DGPC Elections: Young Voters To Impact Result

Ever since the J&K government announced the schedule for holding of District Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (DGPC) elections, the Sikh community in the entire J&K is in cheerful mood. Various Sikh organizations have been demanding conduct of these elections in the J&K as they were due for almost 2 years.  In these 2 years some people from Sikh community were nominated to run Gurudwara affairs. This nomination process also caused delay in conduct of these elections which in turn impacted the management of the Gurudwaras. Earlier personal political affiliations of DGPC members led to internal discord within DGPC many times and it created discontentment for the voters. Initially, like in any election, efforts by the Sikh candidates are focused on luring the Sikh voters for DGPC elections. But with the advent of the era of social media and sharing of information, the fake electoral promises can ruin the prospects of many candidates in upcoming elections. 

This time, the role the Sikh youth is going to play in DGPC elections can be judged with new and positive strategic changes on the community level. Previously it has been seen that talks & efforts of elected candidates changed after completion of this election process. However, this time the youth is prepared to humbly ask candidates - to what extent such poll promises will be realized by them? The Sikh youth appear to have made up its mind to not accept half-truth or complete lies from the candidates in election season. This fresh approach is a favorable indication and the best possible step for the future of Sikh community and for management of the affairs of Gurudwaras. Adding more to it is that some youth organizations have announced their candidates in this election and are supporting Gursikh, educated, hardworking, young and dynamic candidates. 

The visible result is that in various constituencies new faces have stepped-in this electoral fight. There is also massive undercurrent for change in the voters in all the constituencies. Those who have ears to hear can listen to that. Many voters seem to have decided to put aside vested interests and fulfill responsibility in the best possible manner by electing the people of high moral character to represent the Sikh community in J&K. Sikh youth vote in this election will become the ‘game changer’ in every constituency. Youth turn out will impact election results to run the affairs of Sikh community. Young men and women voters want to elect only those who can later become role models and put efforts to unite the community. The intervention of political powers and indirect invasion in the Sikh affairs should be stopped with humility and total sincerity by the Sikh voters. 

It’s time to think about and chart a course to establish truth and righteousness by ending the circumstances which fail to help the Sikh community every time after the DGPC elections. The J&K Sikh community doesn’t want to suffer more by electing those who fail to implement ‘rehat maryada’ (Sikh code of religious conduct). Sitting on the ‘chair’ founded to manage Sikh places of worship just for social prestige is the biggest sin. Besides, just getting media attention on controversial issues and building political platforms shouldn’t be the target of DGPC members. In future by getting elected as a member of DGPC, every individual should focus on propagation of Sikhism, to build schools, colleges and hospitals for catering to Sikh community needs. Only priority should be to follow the path of Gurus by helping the weak and treat them with dignity and respect.

COVID Is Changing

After COVID-19 variants BA.2.10 and BA.2.12 being found in many states of India, now some people in Pune have tested positive for the BA.4 and BA.5 sub variant of the Omicron strain of corona virus.  The experts have already warned of such mutations of this virus. Moreover, the WHO has said that the decline in number of cases is due to a drop in testing. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) has clearly stated that Geneva is now rapidly becoming the epicenter of COVID-19. Some countries in the world again have entered into the post-emergency phase as constantly rising cases in countries like Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Netherland are being noted since the beginning of March this year. North Korea too is grappling with this virus without access to anti-virus vaccine.  Although COVID pandemic has been here for a long time and everyone is tired mentally with it, still we need to be very cautious especially after having survived the previous three waves because the pandemic is not ready to vanish yet.

Perhaps with such new variants found in different Indian states and in the midst of the trend of isolated increased cases of infection in some Indian states, COVID can revive anytime. Interestingly, low restrictions are visible in public places of Jammu city and that indicates that the open threat prevails here too. Till now under the joint efforts by the J&K administration and the central government we have been provided guidance and the surveillance was high but suddenly the entire social system appears to behave as if COVID-19 is gone. All activities have resumed like in the pre-pandemic period and this is going to result in a spike in COVID cases. We can find similarities in Jammu to the WHO statement as Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) drive by local administration for COVID-19 testing too has dropped significantly. Such a situation is adding to the misinformation brewing around corona virus numbers because with such a pattern being followed, we are turning blind to the pattern of transmission and evolution of this deadly virus.

It is a fact that people in Jammu and Kashmir cannot face another wave very soon. Otherwise we will have to face many repercussions which will come along with another wave. Still the sufferings of the common man aren’t over and the impact caused by earlier COVID waves on our life is visible. The reality remains that we aren’t out of this pandemic even after the vaccination drives going continuously in India to fight against COVID-19. Vaccination plans have been expanded with precaution dose and teenage vaccine drives started across the country. But by now we have also learnt that vaccines aren't the ultimate cover and we should not let our guard down. In addition, we shouldn’t increase our confidence with the low number of cases being reported in J&K. After seeing the casualties caused by this virus around us in Jammu, let’s not forget that COVID is still changing and still killing every day. 

Amid the pandemic, all the sensible and responsible decisions of the J&K UT administration taken in the past should continue. Masks should be made compulsory, social distancing be monitored and supervised by imposing penalties. And the public must follow all the health protocols if we want to curb the fourth wave. Already Jammu-Kashmir suffers from poor health infrastructure and the last COVID wave brought all residents, irrespective of their financial and social standing, to their knees. So if the need arises for handling mass casualty emergencies we may not be able to meet the demand for healthcare facilities. That said, we cannot rush to the conclusion with the daily corona virus infections data coming out and precautions are needed to prevent another wave to arrive on our doorstep.