In Valley, eerie silence greets SC ruling to uphold Art 370 binning

The ongoing transformation is principally driven by the suppression of separatist politics, decline in militancy and the growth in tourism. The once-vaunted separatist conglomerate, Hurriyat Conference has become extinct. Many of the grouping’s top leaders continue to be in jail or are under house arrest. This has hobbled its capacity to organize any political activity.  But even if the separatist leaders were free – and some of them are free – the situation would hardly be different. The government has outlawed any sign of separatist activity in whatever form and disproportionately raised the costs for any leader or an activist to go out and champion the cause.  There have been other far-reaching administrative and legal changes right from the domicile laws to new land laws. As a result, J&K citizenship and the right to own a land have been thrown open to outsiders. The government has also overturned the Roshni Act whereby occupants of state land were allowed to own it against payment determined by the government.  Scores of other laws have been extended to the former state that is aiding the process of fundamentally altering the facts on the ground.  In the Kashmir Valley, the number of militants, according to an estimate, has dwindled to around 100. Ever since the withdrawal of Article 370, over 550 militants have been killed in the region, most of them local youth. But despite the reduction in the number of militants, violence has persisted, flaring up only now and then. Wherever do we go from here? The answer to this is complex. Though an uneasy peace has held in the Valley since August 2019, people are far from reconciling to the loss of autonomy as a fait accompli. They have been watching the unfolding state of affairs silently. The public protests have ceased, so have the incidents of stone pelting and hartals. But despite these outward manifestations of peace, the Valley is more alienated than ever. So what is the solution? Under the circumstances, the holding of polls should go a long way to engage and involve people in the new state of affairs spawned by the revocation of Article 370. But that is not happening. The central government has been showing reluctance to hold polls, lest all it has accomplished in the UT over the past four years might unravel. But given the prevailing situation in the Valley, it is about time that New Delhi confronts and overcomes this reluctance.