Shujaat Ali Quadri)

Jammu and Kashmir will hold the first assembly polls in a decade, heralding that democracy is making a defiant return in the face of a renewed militant push. The state, now in a Union Territory avatar, is seeing the return of normalcy after reading down the Article 370 five years ago.

An elected government is an ultimate privilege of the people of India. No upheaval can snatch this right from them. Kashmiris have demonstrated their penchant for jamhooriyat (democracy) above everything. Soon they will stamp their will with the ink of a ballot.

Every election in J&K after partition of India has been significant. Elements employed by Pakistan directly or as its proxies tried to sabotage the elections. They tried to spill the blood and turning a peaceful Valley into a theater for a full-fledged terrorism. The violence has diminished, but it’s yet to be defeated.

As soon as it was clear that J&K would see election, a spate of terror strikes hit Jammu region in which many security personnel sacrificed their lives. The indomitable march to democracy is nevertheless unfazed and electioneering has gathered massive pace.

It is certain that Kashmiris will bypass any design to hamper their quest for rule by votes; Pakistani propaganda will die its own death, as we saw in all the elections that happened in the post- 370 period.

The fervour for polls has reached such a crescendo that Jamaat-e-Islami is fielding its candidates as independent ford elections which it once called ‘ haram’. Jamaat was the main constituent of the separatist Hurriyat Conference which had always used its grassroots base of mosques and madrasas to discourage people from participating in elec­tions, resulting in very low turnouts in its strongholds in Kashmir.

It is no secret that the Jamaat leaders received their instructions from across the border.

National Conference chief Omar Abdulllah has called out the duplicity of Jamaat as it kept people in the dark in the past. Abdullah, who was unwilling to contest the polls to focus on national role, is contesting from the Ganderbal constituency in Kashmir. His participation has invigorated the poll scene.

All the important parties in the state, including the two national parties — the Congress and the BJP — and the main regional parties - the National Conference (NC) and the PDP — are in the fray. Smaller parties such as former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party are also contesting. Many independents, including ex-militants and members of several banned organisations, have also enthusiastically filed their nominations. Nobody heard of boycott call this time.

Five years ago when the Article 370 was read down in August 2019, many had predicted doom for the hilly state. Today the resilience and penchant of people for democracy and normalcy has stunned everyone. In 2023, the number of tourists visiting the Union territory crossed 20 million and a substantial number of them were foreign visitors. The Jammu and Kashmir Bank, once a haven for loot and plunder for local politicians which had sunk in deep distress a decade ago, has bounced back and posted a profit of Rs 1,700 crore this year.

Around 60,000 youths were recruited to fill various positions in the UT in the last five years. Besides, Mission Youth, a flagship programme of the J&K administration has over five lakh beneficiaries while the schemes for self-employment helped over 7.5 lakh other youths.

There has hardly been any pro-Pakistan noise in recent years. In fact, once popular Pakistan-eulogising slogans have completely vanished. A survey of social media activities of the Kashmiri youths will suggest that now they make fun of “every day” affairs of Pakistani politicians and defeat of its cricket team.

There has been no case of stone-pelting and neither any hartal has been organised in the last five years. And to be honest, it is not just because the security forces have made them impossible, people have reoriented their priorities.

A recent survey conducted by a reputed agency C-Voter confirmed that J&K people, especially youths, are no longer interested in ideas of separatism or taking to arms against the state. As a result, the cases of terror have seen a five-fold reduction since 2019. It has only been for the last one month that Jammu has witnessed a spate of terror attacks.

The assembly election will be the most befitting surgical strikes on evil designs of Pakistan which continues to be the only malignant misguiding a modicum number of Kashmiri youths. Democracy will be the best revenge. People of J&K through sheer power of their votes will be real soldiers in this fight.

(The Author is the Chairman of MSO and Community Leader)