The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation bill is no cure to the region’s multilayered problems. It has in fact added to the existing problems.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation bill, far from being a cure to the long standing political issues, has created a new set of internal and external problem. In truth, both the supporters and detractors of this legislative move have missed the key nuances. First, the decision to make a state a Union territory on security grounds does not match with recent facts. Officials claim attest to this. There are fresh reports of attempted sneaking from northern Kashmir. Continuing the present scale of deployment of security forces in the Kashmir valley with a communication shutdown in the long term is untenable.
Prime minister Narendra Modi and Home minister Amit Shah defended the removal of the special status to the State on economic grounds, saying this would lead to more development and thus reduce the state’s political alienation. Governor Satya Pal Malik said on August 28 that 50,000 jobs would be created in the next three months. The state sector as a source of employment is already exaggerated. In 2016, the total number of employees working in 27 government departments was 4,84,901. According to an estimate, Jammu and Kashmir had the highest monthly average unemployment rate of 15 percent between January 2016 and July 2019.