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Time to act is now by MM Ansari

The return of peace and normalcy in Kashmir is a reality. And to ensure a durable and lasting peace, a humane approach to handle the law and order situation may be required. In a vibrant, democratic country, authoritarian ways of suppressing people’s voices prove to be counterproductive.

It may be recalled that the law and order situation in Kashmir worsened in the aftermath of unfair and rigged assembly elections of 1987, which resulted in harassment of political workers, exodus of such victims to PoK and exploitation of the situation by Pakistan’s army. Most of those who had migrated have either returned to Kashmir or are keen to come back. Reason: the socioeconomic conditions and educational attainments of the people in Kashmir are far better than those who live in PoK.

In a free India, which attained freedom by practising “non-violence”, laws like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, which jeopardise democratic and human rights have no relevance. Instead, a more civil way to deal with conflicting issues that tend to divide the society due to diversities of socioeconomic situations may be required. The changing trends in the political atmosphere should therefore be objectively discerned.

The all-party delegation to Kashmir and the Cabinet Committee on Security decided in September last year to review the Disturbed Areas Act and the Public Safety Act (PSA) to pave the way for a gradual withdrawal of the AFSPA and the PSA. Unfortunately, there is no worthwhile effort to rescind the acts. Unbridled application of these acts, at times induced by greed for pecuniary benefits, has caused human rights violations that have shamed us.

The recent debate on a review of these laws is interpreted to mean that national security is being compromised. The argument that the current peace is fragile and the law and order situation obtaining in the early nineties may re-occur is highly speculative. National security can be ensured only when there is equalisation of opportunities and the citizens are duly empowered to realise their genuine socioeconomic aspirations, as guaranteed in the Constitution. In view of this, the following needs to be considered.

There are credible signs of peace and restoration of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, which is evident from: free and fair elections of local bodies (panchayats) after the lapse of 33 years, in which over 80 per cent of voters participated; over 13 lakh pilgrims and tourists visited the state, which is unprecedented; and the people’s massive support to engage in non-violent democratic movements, mainly to improve governance and delivery of essential services and to punish human rights violators.

As a result, the army has of late not felt the need for resorting to the provisions of the AFSPA for cracking down on militancy with a view to safeguarding the concerns of national security. Likewise, the use of the PSA by the state police has been minimal in 2011 but that too, whenever the PSA was invoked for arresting the youth on suspicion of causing social disturbances, the courts have struck down all such cases on the ground of unjust and illegal application of this law.

All this goes to prove that draconian laws — namely the AFSPA and the PSA — have no relevance in the contemporary situation of the state. The people in J&K, particularly the youth, have realised that in the last 20 years of Kashmir turmoil, which corresponds to India’s credible economic reforms and superior quality of life, the economic fortunes of the people in Kashmir and in the rest of the country have moved in opposite directions. The Kashmir imbroglio has dismantled educational and economic institutions, and the youth have missed the opportunities for personal and professional development. The people of the state are therefore duly responding to the need for politico-economic integration with the vast and fast-growing Indian economy. And, we all ought to be receptive to their aspirations.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has recently been lobbying for a phased withdrawal of the AFSPA, the misuse of which is responsible for proven cases of over 60 human rights violations in the last few years. There is no reason why, on the present reckoning, the CM should not be encouraged to govern the state in a more civil way and be accountable to the electorate.

The rejection of the CM’s demands for revocation of the AFSPA by the Centre contributes to the alleged “trust deficit” between the Centre and the state. The Centre should therefore seize this opportunity not only to oblige the duly elected CM of the state to go ahead with a phased withdrawal of the AFSPA but also to ask him to do the same thing about the PSA, which has been grossly misused by the police to harass youth and/or to collect bribe for letting them off. Accountability of the police has to improve.

More importantly, the state’s administration should be asked to improve overall governance so as to make full and efficient use of meagre resources. The record of performance on account of implementation of infrastructure projects and various flagship programmes, which aim at a direct assault on all forms of poverty, have been abysmally low. Due to rampant corruption and inefficient delivery of services to the poor, alienation and marginalisation have increased, which ought to be arrested through a credible plan of action.

Unfortunately, the Central agencies do not seem to have underscored the need to address people’s concerns about human rights violations, including the circumstances in which recent custodial killings occurred. Despite various suggestions made from time to time to the state government, there is no worthwhile monitoring mechanism to ensure effective implementation of recommendations for ameliorating the conditions of the people.

In many districts, the army and security forces are enjoying co-habitation in residential hubs, wherein the local people, including the separatist activists, are also concentrated. In the process of socio-cultural mobility and interaction, there are occasions when they develop friction, which at times leads to social disturbances and suddenly erupt in “Azadi” slogans. Besides, the security forces’ occupation of important buildings, commercial premises, educational institutions and sports complexes adversely affects the people’s freedom to pursue the societal goals.

Programmes like “Operation Sadbhavna”, designed, managed and financed by the security forces for providing education and health care facilities and for promoting sports and cultural activities, should be ideally left to the local elected bodies, as has been the practice in other states. The security forces could thus provide sufficient space to democratically elected bodies to manage the affairs of the state and to allow the people to seek accountability from public servants, including elected leaders.

In effect, the politics of good governance should become a way of life. As the people of Kashmir yearn for peace and prosperity through effective democratic governance, we ought to give them a chance, lest our credentials as the biggest democratic and secular country be challenged.

The writer is a former central information commissioner and is one of the three Centre-appointed interlocutors on J&K