The
upcoming legislative elections in the state of Jammu & Kashmir are crucial
to the unity, security and safety of the nation of Bharat. This election will
define how the voters of J&K consider the concept of democracy. On one hand
the leading party of our country, the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] has worked
hard to ensure that most of the inequalities in the Kashmir society were
removed. Since the abrogation of Articles 35A and 370 in 2019 and then-on to
2024, incidents of rioting and stone-pelting against the police and the Army
dropped over 80%, mass protests against the government dropped a massive 97%,
Pakistan sponsored terrorist attacks dropped 60% with 700 plus terrorists being
eliminated, and civilian casualties due to terrorism dropped 50%.
For the people of Kashmir, the effects of normal life-style is now apparent. Schools have been finishing their curriculum on time, businesses have received a boost due to normalcy and tourism has increased rapidly. Over the last 5 years, improved connectivity to Kashmir has been made possible with the 272 kms long Udhampur – Srinagar – Baramulla rail link that is semi operational at this time, the Amritsar – Katra expressway (including the 13 kms long Zojila tunnel) that is now fully operational, with work in progress to upgrade the 197 kms long Jammu – Poonch Road and the 94 kms long Srinagar – Baramulla expressway.
Increasing peace and normality has allowed an increase in the air-connectivity to Kashmir and Jammu with 122 flights per day that transport 4.4 million passengers per year since 2021, an increase of 100% since 2018-19. Five years of stability and reduction in terrorism has brought the democratic aspirations of the people of J&K to the forefront. The recent elections to the Parliament of Bharat saw a sharp increase in the number of candidates, since the youth are now keen and ready to participate in the government’s decision-making process and feel the need to participate in the political process. This reflects the two major issues of the region. The first is that the youth of Kashmir understand that a strong state of Bharat is a prerequisite for progress and prosperity. The second is that every political party has to face the stark realization that for the common voters, what matters is road connectivity, uninterrupted electric supply and fresh drinking water. The people want more hospitals, schools, colleges and universities; a better infrastructure and most of all, gainful employment.
The political party that can convince the voters, that their aspirations will be fulfilled and improve their life-style, without ignoring the issues of development and democratic governance, will be the party that will gain the support of the voters. No doubt, that the current ecosystem has failed to deliver fully on the public welfare aspirations of the people of Kashmir, but it is equally true that with the projects that are underway (or have already been completed), the state is on its way towards becoming more progressive and prosperous. The budget of the state has always been heavily enriched by the Union government and post the current polls, there is no reason for this to be discontinued. The Union government and the soon to be elected state government cannot ignore the need to keep welfare and development projects on-track. Distribution of benefits to every section of society in a fair and equitable manner empowers the people and this has been already experienced by the people after the local body elections. There is no doubt that the people of J&K are eager to participate in the coming elections and to ensure their future security, safety and prosperity.
With the progress in stability ongoing in Jammu & Kashmir; many nations that are against the growth of our country and stability across all states have started taking action to destabilize this process. Pakistan, as usual, is in the forefront of increasing the terrorist’s attacks within the State of J&K. The current infiltration by Pakistan trained terrorist is an overt and clear attempt by Pakistan to support the anti-Bharat elements in the State. Prominently, these are the Abdullah and Mufti family members who still believe that they can circumvent democratic norms and return the state to its earlier version of an autocratic fiefdom of these pro-Islamic politicians. The political apparatus of both these families have declared their manifesto for the upcoming elections, where they have highlighted their desire to reimpose article 370 on the state and essentially divide the population along religious and sectarian lines. The prepoll alliance between Abdullah’s National Conference Party and the Congress Party headed by Rahul Gandhi is considered as a clear indication that the Congress Party wants to destabilize the state for any political advantage that it can achieve through this strategy.
Mukhtar
Khan, an Associated Press photo-journalist whose is from Kashmir, writes a news
article dated 5 April 2024 on the website of the Conversation (UK) as to how
the Muslim people of Kashmir are “apprehensive” of the election process since according
to him, the Union government’s decision to remove the autonomous status of J&K
by abrogating Articles 35A and 370 is controversial and against the rights of
the Kashmir people to enjoy a special lifestyle at the expense of the taxpayers
of the entire country. The world needs to know and understand that the Kashmir
after the abrogation of its autonomous status has been a growing economy,
strongly standing on its own capabilities and abilities, whereas before this
change, the state was dependent on subsidies offered by the Union government. When
journalists like Mukhtar Khan attempt a misleading narrative the important question
to ask is; whether Associated Press which is an organization owned by liberal newspapers
of New York, have an agenda to spread disinformation on behalf of Pakistan?
Al–Jazeera, the government owned mouth-piece of Qatar’s ruling family, the al-Thanis’, has the shameless audacity to raise false accusations of restriction of press freedom and curtailed civil liberties in J&K; when such civil liberties, press freedom or democracy as an institution do not exist in Qatar. The al-Thani’s are well known for their support and funding of global terrorists, especially Hamas and the Taliban, and Al-Jazeera’s attempts to help Islamic terrorists’ supporters to publicize their anti-Bharat narrative, surely makes them the leading presstitutes of the world.
Reuters reporters Rupam Jain and Kanupriya Kapoor in their article of January 12, have stated without any ambiguity that “Modi’s Hindu nationalist party is counting on the minority [non-Muslim] communities vote as it pushes to take control of India's part of the Himalayan region that is hotly contested by neighboring Pakistan and has been governed almost exclusively by Muslim chief ministers”, thereby striving to create a religious divide between communities there. These two reporters further say that “For many of Jammu and Kashmir's Muslims, the BJP's policies upending decades of autonomy and privilege represent a dangerous new phase in what they see as a nationwide push to champion the rights of the Hindu majority over minority groups”. The crucial part of this statement is that Jain and Kapoor are in favor of local Muslim autonomy and privilege, instead of a democracy being availed by every section of society; many of whom were not allowed to be part of the democratic process in the era of special privileges under articles 35A and 370. Does this Reuters article highlight the policy of the United States of America to interfere and influence the elections of our sovereign country?
Rifat Fareed, whose name appears on many anti-Bharat articles published on Al-Jazeera and Deutsch Welle {DW] of Germany, regularly spreads fake news through these two main platforms while trying to appear as if he/she/it is on-ground in Srinagar, Kashmir. However, since Rifat Fareed cannot be tracked down on the internet, it can be assumed that this name is associated with Pakistan and those forces that are against stability and peace in Kashmir. It is no surprise that DW itself is so heavily compromised in favor of Islam and radical Islamic politics that it is no longer considered to be either credible or non-partisan.
The
British Broadcasting Corp [BBC] in its coverage of Kashmir, is biased towards Islamic
society and its politics. BBC itself has been the center of unsavory
controversies for decades. Mark
Thompson, the director general of the BBC, said in 2010 that,"The organization did struggle then
with impartiality". Over the years the BBC has been accused of having
a bias against those on the center-right of politics, with Peter Osborne of the
Daily Telegraph stating that the “BBC was an attack weapon of the narrow,
arrogant left-liberal elite”. Alasdair Pinkerton analyzed the
coverage of India by the BBC from India's 1947 independence from British rule till
2008 and observed a tumultuous history involving allegations of anti-India bias
in the BBC's reportage, and concluded that the "BBC's coverage of South Asian
geopolitics and economics showed a pervasive and hostile anti-India bias
because of the BBC's alleged imperialist and neocolonialist stance."
The Kashmir elections will not be as easy or smooth event for the Government of Bharat. Many anti-Bharat forces are putting in every effort to destabilize the democratic process and prevent the voters of Jammu & Kashmir from exercising their political will to form a government of their choice. Every effort must be made by every patriot to support our government in the preservation of democratic values and the safety of our constitution.
Jai Hind.
