Editorial: Restore electoral democracy

The sudden spurt in violent attacks must prompt the Centre to introspect about its Kashmir policy

The recent spate of tragedies in Jammu & Kashmir, including the death of high-ranking Army and police officers in an encounter with terrorists in Anantnag district, came as a grim reminder of the fragile security situation and exposed the hollowness of the claims of restoration of normalcy in the trouble-torn region. While it is a fact that the overall number of terror-related incidents has come down significantly over the last few years, the sudden spurt in violent attacks must prompt the Centre to introspect about its Kashmir policy. Even four years after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, ending its special status, the promised restoration of electoral democracy continues to elude the blood-soaked region. There can be no two opinions about the need for tough security measures to crush militancy and thwart the designs of its sponsors from across the border but a genuine empowerment of people alone can help restoration of peace and normalcy in the Valley. It is a long and arduous task that involves handling the situation with sensitivity and fairness. The gains from the nullification of Article 370 cannot fully materialise unless Kashmiris are made stakeholders in their own development. And that can only happen if J&K is able to elect its own politicians to manage its affairs. Once the grassroots democracy is strengthened and J&K gets an elected government, development projects can take off at a great speed. While bifurcating the State into two union Territories in August 2019, the Centre had promised corruption-free governance, strong grassroots democracy, employment opportunities for the local youth and a massive development package.

The Centre must put an end to its ambiguous stand on declaring a time frame for conducting the elections and restoration of statehood. Though Solicitor General Tushar Mehta recently assured the Constitution Bench of the apex court, hearing a batch of petitions challenging the repeal of J&K’s special status, that the elections could be held ‘anytime now’, there are still no indications of that happening anytime soon. As a result, the NDA government is fast losing the battle of perception. As a first step towards creating a political atmosphere conducive to elections, the Centre must order the release of politicians, who continue to be under detention. Such measures are required to restore confidence among the people of J&K. The Centre’s argument that the question of full statehood to J&K would be decided based on the degree of normalcy is misplaced. It is the restoration of statehood and the smooth conduct of Assembly polls that would ensure total normalcy and peace in the strife-torn region. Since the government itself has been claiming that the instances of terrorist attacks, infiltration, stone-pelting and casualties among security personnel have reduced significantly since scrapping the special status, there is no justification for any further delay in holding elections.