DATELINE SRINAGAR
A ‘collective suffering’? - II
Moving towards a common future
An eminent vice chancellor of a Kashmir-based university made an interesting proposition at the Jammu University workshop: he called for contemplating identity as a verb and not as a noun.
But what does that practically mean for J&K?
The cumulative effect of the processes of economic and cultural globalisation in today’s world for sure often manifests in identities in a verb form. There is so much of integration and assimilation. In a way certain identities keep evolving and changing with the changing circumstances. So can we think of J&K’s identities as verbs?
Treating the question of identity as a verb is a rather contentious question. There are voices which see the process of cultural assimilation and integration a one-sided affair in this uneven world. In other words, it is seen as an agenda driven by the likes and dislikes of a predominant global cultural power. Given this controversy, it would be better not to take this debate in J&K’s context further. It sometimes evokes insecurities.
At the workshop, there were many who questioned the success of the LAHDC model of political devolution. There was a feeling that it had simply ‘failed’, because it was too top-down, and there were many other layers of governance, like the Panchayati system, that had come into collision with its governance system.
Seen from another angle, the model gave the LAHDC the entire say in the use of financial allocations made to the region. The devolution of powers helped Ladakh frame an educational curriculum which the region sees best for itself. It helped the region to have local laws which protect its local economy and environment. It helped it in keeping economic and other outside interests under check, which may have the potential of changing the region’s demography, religious value system, culture and environment.
But as a spin off, it encouraged transformation of this empowerment into isolationist tendencies - breeding intolerance and an aversion to co-existence with other ethnic and regional identities. Virtually, the writ of J&K state government ends at the borders of Ladakh. The region unfurls its own flag. The state’s flag is long gone as the state’s constitution is no more sacrosanct there. There are almost no air connection between Srinagar and Leh. Ladakhi participants had to come to the workshop via Delhi! Leh’s Buddhist population prefers Jammu and Delhi to Srinagar to get education, live at and do business with.
However, we got to know that the people of Ladakh do realise the importance of Article 370. Some of our Ladakhi friends cited the Sindhu Darshan festival organised during the NDA rule on the banks of the River Indus. That is the time when they said they realised the peril from certain Hindutva forces in pushing their Hindutva agenda by saffronising the Sindh festival. There is a sub text here. For a Hindu thought Ladakh has had a Hindu past – reflected in the sculptures and wall paintings of the Hindu era even today. They feel about propagating and promoting it. Ladakh’s Buddhists find this line inconvenient.
In political terms, what was interesting to know was that Ladakh’s people supported the Musharraf Formula for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute, as they saw ‘reason and sense’ in it!
When it comes to the Jammu region, there is, again, nothing black and white about it. There is no political or identity homogeneity. The voices for separate statehood represent certain fringe opinion. Regions like Rajouri-Poonch and Doda-Kishtwar-Bhaderwah do not share the political vision of Jammu and Kathua districts. Then there seems to be a divide, possibly a manufactured one, between the Gujjar and Pahari communities in the region on the issue of Scheduled Tribe status for the Pahari people.
The Amarnath Land Controversy is often seen to have deepened the gulf between the Muslims and Hindus in the state. The fact is that there are many people in Jammu who value the state’s composite culture and political make-up more than the religious fault lines.
A senior retired civil servant of the state made a strong argument saying that to him it was wrong to conclude that the BJP and the PDP reaped electoral harvest from the Amarnath land row. To buttress his argument he cited the examples of ‘five major flashpoints of the Amarnath issue’ in Jammu – Samba, Bishna, Gandhi Nagar Cantonment, Udhampur, Vijaypur. BJP lost elections in all of these constituencies despite these places being principal mobilisation points during the Amarnath crisis. And the NC’s victory over the PDP in Kashmir was another case in point.
In this environment of optimism and many underlying competitive struggles is a division of the J&K state a good idea?
These are all questions related to an internal political system in J&K. They also impact the larger unresolved and disputed status of the state. The fact is that J&K’s self determination movement remains in a crisis with this obsession for inclusiveness. Many believe that minus Jammu plains and Leh, the state’s movement for right to self determination is more logical and sans any ‘baggage of liabilities’. And there is no situation wherein minority voices hold the majoritarian aspirations hostage. This is a larger question which needs a larger debate.
What is often neglected in this debate is the revenues issue of the state. Can the three regions generate enough public revenues on their own to sustain economically?
Then there is the question of equitable development of the state, which has become too narrow to mean public spending for infrastructure development, rather than broader human development.
In this debate what is ignored is that equal representation disproportionate to population negates fundamental democratic principles and constitutes gross injustice. Equal public spending, across the regions, in disregard to their contribution to the overall public tax kitty, is again a problem. Contribution to the tax kitty and ability to raise taxes need to be a major consideration in the development discourse of J&K. Why are we competing for creating petty entities based on dependence, sans any strong taxation system?
Contribution to the Union of India treasury in terms of other resources, other than direct and indirect taxes is another factor that is neglected. And all this needs to be done objectively, so that there is no injustice with any region. However, contribution to the tax kitty needs to be based on actual consumption and not where the tax is booked.
Our identities are rooted in our idea of our histories. Without histories, identities would become crude ‘verbs’ and not respectable ‘nouns.’ What is seen as a ‘collective suffering’ could become a collective quest for excellence and human development if we see beyond the confines of the valleys we live in. There are many beautiful worlds beyond the mountains we have been brought up in.
Perhaps, as what the participants at the workshop finally resolved, we need to start our children’s education with ‘J&K ki sair’, rather than ‘Bharat ki sair’ to understand each other better.
Concluded.
Feedback arjimand@greaterkashmir.com
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