Elusive Statehood

Date

12/17/2024 3:19:19 PM

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
Representational Photo

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is once again meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah today to discuss the now contentious issue of the restoration of statehood -a promise made repeatedly by the Union government but yet to have a definitive timeline. Earlier Omar had met the prime minister Narendra Modi and the home minister soon after passing of the statehood resolution by his cabinet on October 18. Later, Omar told senior officials in a meeting that he had“had successful meetings” in Delhi and that he had received“assurances at the highest level that the commitments made to Jammu and Kashmir, particularly with regard to our governance model, will be honoured.”

Although the CM had mentioned this in the context of the warning to bureaucrats against exploiting the existing hybrid governance system, his remarks renewed debate about the prospect of early reinstatement of statehood. However, since then there has been little progress towards this goal. In fact, some of the renewed optimism about the return of statehood that followed the assumption of office by the elected government in October has evaporated. The hope seems to have further receded in the wake of the Maharashtra outcome which has put the BJP back in control at the national level. This, in turn, seems to have altered the party's priorities and distracted it from Kashmir.

Centre had abrogated Article 370 in August 2019, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and reorganizing the region into two Union Territories-Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Both PM Modi and the home minister Shah have already assured the restoration of statehood to J&K at an appropriate time. What, however, they have not given so far is a timeline. So, there is a section of people who believe that statehood might take longer than expected.
And if and when statehood is restored, it is expected to be more or less a truncated one just like that of Delhi. Considering the troubled state of affairs prevailing in the UT, Centre, it is believed, is unlikely to let go of control on the security agencies and the allied security related matters, lest it unravel the gains made in recent years. The recent rise in militancy-related violence is likely to further dissuade the central government from handing over complete control over the region to an elected government.
Should this happen, a future governor will continue to wield a strong say in the affairs of J&K.

But who knows, the central government might still surprise us, just like it did with Assembly elections. Statehood could very well be around the corner. And should the centre do so, it will certainly earn goodwill from the people of the union territory.

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