The politician who gets elected only by turning brother against brother is too dangerous for his people. Political powers must be forever vigilant and should never subordinate the basic ethics of serving the masses to any other goal. Unfortunately in Jammu and Kashmir this ethical code has been broken repeatedly for too long. After the partition of 1947, “The cabinet Mission plan had provided for two options for then Independent Princely states while determining their future affiliation. State could either accede to India or Pakistan. After Maharaja Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession with India and Sheikh Abdullah was made the administrator of Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah sought a greater role for himself within the dominion of India. Accordingly Article 370 was incorporated in the constitution of India, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Hence the democratic politics in Jammu and Kashmir started with the hegemonic party system and electoral space was dominated by a single party JKNC, led by Sheikh Mohd Abdullah. In 1951, elections for constituent assembly were held and majority of opponents of National Conference were disqualified from contesting the elections on one pretext or the other. Thus Sheikh Abdullah was elected as the head of the state with his council of ministers, so the power of government was vested with them. And it remained vested with National Conference majorly for decades.

Political sphere in Jammu and Kashmir, even decades after the end of Dogra princely rule, is still about inherited status. Three generations of Abdullah family have served as Chief Ministers. In PDP, Muftis hold the sway as both Mufti Sayyed and his daughter Mehbooba Mufti held the chair of Chief Ministers. But the buck doesn't stop here. Among the new generations of politicians from the separatist camp, two others who have inherited their political authority are Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Sajad Gani Lone of the People’s Conference. Separatists turned nationalist politician Sajad Lone is the son of Abdul Gani Lone who was the patron of Peoples Conference and was assassinated by Pakistani backed terrorists in 2002. So four key political players who hold major sway in one form or another in the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir have a dynastic background.

This brutal dynastic power hegemony on one end fanned the rise and growth of separatism which was en-cashed by Pakistan by further aiding terrorism as the common man found his rightful space completely scuttled.  It also majorly barred any non local and corporate industry to buy land or invest in different sectors for equitable economic development. Hence becoming a major impediment in the overall growth and development of the erstwhile state. It largely kept the political and economic activities limited to a few influential families. This further disgruntled the common masses and thus the developmental and political impediment created by the special status over the years, resulted in fuelling of separatism and terrorism in valley.

On the other end, the secular basis of Kashmiriyat was eroded and destroyed by extremist forces. The foremost example of this was the terrible targeting, coercion and violence against the minority community of Kashmiri Pandits triggering their exodus in early 1990’s. It was the shameful chapter in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. Even now the large majority of Kashmiri Pandits are forced to live as refugees in their own country. The consequences of the exodus were of grim nature not only for Kashmir but also for the rest of India.

This impartiality was finally put to an end by revocation of Article 370 on 5^th August 2019 by the Indian Parliament. These changes were largely welcomed by the people who saw Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India and felt that the centre finally brought parity in Jammu and Kashmir with rest of the states in India. After the Abrogation of Article 370, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the work culture in the government has changed and dynamics of development has improved. The central government has strengthened the grassroots of democracy.

Honourable Prime Minister has launched number of schemes for the wellbeing of people. Around 6 lac families of Jammu and Kashmir have been covered under Arogya Yojana and those families which were not covered under this yojana, have been covered under SEHAT health insurance scheme. The most important feature of this scheme is that every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir irrespective of their financial status will be covered under SEHAT Health Insurance Scheme. Under this scheme the government will bear the expenses of treatment of citizens for up-to 5 lac rupees. By the successful implementation of this scheme now the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir will not be left without medical aid due to financial problems. Apart from this many other schemes have found its way to the common masses.

The six year rule of PM Modi will be remembered as the most decisive period in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. The Prime Minister has emphasized on three things- speedy development of Jammu and Kashmir to ensure that all benefits and schemes reach every ordinary citizen, strengthening of grass root democracy so that the political hegemony could be broken and a peaceful security scenario is established by adopting zero tolerance towards separatism and terrorism. To rule is easy, to govern is difficult. Anybody trying to be an efficient ruler should imbibe all those qualities of good governance possessed by our honourable Prime Minister.

(The Author is Student of Law, University of Kashmir)

Box: After the Abrogation of Article 370, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the work culture in the government has changed and dynamics of development has improved. The central government has strengthened the grassroots of democracy