Last week, more than 95 per cent students took school board examinations without any trouble. Earlier this month, a delegation of sarpanches and panches (elected village panchayat members) from terrorism hit areas like Rajouri, Baramulla, Kupwara, Pulwama, Banihal, Ukhral, Poonch and Anantnag met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and urged him to extend the 73rd constitutional amendment to Kashmir. This particular amendment empowers local bodies to take up development works in their areas.

According to reports, the delegation told the Prime Minister that the 73rd amendment was being resisted by local and regional parties (read Hurryat Conference) to the detriment of villages and far- flung areas in the state. The delegation submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister complaining that central funds meant for local bodies village panchayats were being pocketed by vested interests.

While the Prime Minister gave them a patient hearing with an assurance that he would do everything to ensure that funds meant for village panchayats and local bodies reached the intended beneficiaries, it is time relevantministries and departments like Home, rural development, health etc put their acts together to help local bodies in the trouble torn state. It is through development that India can reach out and win the support of people. That a delegation of panchayat leaders ventured to meet the Prime Minister in Delhi should be enough hint to the Centre that the power and influence of obstructionists, including Hurryat and the militants, may be on the wane.

People of Kashmir have gone through difficult times for more than three decades ever since militancy raised its head in the late eighties leading to death of thousands of people. They are fed up of disturbances affecting their daily life and business. Experts say militancy has a maximum life of 20 to 25 years after which it must come down. Kashmir has so far defied this logic. But there are certain signals which are encouraging, like the meeting of village panchayat leaders with the PM as also realization of parents that the children must not loose their academic year by skipping examinations.

The people at the grassroots level are the correct barometer of the situation. They must be heard and their suggestions acted upon if change has to take place. It all started in Kashmir in the mid-eighties when local body elections as also assembly elections were rigged by the then vested interests in power. It led to non-cooperation, violence, militancy and finally alienation from the mainstream. The local bodies and the village panchayats played key role in pushing the alienation agenda of the Hurryat and others. The same local bodies and village panchayats can now reverse the process if correct steps are taken.

Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, he has little time to devote on Kashmir busy as he is on issues like demonetization and its impacts. There is nothing like a department of Kashmir affairs at the Centre. There is not even a Kashmir cell which always used to exist in the Home Ministry in the eighties, nineties etc. Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao had a Kashmir cell in the PMO. Even Atal Behari Vajpayee had created a think tank on Kashmir headed by his Pricipal Secretary. No such thing is known under Modi.

It is not to say that Prime Minister Modi has little concern about Kashmir. Indeed, he has done a lot of work on outreach. But he has no team earmarked for the purpose to constantly review and re-assess the situation and take timely steps. For example, now is the time to push the Centre’s inclusive agenda on Kashmir when local bodies are seeking on their own.

It is said that Prime Minister Modi takes his own decision away from any team work. Even his closest official and non-official advisors reportedly keep away unless they are asked. This is not a right situation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had constituted two dozen GoMs (Group of Ministers) at one stage on various issues. So did Rajiv Gandhi in his time. Modi is on the other extreme. He has none. But can he tackle everything on his own? It is a decision that he has to take himself. No doubt he has unmatched stamina, but he is on test every day. All mortals have limitations of nature, including Modi.(IPA Service)