The Real Kashmir

                                        

Image of Greater Kashmir Taken From 35,000feet +Pratik Pattnaik 

After an enchanting tour to the mesmerizing beauty of the Valley,its marred state of affairs will be an eye opener for many of us.The Kashmir of our dreams is not the real Kashmir where each and everyone are safe and sound.There is a paradox when we say that "Kashmir is the heaven on earth".It might be one of the most beautiful of places but,a place can't only be appreciated for its beauty their people have to be progressive to catch up with the whole world.

The real Kashmir lies hidden behind those torn winter clothes,barbed wires along the slums,the unfinished houses,the sad faces of villagers,the make shift homes in lakes,the rampant unemployment and counting.Starting from their apex district "Srinagar",which they say is the most developed has a feeble infrastructure.Electricity is something one can;t rely on 100%.People are unemployed and the sad truth is most of the people including the youth are making the Tourism sector as their bread and butter.Being too much reliant on the tourism sector leads to failure in other sectors.The educational sector is in a very dismal state here.Here education sector has been cropped up as a purely profitable buisiness by the private sector,where education is less and profit motive is higher.The families here also don't have much of Social Security schemes provided to them by the state govt.They all are completely on their own.Even the poorer of poor that is the BPL families are being ignored.Being a special Status state of India it enjoys the provisions of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution,But on what cost??.

The Article 370 provides that the Union of India can have only those 3 powers it used to have when the then king of Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh had signed the Instrument of Accession in 1947.Those 3 powers are Defence,Communication and Foreign Affairs.We have already seen that Armed forces of a number amounting  grossly 7.5Lakh have been deployed in the state,which is more than enough.This is always been a matter of discontent on the part of the residents but its a "necessary evil" for the people to weed out the episodes of Terrorism here.

Communication is largely contributed here by the private players and BSNL,giving a true taste of the mixed economy.But,as security being the main point of concern here not all pvt. players are majorly based in the greater part of Kashmir.

Most dilapidated of all is the "Foreign Affairs" as not everyone is  sure of as to whom they support,until the 80's Pakistan had dominated by playing dirty politics.It played the Muslim card and polarized the Separatists by promoting Jihad all over the POK and west Kashmir.The picture is a bit clearer nowadays with a coalition govt of BJP and PDP being at the state.The citizens of lower Kashmir have no problem whatsoever and support the cause of development,but the greater Kashmir people are still in jeopardy and live in a false pride of greatness of Mughal kings.The previous generation still thinks of the great deeds of Mughals and compare themselves with them.They are now in state where they have lost all the trust  in the political parties,ugliest of all being Sayed Geelani,the present head of All Hurriyat Conference.

Shalimar Garden -Srinagar(Mughal Garden)

The people are now ready for a change,a miracle which can kiskstart their economy and fire up their kitchen stoves.More,Inclusive development is needed here with massive industrialization.Once,the economy picks up they can think of banks,hospitals,it and better service sectors.All of these boils to simple Question: "Is false Pride or Life is greater?"

Amending an article doesn't mean that they will be robbed of their independence.On the contrary if at a minor tweak is made in the Article,the Kashmiri's would be millionaires within days.The state has so much of potential that even a pennies' investment could give a return of thousands.So,the people need to understand and choose between true development and false self obsessiveness.If the other Indian states had never taken the help and shelter of the Union how could they all be so prosperous today.As of today even the poorest of Indian State is Economically and Demographically 10-20 years ahead of Kashmir.The people must start to co-operate and join hands with the union to achieve the True Kashmir Of Dreams.

Srinagar-Pahalgam Road +Pratik Pattnaik