PM Narendra Modi’s investment push on his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir – since the scrapping of its special status and bifurcation in August 2019 – was the biggest report on front pages across prominent English dailies on Monday. However, the editorials had a word of caution.
Inaugurating projects worth Rs 20,000 crore on his visit on Panchayati Raj Day, PM Modi assured the youth of Kashmir that they “will never face the kind of sufferings” their parents and grandparents faced in the past.
The Hindu, in an editorial titled ‘addressing discontent’, noted that the projects for J&K will benefit the UT “but they are not enough to reverse discontent”. It said that the UT, conflict-ridden for decades, had fared better on several development indicators compared to the rest of India, except in per capita net State GDP. It observed that the territory went through a difficult period during the harsh lockdowns but has now seen a revival of the tourism sector.
“Does this mean that there is an unequivocal acceptance of the status imposed on the erstwhile unified State of J&K (that included the present day UT of Ladakh), among the people in the Valley and beyond? That certainly does not seem to be the case in the Kashmir Valley, at least if recent events such as the district development council elections in late 2020 are any indication. The Gupkar Alliance, which has steadfastly demanded a return to status quo prior to 2019, had decisively won in the Valley and the group has also vociferously protested the delimitation exercise whose proposals clearly seek to repurpose the politics of J&K through arbitrarily providing greater electoral prospects for Jammu-based parties over Kashmir-based ones.”
It said there “is no indication that the resultant discontent has diminished”. “Delhi must engage in substantive outreach in the form of gestures that reverse the hostility towards the political representatives in the Valley. The return of J&K to statehood will be a good beginning.”
The Indian Express, in its editorial titled ‘capital outreach’, noted that the PM’s message of hope “needs a political one as well”. “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.”
It said that there appeared to be two objectives to the visit. “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.”
“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 Hindustan Times also had an editorial, titled ‘It’s time for the next step in J&K’. “Focus on the safety and development of the region, and restart the democratic process,” read the introducing strap.
The newspaper wrote that the PM’s visit comes with “an increased focus” on infrastructure projects, BJP’s recent election victory, withdrawal of AFSPA in certain areas, “raising expectations that it could do so in at least some parts of J&K (although this is unlikely)”, and a new regime in Pakistan.
However, it noted that the visit comes even as terror attacks continue and regional political outfits become “impatient” and would like to see elections at the earliest. “All of this sets the stage for what should be the government’s next big step in J&K – an even more concerted effort to push development; a focus on making the region safe and secure, including for migrant workers who are, unfortunately, soft targets; and an accelerated effort towards electoral democracy in the region. It is time.”
The Times of India, in an editorial titled “J&K pitch”, carried a strap that said that “investment push needs political normalisation to succeed. Fast-track delimitation and state polls.”
“Both panchayat focus and new investment are also political signals – that Article 370 was holding J&K’s development back and it is only now that the region can enjoy fruits of prosperity. The BJP leadership has long argued that the previous system only benefited a few political families in the Kashmir valley. The point to be noted is that there’s never been a short supply of central financial support for J&K – 59% of its revenues came from central grants in 2012, that increased to 64% in the last financial year. So, the real economic test in post-370 nullification will be whether new investment and ‘new’ politics can create new opportunities, assuming Pak-abetted terrorism can be kept at bay.”
It mentioned that the one big challenge for the government is to “win hearts and minds”. “Only this can provide a popular shield against Pakistan’s terrorist proxies. It will also create conditions for actual on-ground private investments. Towards that end, assembly elections in J&K and eventual restoration of statehood are vital to ensure residents have a say in their own development. That in turn requires the delimitation exercise – which is in the public opinion/ consultation stage – be fast-tracked.”
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