Binoo Joshi

J&K News Today analysis

President Droupdi Murmu’s address to the joint session of the Parliament on Friday marking the commencement of the budget session was quite remarkable for her observations regarding Jammu and Kashmir in the post-August 5, 2019 , a date that signifies a watershed moment in the history of the nation and the erstwhile state of J&K .

Her observation that, “ after the abrogation of Article 370 , there is a conducive environment for development in Jammu and Kashmir Both the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha ( Legislative Assembly ) elections were conducted in a peaceful manner in Jammu and Kashmir. The people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve commendation for this achievement.”

There are three parts to these observation. In this three-sentence observations , President repeated Jammu and Kashmir with each one of them . This speaks of emphasis that the Government wants to lay on this territory as a symbol of its achievements in the post Article 370 abrogation period .

First sentence suggests that it was only after the scrapping of the contentious and temporary constitutional provision that a conducive environment for development came about in J&K, now a UT. There is a historical perspective to this very statement , which again can de divided into two facts- one that the development was a casualty to the pre-August 5, 2029 era in which the investors were hesitant to invest in what they presumed as an unstable and uncertain atmosphere. Second , high-degree of terrorism and violence in which thousands died and millions displaced did not allow ant sort of development as the focus was on eliminating the terrorism .

Regaining peace became a top priority in the post-August 5 , 2019 era . The concerted efforts of the Central Government, security forces and the people made it possible . terrorism is on decline , development is up . This paced the way for the development , symbols of which are visible in every nook and corner of J&K .

The second sentence spoke of the elections in a peaceful atmosphere. This is a significant statement as the elections in peaceful atmosphere is reiteration of the government’s commitment to deliver on its promises and rediscovery of vital elements of democracy . The democracy suffers the most in an atmosphere of uncertainty born out of acts of terror. This had to be separated. Elections gain their real meaning and manifestation only in peaceful atmosphere. This democratic development anchored the infrastructural development .

President offered certain glimpses of this development in para 15 of her speech . She stated : “I am pleased to inform you that the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project has been completed, connecting the nation from Kashmir to Kanyakumari through railway line. Under this ambitious project, the Chenab Bridge has been constructed, which is the highest railway bridge in the world. Additionally, India’s first rail cable bridge, the Anji Bridge, has been completed.”

These are world class developments . And in the third part , she commended the people of J&K for the achievement . The nation is taking the territory and its peoples as partners in this march of development which has an unlimited scope and future prospects for the people living in this territory