling, startups, education, health, environmental protection and conservation, urban governance and solid waste management as areas of special concern. As these clearly require strategic planning and execution, the elected government has much on its plate. It is for the CM to take the lead and place before his council of ministers, his party, civil servants and other stakeholders the strategic vision of the elected government.

It will not serve any purpose if this elected government chooses to defer every good intent and action till statehood is restored. J&K is lucky to have a young, tech savvy CM and an intelligent, hard working chief secretary and therefore it should not be difficult to achieve a lot if the path is adequately lit up and targets assigned. There is lot to learn from other progressive states and UTs and the union ministries if an effort is made to locate successful initiatives taken by them and notes exchanged. There is no need to reinvent the wheel every time a challenging issue comes up seeking solution. But there is no substitute for hard work and problem solving approach. For the image make over, the elected UT government and its administration have to work much harder.

Khurshid Ahmed Ganai is a retired IAS officer of the erstwhile J&K cadre and a former Advisor to the Governor, J&K