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.