Who Will Challenge BJP?

The caption of this opinion piece is not in context with the recent victory of BJP in Gujarat, Congress reclaiming Himachal Pradesh and expansion of AAP in Delhi & Gujarat. This all was projected by the exit polls. The caption is related to the larger question of political void which is prevailing after stripping of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. In absence of an elected government for the last 3 years many political changes have erupted in both regions of J&K. As a result, these recent victories across the country seem less interesting than the political situations here. To start talking about this political churning process is the fact that most powerful pro-Pakistan voices in Kashmir have gone silent after 2019. For PDP, the fight is only to claim its political territory back, but nothing seems to serve the cause. The Apni Party is trying hard to find all possible ways to get on ground political recognition, but many complications like the J&K People's Conference stand in their way in Kashmir.

Besides, many political leaders and workers are changing loyalties in Jammu and Kashmir. Some politicians succumb to the temptation and get attracted by the rewards to save their political careers. But changing sides is nothing new in J&K. However, this was not witnessed on such a large-scale as seen after 2019. Fast-changing politics of Jammu region too has become a reality.  After Ghulam Nabi Azad forming his own party and Devender Singh Rana joining the BJP, the Congress and National Conference is in its one of the weakest political periods in Jammu. While this all happened, BJP has grown in the Jammu region so much so that it has made its chief ministerial ambitions public in J&K. Opposition leaders haven’t been able to build unity against the BJP to stop them from making Jammu region its bastion. Opposition is busy in photo ops and couldn’t become BJP’s challenger in the Jammu region. But talking about opposition unity is one thing and achieving it is another thing.

Because all opposition leaders have their own chief ministerial ambitions. It’s even more unlikely that they will lend support to each other. A divided opposition is perhaps one of the significant reasons behind the growth of BJP in Jammu and Kashmir. Right now, the question is: who will challenge BJP? As delimitation is done and new voters are added there is not much time left for opposition before the BJP starts political drive in J&K based on PM Modi’s charisma.  As the general mood is in the BJP’s favour, the BJP would want to take its advantage. In such a situation, politics of polarization won’t work in Jammu by any potential anti-Modi front at this stage for obvious reasons. There could possibly be a pre-poll opposition front or post-poll front to stop BJP but it’s easier said than done. However, this all would be evident only once elections in Jammu and Kashmir   are announced.

This takes us back to think how complex the politics in J&K has become. Leaders are already spelling out their visions for new Jammu and Kashmir. We must not forget that both voters and non- supporters have a very thin line between them. Many people have nothing to do with any political party but after the election, the results impact all of us. And it’s not all politicians’ fault because there are many problems and flaws in the Indian political system. The truth is that J&K cannot be left for politicians and political parties. For sure, whichever government comes to power in Jammu and Kashmir every citizen should get equal rights, security and respect as it’s an ‘alliance of people’.

J&K Needs A Statesman

Since 2019 politically aware youth in Jammu and Kashmir are waiting for an elected government which brings change for them. The target of youth is to have better quality of life in their motherland through best governance practices. But their dream to have such a system is hanging in uncertainty. Post Article 370 situation of J&K would be judged in best terms when a political system is established here which improves the living standard, provides employment opportunities and corruption free governance to all the people. In the past 3 years, politicians have kept themselves involved in issues which have not in any way helped the youth. This all has made the youth of J&K angry, and this anger is visible on their minds and on faces.

During the past two decades, stress is boiling deep down the psyche of youth who fundamentally wanted better living conditions to end discrimination, neglect and challenging circumstances. The vote seekers turned into rulers as elections got over and youth and their aspirations were lost after the poll season.  The youth felt cheated in J&K as democracy remained just a means to gain political power. The unemployed youth kept protesting and their genuine demands were ignored. The anger of the youth was clearly against the governance model led by the political leadership. The youth in urban and rural areas had many common issues which were struck in the bureaucratic delivery system.

In the last few decades, the country has grown and seen many reforms. This always caught the fancy of J&K youth. And the engineers-doctors and other young people having professional degrees left Jammu and Kashmir to nurture their lives for greener pastures due to lack of job opportunities here. Further, the culture of guns killed and uprooted many. The radical ideology brought violence due to which unemployment went several times high. The growth of higher education here didn’t yield any results as there was a disconnect between the education and employment opportunities. The result was that the political and bureaucratic class became a self-serving class and youth suffered. This deep rot brought only miseries for young people at the hands of political and official class. Under such circumstances, corruption and back door appointments were promoted in the government departments. These all years the political class won elections to run a system in an environment which ignored people on a larger level.

After having seen all this, J&K now needs a statesman who could end all this as nothing much moved after 2019 for youth. The recent job recruitment scandals reflect that still corruption free governance is a dream for people living in Jammu and Kashmir. The political scene is still filled with such people who lack intellect to translate the above written youth aspirations. The question remains is - can someone navigate J&K’s youth to new heights? The J&K youth is waiting for someone in the political class who translates the aspirations of people beyond their personal ambitions. J&K needs a statesman whose thoughts, intellect and vision has a higher purpose and center of which is only the public cause. The only hope to get J&K youth out of the ‘aspirational crisis’ would be the next assembly elections in J&K. If these elections don't translate into change, then hope continues! 

Fact Checking To Fight Fake News

The growth of internet usage in India has made it simple for crores of Indians to get data with help of phones and computers. Unfortunately, the higher internet penetration and increasing social media consumption has brought with it the menace of ‘fake news’ in India. The high usage of the internet has made it very simple to spread ‘fake news’, which now is affecting our society in all manners. Nowadays ‘fake news’ is contributing to future social problems with the spread of misinformation. So, for this everyone should fight against the spread of ‘fake news’ by doing critical thinking and then refusing to share such news. Thus, in present times it has become severe to know the truth and check sources of information. 

Recently, many social issues in India were propelled by ‘fake news’ during the Covid vaccination and farmers’ protest. And in this manner, in the future also we can settle on some wrong choices and support inappropriate material. These wrong choices can prompt unseen social problems when such ‘fake news’ is shared on social media platforms and impact the social fabric. Although the key is to begin by doing critical thinking but then taking some extra steps with simple ‘fact-checking’ on daily basis will bring the desired results. Simple ‘fact-checking’ is significant as falsehood can influence our perspectives to a large extent.

Because ‘fake news’ always attempts to appeal to our emotions so our views regardless of our age, gender, location, or political beliefs can get affected due to misleading information. More importantly, we all, encounter ‘fake news’ on daily basis through social media and the result is that ‘fake news’ is flourishing in India and has become the reason for the lack of trust in media. To battle ‘fake news’ by promoting public awareness has become vital. Many instances show that people shared ‘fake news’ as they found it interesting and relevant to what’s going on in society. They didn’t know it was ‘fake news’ and they shared it without malicious intent. Many innocent acts of spreading ‘fake news’ caused serious consequences. For stopping this, we must work to fight ‘fake news’ that hurt individuals and society.

Young people who are not familiar with technology and older people are more likely to share ‘fake news’. Although young people living in cosmopolitan cities of India can at times judge such ‘fake news’, the situation is different for those living in far-flung areas. It is important to encourage all citizens to think critically about content that is reaching us through social media which is a perfect breeding ground for ‘fake news’ and helps it to spread like wildfire.  We can learn simple basics things to counter ‘fake news’ and evaluate sources of information with the right information and some small fact-checking knowledge for daily basis usage.

To begin with, the first question to answer in the search for the truth is- Is the sensational news believable? Always don’t trust immediately what you read. Treat every sensational news with suspicion because there’s a good chance that it’s ‘fake news’. When it comes to the credibility of information sources always evaluate a link/website by checking the ‘Contact’ information provided on such link/website. There should be information provided about the owner/media house with contact details like number and email id's. Moreover, always look at the domain’s URL as .com, .org, or .net, domains can be purchased by anyone, and they may be at times source of ‘fake news’. 

The objective of the website becomes clear by looking at its “About” section, so always check this section. Besides, check when this content was published and whether the website is being updated at a regular interval with other news. Lastly, perhaps the best way to fight ‘fake news’ is to make sure by double-checking a piece of sensitive news by verifying it from reputable and independent news sources because important news spread quickly between different news outlets. If there are other news outlets reporting a similar story, then it’s probably not ‘fake news’. But if it's only on the website you’re reading then chances are high that it’s ‘fake news’. 

Although we should learn IT-based fact-checking skills but critical thinking on fact-checking can help immediately in every situation. These are all simple methods to understand the accuracy of a news story on daily basis. There is no need for IT techniques every time in fighting the menace of fake news and such little literacy will help a lot. Under Article 51A (h) even the Indian Constitution provides that, “It shall be the duty of every citizen to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform”. Let's follow this all and stop consuming and sharing 'fake news' which will have a far-reaching impact on the social fabric due to a problem fueled by digital illiteracy.

Congress To Face Internal Storm

The year 2014 was very disastrous for the Congress party. Since then, the fortune of Congress has seen a dramatic downfall and a mass exodus of leaders. And every defeat after 2014 the Congress called for an analysis of its decline, which further eroded the Congress from the Indian political system. It was all because such analysis in the name of "Chintan Shivir’s” was just a 'cosmetic' step and nothing changed on the ground. This continually heightened the frustration of senior leaders of this party who had a high stake in the Indian political system. The junior/budding leaders were never worried as they felt it was time to work less, save energy and grow more just because of the leadership exodus. This helped many to build a new coterie around Gandhi family and the fight between new v/s old leaders got deeper. So, both ways the Congress party kept losing, internally and externally.

The past eight years haven't brought anything good for Congress. In May, the grand old Congress called for a three-day long 'Chintan Shivir' in Udaipur. This program was organized to analyze defeat in the assembly elections. But during this ‘Chintan Shivir’, Former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar announced his resignation from the party. Before quitting, he said, "no one is bothered about revamping the party from this existential crisis".  Jakhar later joined BJP. And after this 'Chintan Shivir' Hardik Patel too joined BJP. Surprisingly, Rahul Gandhi appeared very confident in Udaipur and made remarks that regional parties can't defeat the BJP. This sent shivers down the spine of many senior leaders. Firstly, because in the eight years regional parties have performed better against BJP. Secondly, it was an open challenge to regional parties many of whom were alliance partners. 

With all this, the question remains – can struggling Congress defeat BJP in absence of senior leadership? The infighting among Gandhi’s and the Congress leaders has brought the party to the edge. In the prevailing conditions, sunny days are very far for the Congress party. Also, it will face an internal storm very shortly after the exit of Ghulam Nabi Azad. The tremors caused by G 23 Congress leaders will be felt across India. Ahead of assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, things have already slipped away from the hands of the party. Senior leader Anand Sharma resigned from the chairmanship of the party's steering committee along with two Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh. That is not all, former Gujarat minister Naresh Raval and former Rajya Sabha member Raju Parmar too left Congress. And except for Anand Sharma, all of them have joined BJP. 

In J&K, Congress lost political ground after the exit of Azad loyalists. Many leaders have resigned, and some more are ready to jump the ship. The seeds of internal unrest here in the local unit were sown in the spring of 2022 when in the much-hyped ‘Chintan Shivir’ no leader from Jammu was invited. Only then president of J&K Ghulam Ahmed Mir and Tariq Hamid Karra attended the three-day event. Ghulam Nabi Azad participated in the event as part of the party’s central leadership. Recently, Vikar Rasool Wani was appointed the new chief of the J&K Congress. But the revolt started against him on the first day. Four senior leaders resigned from their posts following the local Congress revamp. Congress also appointed Raman Bhalla, as the new working president, to gain some brownie points from the Jammu region. But Bhalla himself has lost considerable public following within his Gandhi Nagar seat. 

Congress won’t gain anything with this rejig done after 7 years of wait in J&K. Congress is fading in the entire Jammu region with rising of BJP and already in Kashmir regional parties have a stronghold. The faction-ridden Congress will face a tough time when assembly elections are declared in J&K. With the entry of the Aam Admi Party into the Jammu region, things are set to become more difficult for Congress. After the exit of Azad, it will be an uphill task now for Vikar & Bhalla to save the party in J&K’s political scene. The move of Ghulam Nabi Azad is very strategic as the countdown to elect a new Congress chief has also begun. Azad will cause damage to Congress still we cannot dismiss Congress immediately as a national alternative to BJP. Finally, the ball is in the court of the Gandhi family. It is time to do a reality check to revive the party in the entire country. Though summer is ending, and BJP waited for more than 50 years to gain power so Congress can start from zero and they can be back in a decade because democracy is precious and fragile.

Law University: A Future Need Of Society

In 2018, during the BJP’s coalition government in J&K, ‘The J&K National Law University Bill’ was passed by the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly. But this bill didn’t receive then Governor NN Vohra’s nod immediately.  And Vohra retired from the position of Governor in August 2018 leaving behind the proposal of setting up this important University. It was not 2018 when this step to improve legal education which fosters the rule of law was taken up. This proposal got roots after the ‘All India Law Ministers Conference’ in the mid-nineties. It was agreed in that conference to set up in each state of India a ‘law university’.  This proposal of the mid-nineties took shape in October 2019 when this bill was given approval by Governor Satya Pal Malik before coming into effect of the J&K Reorganization Act, 2019. Luckily (after the bifurcation of the erstwhile J&K state) with some amendments to J&K National Law University Act, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs formally adopted the Act. 

But since then, the National Law University in Jammu and Kashmir is still in papers only. And it appears that the procedural formalities take an undue long time even after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. This delay has diluted the primary objective behind the setting up of the National Law University in J&K. Presently, in J&K only three government universities and seven private law colleges are offering law courses. Due to it every year thousands of students, desirous of joining the field of law, fail to get seats in government institutions. Surprisingly, the Central University of Jammu has also contributed to this suffering of students in past many years in absence of law faculty. People belonging to the law fraternity were overjoyed with the announcement made in 2018. But now they all feel dejected due to dilly-dallying approach in the last four years on this university which is a future need of society. 

Already twenty-one states in India have established National Law Universities and J&K is yet to have its own National Law University. Furthermore, this delay has failed the aim to bring the states without National Law Universities on par with other states that had national law universities. The government now has a serious role to play. Legal education needs to be improved on an urgent basis because the government and private law colleges' teaching style is outdated. Students at most colleges here have never heard of an ‘internship’. Whereas a student who studies at National Law University has many advantages if we start making the comparison. J&K is going through a period of social and economic changes after the abrogation of Article 370. But not working on a university education will stop the advancement of the prosperity of J&K’s society. It’s an ambitious undertaking and J&K is in dire need of a National Law University as such an initiative will go a long way toward the dissemination of legal knowledge and impart comprehensive legal education for the benefit of future generations. 

Cyber Bullying: A Trap

The present generation of youth around us is growing up in a technology driven society. And its impact is visible on their lives too. This generation is continuously utilizing this technological boom. In fact they love to be around and into it. A generation older to this generation has started using this tech boom but with a lot less knowledge. But they don’t prefer to be 'plugged in' or 'associated' with technology the whole day. The young people have an entirely opposite choice and compulsion for staying connected in this technological driven world. Such a style where technology is so much into young people’s lives, this is undeniably something that has totally altered the way our society works and communicates these days. From few ‘text’ to ‘heavy data sharing’ is a new norm.  Also in a way, most young people have enslaved themselves with the internet, social media and technology.

There is no leisure time in life which has killed creativity and caused stress and brought substantially more dangerous internet harassment, also referred to as “cyber bullying” in young people's lives. This “cyber bullying”   is approaching young people consistently and this trend of digital harassment is wreaking havoc all over the world. The children, teens, and working women in particular are the big targets of this “cyber bullying”. Such situation arises in shape of bullying, harassment, threat or maliciously embarrassing other person with behaviors such as sending unsolicited and/or threatening e-mail, viruses, spreading rumors, making defamatory comments about the victim online, through fake id’s impersonating the victim, harassing the victim during a live chat, abusing on social media sites, sending the pornography or other material that is knowingly offensive.

Cyber bullying existed before the growth of this social media era. Earlier too trolling happened. But then it was done in the chat rooms. Sharing of inappropriate photos and secrets of other people online too happened along with spreading rumors digitally. However, these days as more people connect via social media incidents of cyber bullying have increased. Various statistics show social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter etc are a hotspot for cyber bullying.  Creation of a fake profile in someone else's name happens on such platforms and then come instances where vulgar or obscene photos of a victim are posted through such fake profiles.

One of the reasons is the increased access of Indians to the internet with teenagers being the most vulnerable victims of cyber bullying. Male and female both are affected due to this menace but negligible people report the issue in India because they are afraid of being judged in this conservative society we live in. Under Section 354D, 499, 500, 503 and 66 E of the IPC such bullies can be easily booked if the complaint is lodged with the nearest police officials at any time one becomes a victim of such cyber crime. Cyber bullying has become a trap as technology has made addicts out of numerous Indians even in small towns.

In the past some years, Jammu-Kashmir too has seen rise in such cases. But most matters go unreported. To sensitize people to report such matters is a big challenge. For this nothing is done by local administration which can bring change in the mindset of people. Just think, have you ever seen any campaigns, awareness drives etc in Jammu on this topic by the administration? Such confidence building measures should be taken so that those who file a complaint on such issues are not stigmatized at the social level which causes the victim extreme mental anguish later. With nothing done on ground by the government, people feel helpless, hurtful and emotionally scarred after getting bullied online.

Even men are getting bullied online and they also want to stay anonymous while filing such complaints. So firstly, if people decide not to come forward and report such matters then cyber units of the Jammu-Kashmir police should work to identify such individuals who operate on social media with fake accounts and bring them to task. Additionally, the help can come from the scheme called "Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)" set up by the MHA. This scheme is formulated to deal with all types of cybercrimes in the country in a coordinated and comprehensive manner and it should be implemented in a stronger manner in J&K. Moreover, awareness programs to educate the students to use safe and secure online platforms should be done. This in turn will enable the public to report such incidents if special focus is laid on cases against women and children. It is extremely simple to make up for lost time by starting against this menace at the earliest.

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.

Empower PoJK Refugees Politically

The Delimitation Commission under its final order on Jammu & Kashmir has recommended the nomination of displaced persons from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in the Legislative Assembly of J&K. Initially, the Commission has ruled out de-freezing of 24 seats reserved for PoJK people in J&K under delimitation drive. And due to it all thought that political doors for these PoJK refugees are again closed. But this latest and unpredicted recommendation to the Union Government (made on the pattern adopted in the Legislative Assembly of Union Territory of Puducherry) once again has raised political hopes in this entire community waiting for political justice at the hands of successive governments. This recommendation made by the Commission appears to be the greatest step to empower PoJK refugees politically in J&K. The entire PoJK community feared that after the Delimitation, the benefits the central government had promised to Jammuites from dilution of Article 370 and 35A won’t reach them ever.

This step suggested in the favour of PoJK refugees seems to have come after various PoJK delegations fought with logic, commitment and integrity before the Commission that they even after 70 years are forced to live as refugees in their own country in absence of political empowerment.  The truth is that it was not so easy for PoJK people to reach this milestone after 70 years. It’s difficult to put in precisely when politically things started to move in favour of PoJK people because in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, 24 seats were kept vacant under the J&K Constitution for the natives of the PoJK in the J&K Legislative Assembly under section 48 of the J&K Constitution. In 2014, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs also recommended the de-freezing of eight 'reserved' seats for the PoJK community. It was also suggested that the Government of India should take up the matter of de-freezing these seats with the State Government and impress upon the J&K Government to make amendments in the J&K Constitution. But nothing was done to shut the debate.

For sure this should have been settled a long time back by the politicians who always promised to deliver results. Now the ball is in the central government's court and hope remains that soon some sharp mind full of enthusiasm would settle this problem. Getting reservation in the assembly is like getting 'last wish' fulfilled because all these refugees were promised an amount of Rs 25 to 30 lakh but were paid only Rs 5.5 lakh and even the process of registration of PoJK refugees has been stopped. Finally to end this political flaw, the Government of India must act without further delay as assembly elections are due in J&K and this move will benefit BJP because the population of PoJK refugees in the J&K is estimated at 14 lakh, with nearly 7 lakh of them registered as voters settled in different assembly constituencies. That’s a pure reflection of the political weight this community holds in the Jammu region.

Moreover, while addressing the media  in July last year J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina said that they have demanded reservation for PoJK refugees by unfreezing the 8 assembly seats from the PoJK quota to give adequate representation to them in the assembly.   For BJP, challenge and opportunity stands together and now it is for them to take the political incentive or penalty. Entire PoJK community is now looking forward to the BJP led Government of India for collective justice and fairness to ‘change the world’ for them. Undoubtedly, without political empowerment the idea of fair democracy would be incomplete for PoJK people living here. There could be resistance to implement the recommendation of the Commission but the government this time is expected to play a decisive and historic role for the coming generation of this community and simply open gates for their future as well.

Power Crisis: Theft A Prime Reason

The year 2022 has brought the whole country under power cuts and normal life has got affected in many metro cities of India. Majorly the people in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are suffering and the coal shortage is the reason behind this newly developed power shortage across India. But for Jammu, power cuts are a routine every summer. Sadly, this year is the worst for Jammu and the reason behind it is the coal shortage in India. Usually power demand in Jammu in the month of May increases, however this year this increased demand is not getting fulfilled, resulting in major power crisis.

This worst scenario has taken political debate surrounding power cuts to a new level. Interestingly, areas which are BJP’s strongholds in Jammu are seeing people out on the streets to demand regular power supply. On the other hand, Kashmir based political leaders alleged that curtailment of electricity during the month of Ramzan was done deliberately to bother people and play with their sentiments. Even the president of the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) issued a warning to the J&K administration that the consumers will stop paying bills if the crisis is not resolved immediately.

Amid all this, the question remained as to why this situation couldn’t be brought under control? Infact with every passing year electricity cuts in the summer season are becoming worse. Against all this, the J&K PDD department never took serious efforts to prevent this situation from becoming a crisis. Two reasons were openly visible for this deteriorating problem; firstly, there are transmission and distribution (T&D) losses and secondly, losses due to the ‘power theft’. The first reason is a technical problem but second is purely man made and if rightly said in words it’s ‘invention of PDD officers’. This ‘invented problem’ is now worth crores of rupees. So where is this money generated out of theft, bribery, and other illegal activities going?

Surprisingly, PDD’s Special Task Force (STF) created to check unauthorized use of electricity never detected this ‘power theft’ and flow of money associated with it. This situation reflects that these illegal electricity connections are running only due to the connivance of many officers in the department. Instead of making efforts to eliminate power theft, some officers have created a parallel income method by allowing power theft in Jammu. This is happening in both rural and urban areas of Jammu and is so deep rooted that for decades no one was ever found involved and dealt with under the law.

Only extensive tours of the various power stations of Jammu won’t bring us out of this annual power crisis. Visits to identify the ‘power theft’ which is a prime reason should be done and concerning officers should be held responsible. Because when we go to any residential or commercial area, we find illegal power connections which cannot operate without facilitation by PDD officers. All illegal connections are being tolerated due to bribery. And this modus operandi adopted by PDD officers and by some unscrupulous elements in the society is causing the genuine and honest consumers to suffer.

Needed: A Commitment To Save Tawi

Remember the time when we were told by our elders about the rushing waters in the Tawi river. It wasn’t so long ago. Now when you look around the dry bed of the Tawi river it makes us realize that this river is almost dead. These days when we navigate for our work lives over any of the Tawi bridges in Jammu, the dumps of garbage are easily visible on the river bed. Well, let’s not hesitate to say that the river with religious beliefs and cultural heritage attached to it has no caretaker. Since centuries, this river has been revered by the people in Jammu yet no one could stop it from reaching this present day position. While on Earth Day's and other days dedicated to environmental protection, slogans to save it are continuously being raised but the result shows a picture of neglect. In fact, this ‘slipping situation’ was created by those sitting comfortably in their offices and who assumed themselves to be the real ‘power center’ by always ridiculing every opportunity to save this heritage of Jammu. Now it indicates that standing tall in a social-political-civil circle isn’t enough to save this river.

Flowing down from glacial sources of Sudhmahadev ranges in Udhampur to reach a stage where its bed is dry now, these days this river has an important proposed project of ‘artificial lake’ on it. In future, this river will become a place for recreational boating once the proposed project takes shape. The State Pollution Control Board should shoulder the responsibility for failure to save this river as till today large amounts of waste packed in polythene go into the river on a daily basis without being checked by the board. They have many schemes of segregating the biodegradable and non biodegradable waste but that all lies in the books of the board. Only the State Pollution Control Board should not be blamed because the most polluted stretch of river Tawi is within municipal limits and Jammu Municipal Corporation is also the agency that is responsible for the control and prevention of the pollution in the river. The degradation of Tawi river reflects that by just preparing several DPR's in office for controlling pollution in Tawi river and occasionally requesting the general public through hoardings to keep the river ‘Tawi Clean- Green’ Jammu Municipal Corporation has failed to educate people about the pollution-free Tawi.

In the backdrop of everything that has happened, one thing is very clear that taking serious note of the rising pollution in river Tawi was never a priority. The situation is alarming in nature now because this river is fully polluted and contaminated to an extent that people don't even want to take a dip in it. Simply the main reasons for this pollution were discharge of untreated sewage, effluents, erosion, transportation and sedimentation of rocks, soils, agriculture runoff. Moreover, solid waste dumping sites created adjacent to the bank of river Tawi was a big blunder which also contributed to pollution of Tawi water. All this could have been very easily taken into account but nobody cared to work comprehensively against any of these factors because of the reasons best known to them. So far several crores have been spent to clean this river under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart City Mission of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) etc. but no change is visible for revival of this dying river.  Various environmentalists have pointed out through quantitative analysis of pollution and pathogenic bacteria of river Tawi about drastic change in water of Tawi and this is really dangerous for future generations. Several health issues are bound to rise with such changes seen in the water of Tawi, which presently is the main source of drinking water supplies for Jammu city and its outskirts.

Economy of Jammu also relies heavily on agriculture and lower availability of water in Tawi for irrigation will impact the agrarian economy of Jammu. And this loss will be the greatest challenge for Jammu over the coming decades. Let’s look closer and try to state in more simple words that with drying up of Tawi we lost our biodiversity that provided habitat for plants and animals. Just due to non-implementation of various acts and laws to save Tawi water we have reached this position. The judicial intervention in it through PILs played only a limited role to stop this deterioration of the Tawi. Clearly, large scale construction in Jammu and illegal mining wreaked havoc and created the 'death bed' for this river.  Perhaps, it is silly to believe that we never had effective remedial measures vis a vis technologies available to save this polluted river. We don’t need to play games any longer to save Tawi, the only thing needed is the effective implementation of various laws, schemes, policies etc. This ‘Suryaputri’ which acts as a lifeline in the lives of people should be saved before talking of its transformation. The local community of Jammu has to play a big part to make people here self disciplined, aware and responsible to protect this river. Only choosing to go for a complete makeover of this heritage river in our hands won’t serve for long. The need is for permanent commitment to save Tawi. Moreover, the heritage, religious value of ‘Suryaputri’ should be a priority because only thinking of the economic value of this river will just add to the death of river Tawi.

Sikhs Disappointed With Delimitation Exercise

When both articles 370 & 35-A were amended under J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 political and social hopes increased in the Sikh community of J&K. It’s true that every Sikh family living in J&K was not happy with amendments done in these both articles. But somewhere adding to joy was the fresh map issued by the Government of India in November 2019 which showed PoJK as part of Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, the clauses in the above said act also reflected that the delimitation process has to take place and this generated hope among some Sikhs that a road forward will be created to ensure political & social empowerment of their community. Besides, political and social relief seemed near, as the above said act mandated creation of new assembly constituencies in J&K. The Sikh community which suffered majorly due to partition of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 took this moment as an opportunity which can provide them a bright future. It was also because, after 1947 Sikhs settled in areas like Bhor, Chatha, Simbal, Gadigarh, Badyal Brahmana, Keerian Gandyal and Raj Bagh of Jammu region lived in such conditions which cannot be defined in words. Furthermore, in the last 70 years they were never given their share in politics as political parties didn’t care for the community members in particular.

Then came March 2020 and the three-member delimitation commission headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai was set up for the purpose of drawing up the boundaries of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies . Sikhs living in areas like Gandhi Nagar, RS Pura, Suchetgarh, Nowshera and Vijaypur in Jammu region and Batmaloo, Baramulla and Tral in Kashmir region started feeling empowered as they thought that these areas may take shape of assembly constituencies after the delimitation exercise gets completed. Another thought floated that 24 seats reserved for PoJK refugees would be de-freezed and allotted to the PoJK refugees settled in Jammu. Interestingly, the majority of the Sikhs living in J&K are PoJK refugees and for the last 70 years, these PoJK refugees always demanded proper representation in the J&K assembly. So this time the Sikh community was sure of getting their political share either in the form of reservation in seats or under quota of seats already reserved for PoJK refugees.

As the process for delimitation moved ahead, several Sikh delegations met the Commission members in Jammu as well as in Kashmir and in a way pleaded before them to get some constituencies reserved for the local Sikh community. After the lengthy process followed in the past two years and amid ongoing pandemic and after facing delays Delimitation Commission proposed in a draft report that six more seats will be given in the Jammu region and only one additional seat in Kashmir. Now the new proposed legislative assembly house of J&K would consist of 90-members.  Infact 16 assembly seats under the proposed draft are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Jammu & Kashmir.

Sadly, the Delimitation Commission has ruled out reserving any seat for Sikh community and even de-freezing of 24 seats reserved for PoJK people weren’t done under delimitation drive. Although what all work has been done by the Commission is a welcome move but in total Sikhs who came from Rawalakot, Muzaffarabad, Bhimber, Kotli, Bagh and Mirpur areas are disappointed with the delimitation exercise because issues of the community were left unaddressed. Talking of the present situation, now the work of Delimitation Commission is nearing to end as recently Commission held meetings with members of the public and civil society groups who have submitted suggestions and objections on its draft delimitation proposal. In these visible conditions put forth by the Delimitation Commission nothing changed politically for Sikh community and Sikhs feel alienated again as there would be none to represent Sikhs, their problems and concerns in the new Assembly of J&K.

'The Kashmir Files’ Brings Societal Divide In J&K

The not so famous director Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri is in news for his movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ which has become a box office blockbuster across the country. The month of March was awaited by all for assembly poll results on March 10. But the very next day, on March 11, ‘The Kashmir Files’ film hit the screens and since then is in the news for its content which grabbed all eyeballs and has become part of political rhetoric. The movie has once again touched the wounds of Kashmiri Pandit community by narrating their story of exodus in 1990. The message of the movie has gone wrong.  Although it’s a fictional story depicting a Kashmiri Pandit student whose parents were killed by militants. This has picked up the shape of a storm in the world of Indian cinema. From receiving support to criticism to allegations of diversionary tactics, this movie has all things floating around it.

This is not all; even the political circles are buzzing as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have openly praised 'The Kashmir Files'. The BJP-ruled state governments have come out in its defense by waiving tax on it. Interestingly, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lent support to the 'The Kashmir Files' and recently at the BJP Parliamentary Party meet he said "People who always raise the flag of freedom of expression are restless. Instead of reviewing facts, a campaign is being run to discredit it.." Besides, the filmmakers of the 'Kashmir Files’ also got to meet PM Modi. Such projection of film didn’t go well with local Congress leaders in J&K and Jammu Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said, "The government of the day which was supported by BJP at the centre, can't absolve itself of the sin of the sufferings and killings of the displaced Kashmiri community. Unfortunately, the present govt. in office for over seven years, has also failed to take any major initiative for their return and rehabilitation and of their children.  Only the ongoing projects, schemes &  packages of Dr. Manmohan Singh led UPA are being carried forward, on a very slow pace only and there is nothing new for them except crocodile tears for gaining sympathy of crores of countrymen with an eye of votes". “The government can't absolve itself of the continued violence and targeted killings of minority communities and pro-India forces in Kashmir and elsewhere and should take firm result oriented steps for their return, rehabilitation and settlement in an atmosphere of security and harmony by bridging the gaps in communities and not by further vitiating the atmosphere by promoting hatred and division", he added. A special screening of this movie was held in Jammu & later while addressing the press Vivek Agnihotri was confronted by a local journalist who asked him, “Why haven’t you shown about Muslims who helped Kashmiri Pandit families in those days?”. He evaded this sharp question by replying that, “The concept of this movie was different”. It didn’t end here, as this movie talks about one of the chapters of the history of Kashmir and everything relating to Kashmir always raises high interest in Jammu's social circles. And it happened this time also, when an incident erupted through a video on Twitter stating that after the release of the movie, screening for the film was stopped in Wave Mall of Jammu. This matter further escalated when Vivek Agnihotri, the director of ‘The Kashmir Files’, quoted one complaint and tweeted "This is absolutely illegal and undemocratic. Pl don’t surrender to arm twisting and political pressures. And I request the audience to demand the manager of @wavecinemas on what basis they have done it. Ask them to show the written orders from any competent authority". 

The weaponization of the film has deepened the societal divide. The Kashmiri Pandit families in J&K appear also divided. "The 'Kashmir Files' has stirred a controversy. But the real fact is that the exodus of nearly 3 lakh Hindus, Sikhs and pro-India Muslims was mainly due to targeted killings carried out by Pakistan supported militants since 1987. Main targets were Pandits who were hunted down by militants. Nearly 5 massacres were carried out by terrorists. For 30-years the narrative was being pushed that Pandits left due to the conspiracy and Governor Jagmohan was responsible, but that is not a fact. The theory was forwarded to hide the brutal killings and put blame on the victims themselves and absolve the separatists and militant groups from the crimes committed. 'Kashmir files' has depicted some incidents, I think those who oppose it should demand an independent probe and investigation of the cases and talk to surviving family members of victims. It should cover all 30-years of Kashmir conflict. However the issue should not be turned into a political game. It will hurt everybody”, said Arvind Dhar, a migrant Pandit living in Jammu. Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti, a group of the residents living in Kashmir, has tweeted saying that ‘The Kashmir Files’ makes resident Kashmiri Pandits, living in Kashmir, feel unsafe. "As many of us have seen the movie "The Kashmir Files", it depicts the lives of Kashmiri Pandits and their sufferings. But it fails to shed light on the whole truth behind the Kashmir exodus, along with Kashmiri Pandits many civilians also lost their lives. It blinds us from the entire truth. For telling this generation about the Kashmir exodus is a fantastic job but to portray the Kashmiri Pandits as bait in a political propaganda is very dangerous for different communities as it is causing communal disharmony" said Afaq Hussain Kazmi who is Vice president of Anjuman-e-Imamia in Jammu. 

This reflects that all communities in Kashmir were affected and through this movie only it is being pushed that Kashmiri Pandits were only affected. This is not all, now the Hindu Dogras and members of Sikh community have raised their voice openly on social media against Vivek Agnihotri. They are constantly reminding him of the mass killings, rapes, suicides, abduction of women of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) refugees in 1947. Moreover, he is being reminded by many people on various social media platform that killings in 1947 were the ‘first genocide’ in J&K. They are also demanding that Vivek Agnihotri should now make a movie ‘The Jammu Files’ to appear clean. In the past, 'The Tashkent Files' was Agnihotri's another film which was also highly criticized. It would be the happiest moment for all when films help in bringing peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

BJP Sailed, Congress Failed

The results of assembly polls are out and in some respects, these results are also a reflection of the democratic system in India and its deeper roots after 75 years. The voter is getting stronger as more people vote these days to bring the desired outcome with their strong belief in the democratic system. However, different policies pursued by different parties combined with political strategies brought dramatic results for BJP, Congress, AAP and others. It’s an indicator of democracy when we see different parties with different agendas perform differently in all states. It appears there is no pan-India formula to convince voters as all states and regions have their own problems and different perceptions towards getting solutions to those problems. We have seen how this time BJP sailed, Congress failed and AAP floated in this big political fight which was also called the ‘semifinal’ of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Again with BJP coming back to power in four states, BJP has emerged stronger in all these key states. Entire opposition couldn’t match the pace of BJP’s march towards getting such a mandate. This kind of victory in Uttar Pradesh shows that ‘COVID criticism’ faced by BJP didn't impact the political plans of BJP. With CM Yogi returning to power, it will now further change the course of BJP politics and Yogi will emerge as another tallest leader in BJP after the backing of RSS. The bigger mandate in Uttarakhand is also a signal to growing BJP politics across the country. BJP’s better Goa performance says much about this party’s political strategy this election season. All plans have fallen in the right place as Manipur also stayed in BJP’s bag. Now the journey for BJP has become easy as they walk to face a big test again in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Some would agree that the results of 2022 have decided the results of 2024 for BJP.

In sharp contrast, the results have again left a big lesson for the Congress party. All leaders have failed to revive Congress fortunes.  Big setback has come for Congress in three states and only by humbly accepting people's mandate won’t help the party in near future also. After such a performance, Congress has not only lost polls but definitely the spirit of workers and leaders have also shattered across the country. The ‘high command’ culture in politics at times backfires because the ultimate decision is of the people and this got expressed with the situation Congress is right now in. This effectively means that the Congress party has failed to inspire the electorate in all the five states. After how many more defeats, accountability will be fixed in Congress? And when will new leadership come in front? Now Congress has been wiped off the UP map for almost three decades and continues to face defeats. The ‘party as family’ concept in Congress is being rejected by the voters and is a clear failure of Congress high command that isn’t ready to accept this sentiment till now.

Let’s look at AAP, founded in 2012, and it took them just 10 years to form a government in 2 places, Delhi and now Punjab. Punjabis have spoken in Punjab and the most powerful politicians were shown the door by the voters. The voter has shown its maturity and once again worked on secular philosophy in the entire region. Punjab people appear aware as they voted above sectarian and caste lines. With this all combined, AAP has started a national journey and can have good prospects now onwards in Haryana as well as Jammu–Kashmir. Jammuites need to learn from this exceptional change in Punjab and vote only for honest governance in near future when assembly polls are held here. With the power of the people at play, democracy triumphs and it should continue to happen.

Road To 2024

This month assembly polls are starting and in March 5 states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa will see formation of new governments. This big democratic exercise in 5 states is seen as a road to 2024 parliamentary polls. In a way, people will deliver mid-term verdict on the BJP government at the centre. This time all the five states have different election issues and that can also be seen in the strategies of all the parties and its leaders on the campaign trail. The issues concerning agriculture, crime and corruption, economy and various business and commerce related matters impacting the daily life of citizens are the topic in these elections. However, people in different states this time are made to focus on matters presented to them as per the political convenience of every party. This election season there is a high probability of many politicians being accused of exhibiting double standards after the results as many would switch sides in the name of post poll alliance.

The results from five states would test the charisma of BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The biggest challenge BJP faces is in UP where BJP formed the government in 2017 and later those results helped the party in victory in the parliamentary elections of 2019. The opinion polls this time show BJP is in a strong position in UP, Uttarakhand, and Manipur. All the parties fighting against BJP know that these elections are the biggest political gamble for their survival in the political arena. If BJP wins UP out of five states then it would be a major victory in terms of Lok Sabha seats for them in 2024. But if BJP wins four out of five states but loses UP it would be a major loss in terms of Lok Sabha seats. And if BJP loses three states and wins the election from UP and any one other state, it could still be capable of converting this victory for the 2024 Lok Sabha seats.

Though the results from UP are likely to determine the political strength of BJP but for Congress and emerging Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) overall results from five states are important. As far as UP is concerned the Congress hasn’t forged any major alliance and this may put it in a poor position in terms of seats. Failure on the part of Congress to perform in other four states will cast shadow on its political outlook in the country and the party may see a repeat of 2019 in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Along with it, the restlessness will increase in Congress cadre as we just witnessed last month RPN Singh abandoning the Congress ship. The other problem is that Congress will not be in a position to regroup opposition parties and opposition unity will further weaken. In these elections, the rise of AAP will also be measured in political terms as Arvind Kejriwal and team is making a hectic campaign to prove its growing significance in national politics.

There is a high possibility that the results from these states would cast shadow on the political scene in Jammu & Kashmir also. Infact as per reports, The J&K Delimitation Commission is likely to get a second extension of its term which may further delay any announcement of Assembly elections in the Union Territory. Political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir have to wait more because the possibility of the polls is only after the Delimitation Commission submits its report. That said, BJP which has high cadre strength in Jammu region will once again get time to motivate the public here on issues like peace, security, economy and an opportunity for equitable growth. Besides, this situation will strengthen BJP’s policy on Kashmir and the hate mongers in Kashmir will be left with no other option but to buy peace from the central government.

Third Wave Battle

The battle with the third wave of Covid has started. And this time we have to acknowledge that we are prepared a lot mentally in comparison to the past two years. But until we avoid the past errors the crisis and threat remains the same because the Omicron variant is highly transmissible and is causing infections even among vaccinated people. Moreover, people who have gotten infected previously are catching the infection again.  In the next few weeks, it is anticipated by the experts that we can have big infection numbers as transmission of this variant is very high. This wave has thrown a lot of new challenges for the healthcare professionals who by now are exhausted, frustrated and stressed. Adding to this is the surge of infections due to Omicron among the healthcare workers who now infact are fighting two Covid battles. 

Again avoiding close contact with people and following all the Covid guidelines is needed. Although the booster dose for a high risk group of people has started yet there are many around us who are still unvaccinated. They are the real threat and are infact in the danger zone. Many people have not taken a second dose after getting the first shot of the vaccine due to continuing mental inhibition. With Omicron spreading rapidly, it’s important that all such people are made to get themselves vaccinated. It’s even frustrating to see that there is complete lack of understanding among some people even after 2 years of this pandemic. With the third wave around us it is being said that individuals who are fully vaccinated (2 doses) will need not be rushed to hospitals and only treatment at home along with oxygen monitoring will be needed. By now it is clear that vaccines have a life saving role. So the fear for vaccination should end at the earliest in our society. Too much delay or too long wait for getting vaccinated can prove harmful.

This time doctors are also prepared as during the second wave there was a lot of confusion among them which forced them to go for extra investigation and medications. Prevailing conditions at that time made doctors go for over medications which are believed to have caused black fungus in many patients. Although the hospitals after the second wave have built their capacities vis a vis ICU beds and oxygen, the worry remains to treat children who might get affected this time.  Once again it will be a testing phase for our healthcare system. When the second wave ended, we hoped that this would be the last wave but little did we realize that we would lose our schedules again in a couple of months. Such new infection in the shape of Omicron has given the virus a chance to mutate and there is also possibility of a more virulent variant in the future. 

We should not forget the lessons from the last wave. Since most of us have some protection in the shape of vaccination or past infection but that won’t keep us safe for long. Even if treatment is available and is emerging, it doesn't mean it will benefit all people, especially those with more than 60 years of age, cancer, kidney disease, pulmonary issues, obesity and heart problems. And in the context of India, the number of such people is really high and falls in the highest risk zone. It is premature to say when these tides of Covid waves will end. Presently, the only way to save ourselves from facing catastrophic situations again in the weeks to come and handle the third wave is by curtailing the hunger to go out in markets, attend gatherings and political rallies.