There is a sea change in Jammu and Kashmir
Omkar Dattatray
It is so good that the crown of India ,Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing sea change post abrogation of controversial article 370.Since the important constitutional decision taken by the government of India and the resolutions in this connection passed by the Indian Parliament on August 5&6 ,2019 and the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories ,there have been total and complete changes seen in J&K and this is a very positive development and it has added to the peace ,security and normalcy in the erstwhile state .As change is the law of nature and so Jammu and Kashmir is fast changing and is on the path of socio-economic development and this augurs well for the economy of the UT which has remained stationary due to the separatism and violence during past over three decades .However from 5th August 2019 Jammu and Kashmir is fast changing and there is now peace and normalcy in the UT.As many as 800 central laws have been applied to Jammu and Kashmir and the people here have been benefitted a lot and this is a big development and all the political parties should appreciate it and cooperate with the LG administration and the centre government in the peace and developmental efforts .There is total change in Jammu and Kashmir and its economy is benefitted and in fact has got a boost which has resulted into increase in the per capita income of the people and their standard of living has also increased and this is a very positive and encouraging development for the people of Jammu and Kashmir .The militancy ,insurgency and separatism is dying and this is a very favorable change and is in the interest of the people .Peace ,normalcy ,security and tranquility is fast returning in Jammu and Kashmir and all this is no mean development and in fact is of extra-ordinary development .Post abrogation of article 370 the violence ,mayhem ,killings are on vane and bands ,hartals and stone pelting are the things of past and Jammu and Kashmir is fast returning to peace and development and the credit for all this change ,normalcy and development goes to the annulling of article 370 and the sincere efforts of the GOI and the LG administration .Violence ,hartals and stone pelting is now a history and people of Jammu and Kashmir by and large are favoring peace ,normalcy and are in favor of development and they shun the path of destruction .There is discernable and significant change in the situation and ground realities of Jammu and Kashmir and people who basically are innocent and peace loving are in favor of normalcy ,peace and development and they appreciate the fact that peace is badly required and thus peace and normalcy is returning in J&K and the UT is transforming into a prosperous place and the Kashmir as the paradise of earth is now again becoming a reality .Thus it is obvious that due to the efforts and foresight of the Modi government and because of the efforts of the LG administration ,there has been much change in the overall situation of Jammu and Kashmir .Due to changed narrative and positive change there is much tourist footfall and rush in the recent years .The tourism industry and economy has picked up momentum and it is contributing considerably to the economic wellbeing of Jammu and Kashmir .There is unprecedented increase in the number of tourists including the pilgrim tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir and it is a welcome development and it leads to increase in the per –capita income of the people and thus increased tourist footfall is a major development of the economy of the union territory .These changes have greatly benefitted the people of Jammu and Kashmir .It follows that the common people of the J&K UT are the direct beneficiaries of the positive change ,transformation and economic development as well as of the centre schemes and programmes and this has become possible because of the peace ,security and normalcy .It is a admitted fact that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are the best supporters of the peace initiatives and it is again the common people of J&K who are far peace ,normalcy and development .The people of Jammu and Kashmir are peace loving and hospitable and they hate and thus abjure violence and are for peace and normalcy and again it is the gullible masses of the UT who are the force behind the changed narrative ,peace ,normalcy and above all development .It is the duty and responsibility of the government to give full support to the peace initiatives and help the people to achieve normalcy so that the social and economic development takes place and all this has become possible because of the unflinching support of the people who in real sense are the masters of their destiny .The whole world has come to know about total change and development in Jammu and Kashmir and they also come forward to invest in the economy of Jammu and Kashmir ,thus lead to the socio-economic development of the people .Due to the changed narrative ,today huge investments are attracted in Jammu and Kashmir as the big firms are coming and investing in the economy of the UT and it is a favor for the people of the UT. One has but to appreciate the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is fast returning to normalcy and it is because of peace that today the Jammu and Kashmir is the best tourist destination of the world and the tourists in large numbers come to visit the scenic tourist spots .In brief we can say that a sea change has taken place in Jammu and Kashmir and this points towards the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is today the place to invest and help in the economic development of the UT and it is the moral duty of the people to help the government in ushering peace ,normalcy and development .The total change in the ground situation is a positive and encouraging development for the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and both the centre government as well as the UT administration should provide its helping hand to the economy of the UT so that all round development should take place in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist)
