On 5 August 2019 when the Union home minister introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in the Raja Sabha, he said that the special status given to J&K under Article 370 was the root cause of corruption, terrorism, and alienation of the state. It is true that widespread and deep-rooted corruption in J&K has restricted the growth potential of the state, and at times, also posed national security threats. The “fake arms licences case”, that involved almost six States across India, is a testimony to this dangerous phenomenon. The people interviewed by this author argued that the corruption, nepotism and misgovernance that have led to the alienation of Kashmiris, stem from New Delhi’s policies, rather than Article 370. The policy of unconditional appeasement of regional political leaders by a succession of governments at the Centre has protected vested interests, trapping the Valley in an unending cycle of bad governance and corruption.
When asked for their views on corruption and misgovernance after 5 August 2019, ORF’s interviewees, especially the farmers amongst them, were highly critical. They maintained that the local administration has become more corrupt after the abrogation of Article 370 and the claim to give Kashmir corruption-free administration and governance was simply rhetoric.
The farmers, in particular, highlighted the misery they experienced in selling their produce in the local markets run by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED). There were two main reasons: the unseasonal snowfall in early November 2019 that destroyed their crop; and the threats made on their lives by the militants.
For the militants any local Kashmiri carrying on life and business as usual after the abrogation of Article 370 was considered to be accepting the unilateral decision of New Delhi. This was not the case before the annulment of Article 370.
The Union Territory administration announced this untimely snowfall as a natural disaster, but there was complete inaction from the Centre. The silence of New Delhi on their plight have made the farmers feel cheated and only served to reinforce their perception that they had become “second-class citizens”. They now demand New Delhi to send a team to monitor the situation, assess the damages and announce due compensation as would have been done, they said, in any other region of India.
Raghav Langer, District Commissioner of Pulwama, in an interview with this author following the announcement of the natural calamity, claimed the UT administration made teams under respective Tahsildars to conduct on-farm inspection and assess the losses. However, farmers complain that the exercise was done carelessly and several affected villages were not assessed at all.
During the course of research for this report, the author was witness to one such Tehsil team which, instead of visiting the farms for an on-ground assessment, operated from the home of an influential person in the village and summoned the farmers for the verification of their bank account numbers and other papers for compensation. Most farmers have no clue whether they will receive any compensation at all. Many farmers recounted that in 2018, too, only the rich and influential families were compensated for damaged orchards. Many farmers compared the current civil administration with the colonial rulers, bereft of professionalism and ethics.
Interestingly, salaries of all the employees of the UT administration were increased after 5 August, but they continue to work irresponsibly, with the same careless and highhanded attitude, said all the respondents.
The trade union president of Pulwama district who was interviewed, referred to the staff of the Pulwama Municipal Committee and medical officers at the district hospital as “most notorious”. One of the most corrupt government organisations under the erstwhile state, the Pulwama Municipal Committee had, in the past, allowed rampant construction on canals and other such malpractices. The people feel that the bifurcation of the state into UTs will not make a dent in eradicating corruption.
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