With a steady improvement in the overall security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, post the abrogation of Article 370 by the Modi government three years ago, it is in the fitness of things that development took the upper hand in the sensitive region — harried as it was by terrorism and militancy for about three decades. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s largely attended public meeting in Jammu on Sunday saw the unveiling and launch of several infrastructure projects costing thousands of crores. This included the inauguration of the ambitious Banihal Qazigund Road Tunnel that would reduce travel distance between the two principal urban centres –Jammu and Srinagar — by about two hours. Communication infra is central to economic growth and it also plays a major role in military strategies.
Significantly, the PM chose Jammu and Kashmir region as the venue to address the nation on the anniversary of the 1992 Panchayati Raj Act that had aimed at strengthening rural governance and promoting grassroots democracy. The meeting saw a huge congregation of sarpanches. The message that the Centre sought to spread was also an assertion that “democracy is gaining fresh ground” in JK after the abrogation of Article 370, ending the special status for the region and bifurcation of the state into three centrally administered provinces. Those who had predicted disaster after these steps were initiated by the Centre in 2019 were proven wrong, but militancy and Pakistani-inspired acts of terror continue — with less intensity, of course. The presence of two terrorists with suicide vests in an area close to the PM’s meeting venue in Jammu showed the situation requires constant alert and security attention.
Notably, the Centre is taking several initiatives to help JK grow. For one, the PM carried with him groups of potential investors, including teams of business honchos from the UAE, an Islamic nation. An underlying premise is that investments from the Gulf could win mass confidence also to the extent that terrorist agencies from Pakistan might not target them. More investment will mean more jobs and a chance to wean the youths away from negative thoughts. The Prime Minister has stated as much when he said the youths in the region would not have to live the kind of difficult life their parents and kin led in the past, which was one of hopelessness since the 1990s. When peace returns to Kashmir, its once-thriving tourism sector can regain its verve. All these mean jobs for millions. Fact is, it’s not easy to neutralize state power. Militants must know as much.