Solution of Kashmir violence and unrest: A personal viewpoint
Kashmir has been in unrest since independence. The situation is deteriorating day by day. There are so many experts who discuss about it. Some blame Pakistan, some blame the separatists and some people point their fingers on the local leaders. There are numerous issues associated with Kashmir which are causing disruption in the state. As you know every problem has some solution. So you are invited to read my following views on Kashmir issue.
Before I move ahead let me introduce myself. I am an Ex Air Warrior and served Indian Air Force for 20 years. Presently I am an entrepreneur along with being a philanthropist. I have great concern towards peace in human society. I was in Kashmir for quite some time and still keep on visiting there periodically. My socializing nature brought me closer to localities there and I used to interact with them on various topics related to Kashmir. Even today I keep a close watch on all the incidents and developments that take place there.
Presently Kashmir is facing dozens of issues. Some of them are:
- Terrorism
- Stone pelting
- Violence by localities and intruders
- Low employment rate
- Lack of development
- Decreasing tourism
But if we see the root cause of the present condition then I will say it is the violence in the state that subsequently leads to different others crisis but there are many reasons for the turbulence and conflict in the state. First and foremost is our neighbor Pakistan which always keep on sending intruders spread violence and funds to local separatists in order to shake up the peace in the state. Anyways I will not discuss the issues here rather I am going to discuss my opinion to solve all the problems in the entire Jammu and Kashmir.
Improving Education system
As per 2011 census Jammu & Kashmir has a population of 1.25 crore and the literacy rate is just 66 % which is definitely alarming in present times. You can see Kerala in South India has 100% literacy rate and opposite to this in north J&K is struggling to move ahead on each platforms. I can say education is the first thing that should be looked into in order to perk up state of affairs.
Kashmir doesn’t have adequate schools. Lots of students go to local Madarsa for elementary education and Madarsas have been criticized always for the quality of education and misleading students. Following needs to be done for improving education in the entire Jammu Kashmir state: –
- Increase number of schools in the state
- Closely monitor the teachings of Madarsas
- All the Madrsas should be regulated with CBSE norms
- Avoid closure of schools for longer time
- Opening more colleges for professional courses
- Increase number for institutes for skill development
Augmenting the Employment Level
It’s proven fact that poverty is one of the main reasons behind crimes so it’s necessary that Government focuses to raise employments level. If you look carefully at the profiles of the stone pelters in Kashmir, they are poor and jobless people and it’s very easy to involve them in criminal activities for the sake of money. All the stone pelters are paid for it. Every government in the Jammu & Kashmir had always kept on looking for aids from central government instead of investing their energy on increasing employment opportunity. Increasing employment is one the key factor to minimize violence in the Kashmir.
Infrastructure development
If you happen to visit Kashmir other than Srinagar and highway, you will find there is huge lack of proper roads, sanitation, electricity transportation etc. in the state. Needless to say basic infrastructure is must for development of any region.
Checking Corruption
Politics has been always seen as one of the most corrupted sector. Politicians spend lot of money to win elections and if they win their first aim is to recover money spent on the elections also make more money for elections to come in the future. Every year central government gives huge amount of money on account of aids to this state but this fund is mis-utilized most of the time. Sufficient measures must be taken to monitor judicial spending of the public funds.
Monitoring activities of Separatists
Not all the leaders and politicians are squeezing the economy or dragging the state downwards but there are few who do so. We can call them separatists. They have their links with many terrorists’ organizations operating cross border, they get funding from them and they work on the instructions given by them. Activities of these separatists need to be monitored extensively so that they can be prevented from misguiding youth towards terrorism and violence.
Making tourism safe
Kashmir is the Switzerland of India. It’s really one of the best places to visit. People want to visit various locations of this beautiful state but security concerns have disturbed the tourist industry to great extent. Alone tourism can boost the economy of this state to heights and boost the employment level. Government must focus on the safe tourism.
Counseling local residents
Counseling is one most powerful tool to divert one mind towards better path. Though it’s a bit difficult but not impossible, local residents specially youths need to be counseled to prevent them indulging in anti national activities. It’s very important step to curve violence in the state.
Awareness programs through media
Government should make extensive a campaign towards with various awareness raising program through different media and make them feel that government is working hard for enhancing education, employment and tourism in the state. It’s very important to make localities aware of programs and intensions of the government.
LOC security
Line of Control security! Yes you read it right. Most of the terror comes from cross the border. It’s really very hard to keep the LOC safe in the difficult terrain that we have in Kashmir. But there is no other way but to make them secured. Its big investment but we should modernize the surveillance and infiltration alert system on the border to make the LOC high-tech and stop intrusion.
Final thoughts
People of Kashmir are also human being; they also need peace and development and prosperity. No one in the world would go violent if their basic needs are satisfied. Bottom line is improving education system, enhancing employment level and accelerating economic development activities in the state. I am sure this will go a long way to improve the condition of the state and as it is called, Kashmir will be the heaven on the earth.
Jai Hind
Rajendra Maurya