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Development or Dispossession? Reality of Kashmir’s Struggle

Kashmir today is not the thriving land of development we were promised. It’s a place where promises are unfulfilled, and real progress remains elusive

Wednesday November 13, 2024 0:06 AM, Ishfaq Qadir Bhat

[Security Forces in Kashmir (File image/Social Media)]

Let's cut the nonsense and get straight to the point. Kashmir isn’t just some beautiful paradise people babble about, and it's definitely not an experiment for clueless outsiders to throw around their half- baked theories. These outsiders sitting comfortably behind their screens have no idea what Kashmiris endure every day. They mindlessly simplify and distort our reality, and I’m fed up with it.

Now, don’t even get me started on those idiots who think they can “fix” Kashmir with their grand ideas on development. Do they even know anything about our actual issues? These government policies aren’t helping us; they’re suffocating us. Kashmir doesn’t need a bunch of clueless "urbanization experts" to tell us what’s best. Our economy is built on hard work in agriculture, the apple and walnut trade, and tourism. Not on fancy urban projects that only distract from the real issues. Let me shake you with some facts: Kashmir produces 2.5 to 2.8 million metric tons of apples each year, making up 75% of India's apples. Yet, thanks to India's pathetic infrastructure, nearly 59% of that crop goes to waste due to transport delays and broken roads. In 2023, over 8,000 trucks were stranded on the national highway for four weeks. Fayaz Bukhari, a local Journalist, called it an "apocalypse".

And then there is India’s G20 show-off, a whopping 416 crores thrown at a two-day cleanup. But let’s be real: Those newly renovated roads are already back to looking like garbage. I know 13 villages in North Kashmir where road connectivity is a bad joke. I’m not just quoting articles; I’ve lived this reality.

Since the abrogation of Article 370, we were promised opportunities, with special budgets in lakh crores for “development.” But let’s talk about what so-called development truly means in Kashmir. To some, it might mean new infrastructure or job creation, but for Kashmiris, development means something else entirely. Here, A stands for Arrest, B for Bullet, C for Custodial death, and D for Decomposed bodies in unmarked graves. These aren’t just letters; they’re the reality we live with.

Outsiders may view the Jhelum River as a symbol of beauty and peace. But for us, it’s an eyewitness to the decades of suffering that Kashmiris have endured. Films like “Haider” offer only a glimpse of what it’s really like here, barely scratching the surface of the truth.

When Article 370 was abrogated, we were promised a new era of opportunities. The Home Minister delivered a rousing speech, claiming that this historic decision would open doors for development in education, infrastructure, and employment, with special budgets worth lakhs of crores allocated for Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the speech, Article 370 was the reason for Kashmir’s underdevelopment and supposed low literacy rate. But let’s clear up the facts here. Jammu and Kashmir already had a higher literacy rate than many other Indian states, including Jharkhand, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.

According to the NSO census of 2017, our literacy rate stands at 77.3%. Yet, this misinformation was confidently delivered to the nation and even on the floor of the house. And when it comes to infrastructure—has any significant structure come up since 2019? We’ve seen approvals and announcements, but has anything actually materialized? If there are concrete examples, please, I’d love to hear them. Real development means more than ribbon-cuttings and paint jobs. We have yet to see the establishment of a single new university, dental college, or agricultural institution, let alone any new degree colleges.

Then, let’s talk about job security. The selection lists for government positions reveal a troubling trend: jobs that were once secure for locals are increasingly being filled by people from other states. Some argue that unemployment is a national issue, but states in North India have protections through Article 371 that reserve jobs for locals. If they enjoy this privilege, why not us? Law and order challenges exist in Naxal-affected regions, in Nagaland, and in Manipur, yet none of these states have faced the same restrictions and treatment as Jammu and Kashmir. Are we reshaping India’s federal structure, starting with Kashmir? That, perhaps, is a debate for another day.

The Lieutenant Governor promised two lakh jobs. Where are they? No one has the data to prove that these jobs have been created. I do, however, have figures that show Ph.D. holders here applying for Class IV jobs only to be rejected, labeled “overqualified.” With no options, many of these Ph.D. graduates are now selling fruits and dry fruits. This is the reality for Kashmir’s most educated people.

Kashmir today is not the thriving land of development we were promised. It’s a place where promises are unfulfilled, and real progress remains elusive. Lies may sound convincing in speeches, but reality lays bare a grim truth.

Our agriculture, the backbone of our economy, has been largely ignored. The fertile valleys of Kashmir provide a livelihood for thousands, yet government policies blatantly disregard this sector. India, supposedly an agricultural country, continues to push industrialization at the expense of farmers, treating us with the same colonial mindset the British imposed.

Meanwhile, the power generated in Kashmir is siphoned off to other regions. The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) profits immensely while Kashmiris pay inflated rates to buy back their own electricity. This isn’t just unfair; it’s exploitation. As Farooq Abdullah admitted, “all the benefits of the mega projects of the state are taken away by New Delhi.”

Most items of daily consumption here are imported, with local production neglected. Our imports exceed exports by a factor of four, making us dependent on tourism and handicrafts. But tourism is hardly a stable economic foundation, and handicrafts, which once employed thousands, are sidelined. The millions spent on infrastructure improvements aren’t for us; they serve only to facilitate military access and tighten the government’s control.

These so-called “Smart City” projects in Srinagar and Jammu are another tragic joke. Footpaths are widened while roads shrink, and "smart" electricity meters do nothing to address frequent outages. This is not progress; it’s a scheme to show “development” for the cameras, while locals remain in the dark— literally and figuratively.

Meanwhile, India’s “normalcy” narrative falls apart under scrutiny. A recent order from the Jammu and Kashmir administration virtually criminalizes complaints against government officials. If any allegations are deemed “fraudulent,” officials are encouraged to prosecute the whistleblower rather than address the corruption. Journalists are silenced, their voices drowned by government propaganda, with social media heavily monitored to suppress dissent. Even the rising crime rates—murders up by 25% in 2020, crimes against children up by 29%—tell a story of worsening conditions.

Adding to this bleak picture is the drug abuse crisis that has escalated dramatically, with around 60% of Kashmir’s youth now involved in some form of drug abuse. This fuels violence, social instability, and a vicious cycle that law enforcement struggles to contain. The government’s approach doesn’t just fail Kashmiris; it jeopardizes the entire region. Rising militancy, flawed counter-insurgency measures, and strained diplomatic relations lead to civilian and security force casualties alike.

This isn’t “integration” or “unity”; it’s forced assimilation, designed to silence, control, and erase Kashmir. You talk about development and progress? That’s a joke. What good is development when our people are trapped in a cycle of violence, poverty, and broken promises?

You want to understand Kashmir? Don’t just parrot what you hear from news outlets or government reports. Come here. See it for yourself. Only then can you even begin to think about having a say. But even then, you’ll never truly get it. So until then, keep your opinions to yourself—they mean nothing.

When the veil of propaganda is lifted, what remains is not progress, but a policy of exploitation, control, and disenfranchisement. Kashmiris don’t need empty gestures; they need a voice, their rights, and the respect they’ve long been denied. Until then, “development” in Kashmir remains an illusion—a promise unfulfilled and a land robbed of its soul.

[The writer, Ishfaq Qadir Bhat, is a student. He has authored “Wolverine in City of Vampires” and co-authored “The Creative Minds”. Views are personal.]

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