Every new dawn comes with new hopes and when it is the dawn of new year, hopes are in abundance. Year 2024, with all its sweet and bitter memories, has come to end. We are in 2025 and like elsewhere, people of Jammu and Kashmir too are welcoming the new years with great hopes. This place has seen very difficult times – death, destruction, exodus uncertainty and what not. People on all fronts have suffered and suffered badly. The lingering conflict has impacted every aspect of the life. Thankfully the situation has shown quite some improvement, particularly on law and order front, from past few years but much more needs to be done to ensure a quality life in this region.
Now that after prolonged Central rule, a local government is in the office here, need is to allow it to function in the best interests of the people. People of the UT have spoken and spoken loudly during Assembly Elections. They have chosen their representatives in the true spirit of democracy. The elected government took over reins in J&K on October 16, 2024 after a gap of ten years. The year has come to an end and the business rules are yet to be finalised and thus the confusion prevails.
People of Jammu and Kashmir had waited for years for assembly elections to be held. After downgrading of State to UT, the people had been missing from the governance as the place was run by bureaucrats without any input from the ground. Now that they have chosen their representatives, it is time that these representatives are the ones who run the government. They have been mandated by the public and that is how, in democracies, governments function.
To end all the confusions and to allow people of Jammu and Kashmir to run their own government, need is to restore the statehood as promised by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister umpteenth times. It has happened first time in the history of India that a state has been downgraded to a UT. Jammu and Kashmir, fondly referred to as ‘crown of India’ by so many Indian leaders, can’t be belittled like this. Like other countrymen, people of Jammu and Kashmir too have a right to be part of democratic set up and for that, their own elected representatives shall run the affairs of the government. To ensure that, New Delhi need to take immediate steps to end the dual power centres, restore the statehood and allow the elected government to function normally. This would be the new year gift from Prime Minister and Home Minister to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
