J&K is passing through the most critical phase of its history: Socio- Political activists
JAMMU, 20 FEB: Socio- Political activists said that the Jammu Kashmir is passing through the most critical phase of its history.
In a statement Issued to Kupwara Times, Socio- Political activists said that the abrogation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir, enjoyed under Article 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution, on 5th of August, 2019 and subsequent bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir State in to Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh has posed new challenges which need to be understood in right perspective to forge peoples movement, not only to address this complexity of the JK issue but also to evolve a consensus among JK people on the bigger issue that is the dispute of JK between India and Pakistan.
In this context, a meeting of various Socio- Political activists hailing from Jammu, Poonch, Banihal and displaced Kashmiri Pandits was organised by Sh. Khalid Tufail at TRC, Jammu on 20.02.2021. The following issues were touched upon and discussed during the brief interaction.
- Complexities of JK Issue: JK people have suffered horribly during the last 7 decades as consequence of communal partition of India in 1947, And, more so during last 3 decades, due to proxy war, politics of Confrontation and communal hatred which damaged the relations among religious, regional communities and cultural identities etc of JK. The present realities demand acceptance of politics of peace and Interdependence with behavioural attitude of tolerance and coexistence. It was resolved that Pan Jammu Kashmir approach aimed at evolving consensus among all the religious, ethnic, regional identities of the Jammu Kashmir to reconcile their divergencies and strengthen communal harmony across all the regions of Jammu Kashmir.
- The supremacist political approach, adopted so far, has proven one sided and disastrous for the state. To mobilise people across all the three regions for restoration of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State its statehood and autonomy, it has been decided to organise another meeting in Srinagar and one in Jammu to initiate a dialogue aimed at reconciling the divergent political opinions with open mind and under the cardinal principals of humanism.
- Ecological urgency: As a matter of fact ecological urgency is a global concern, but during the last three decades, JK has suffered hugely on this front. The eco system of JK has reached to vulnerable levels. The floods of 2014 that devastated the whole Kashmir valley were a consequence of this. Huge forest mass has been denuded and almost 60% of the water bodies encroached by the people in power as a result of their need and greed of ruthless urbanization. Dal Lake, Srinagar has been squeezed from all sides. So has been Mansar and Mansbal lakes. If the things are allowed to go unchecked a time will come very soon when no body would be able to save JK from ecological catastrophe. The need of the hour is to spread mass awareness among the people for protecting the environment from getting polluted beyond repairs and Plant trees to reforest the denuded mountains. Water springs which used to be a source of our drinking water and for which JK was famous, have disappeared beyond imaginations. The urgency to protect these springs and restore the ones which have been allowed to disappear can be gauged from the fact that the depleting levels of drinking water have become a global concern; and it is being opined that the next world war may take place for controlling the sourcing of drinking water. A mass movement is need to sanitize JK people urgently on this front to reverse the scene.
- Healthcare: People of suffering on account of this basic need. The outbreak of Corona epidemic has sent alarm bells across the length and breadth of the state about inadequacy of the healthcare system. The conversion of healthcare into trade and commerce through privatisation has rendered it unaffordable for the common masses. The need of the hour is to make healthcare free and universally affordable. The governments need to allocate sufficient budget for establishing medical colleges and AIIMS at district levels and make all the medical facilities available to the people free of cost.
- Education: JK is the only state where education is free upto University levels but with the commercialization of Education, imparting of education through government schools has taken a back seat despite the fact of these schools having well trained and educated faculty. Serous effort is needed to restore the faith of people in government educational institutions which is possible only upon making teaching faculty responsible for the results, and raising the standards of government educational institutions the way Delhi government has done.
- Unemployment: Frustration is galore among the educated unemployed youth who do not find avenues of better employment in the UT which results in their alienation and seeking articulations of their frustration through destructive channels. Menace of drug addiction has a relation to this. Central government should earmark services in Central departments outside JK and in Industrial sector to address the burning issue of unemployment of youth in Jammu and Kashmir. Added to it the government decision of terminated the services of employees who have completed 48 years age or 22 years service, whichever, is earlier, is draconian which needs to be condemned unequivocally for one and all. It is demanded that the government stops further action on implementation of this agenda.
