“Removing a harmful thing from the pathway is charity”- Prophet Muhammad
International day of Charity is celebrated with an aim of enhancing and increasing social responsibility across the world. It is done in solidarity to bring everyone together in supporting charitable causes. Every year, fifth of September is celebrated as the international day of charity. Fifth September is aptly chosen for the same to commemorate the death anniversary of Mother Theresa and to honour her selfless life dedicated to charity. But when it comes to Kashmir the emphasis should not be on the charity Kashmir needs from the rest of the world for her sustenance but to the road she has to take to be self reliant and in turn be the giver rather than taker of charity. Kashmir is dependent on the rest of India for her daily sustenance.
In purely economic terms, the money required to maintain peace and tranquillity in the valley and ensuring a steady economic growth of the state and development is a huge burden on the tax payers of rest of the country. With positive changes in the security scenario in Kashmir and the valley slowly pacing towards normalcy it is time to consider holistic and self reliant (Atma Nirbhar) approach of development in Kashmir. The economic growth of the Jammu and Kashmir has been erratic in the past few years before the abrogation of Article 370, with GDP growth rate fluctuating between -3.2 to 17.7 percentage. All major sectors of the economy such as industry, banking, construction, manufacturing and agriculture had undergone this volatility.
The service sector with 56 percentage constitute most part of the economy. Industry is at 27.8 percentage and agriculture at 16. Even though tourism has a large potential in the Union Territory of J & K, it contributes only 6.98 percentage of the GDP. Tourism in J & K is not even amongst the top 10 destinations in the country on the basis of the tourist arrivals. J & K ’s per capita income is much lower than the national average, however the figures of human development index and poverty rate is much better than the national average. The state’s tax revenue is increasing in much desired rates compared to other states due to prevailing normalcy in the valley. Even though literacy rate is 67.16 percent, the Urban unemployment rate of the UT is 70 percent which is double the national average of 30 percent.
The main impediment towards development is challenges posed by terrorism. Even though less than two hundred terrorists are active in the valley, the tag of terrorist infested state still continues to haunt Kashmir. With most of the population now realising the betrayal in Pakistani propaganda and having lost interest in the cause of a 'made up' idea of Azadi, the road to development still has few stones unturned. Pakistan is trying hard to keep up with the lost cause and pump in money and foreign to disrupt peace in the valley. For us , a peaceful Kashmir would mean it is time for additional paramilitary forces and army to move out or perhaps be de-commissioned, which will save a fortune of the exchequer which in turn can be used for the development of the state. Tourism in J & K has a lot of potential, it also promotes other sectors like Handicraft and Cloth Manufacturing. However, only limited areas of Kashmir like Srinagar, Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pahalgam see majority of the tourist traffic. Other destinations like Uri, Gurez, Lolab valley, Bungus valley, Doda and Kalaroos caves etc are not popular amongst the tourists mainly due to unawareness and lack of infrastructure. More funds should be allocated to tourism department for development of infrastructure and promotion of tourism in these less known destinations. Kashmir can also plan to have famous celebrities as brand ambassadors to promote tourism in the region.
In order to become Atma-Nirbar, it is imperative for the state to produce more power than it consumes. UT of J & K has the potential of generating over 20,000 MW of hydro electricity. Bare minimum requirement for sustenance of the state is 1600 MW. The state is currently producing 1500 MW of which only 450 MW is generated by the state and the remaining by the Central Government. Inspite having abundant resources, the state has to spend over 2000 crores for purchasing power from outside which otherwise could have been utilised for the holistic development of Kashmir. UT of J & K need to plan for more hydro electric projects to be self reliant in power consumption. It is also a very common trend in Kashmir for people to not pay their electricity bills and have illegal electricity connections. The lack of revenues result in frequent power outages which is not a conducive environment for small scale industries to thrive. The authorities should collect the electricity tariffs as it will only contribute to betterment of the people.
Kashmir is an industrially backward state without a strong industrial base. However, many small and medium-scale industries have come up both in the traditional and new areas in the state. With the government’s support in the form of loans and incentives to set up industrial units, their number is steadily increasing. Mineral deposits available in the state are bauxite, limestone, sapphire, gypsum, coal and marble, most being located in border areas and in difficult terrain. Roadways are the only means of transportation since railways are not well developed in the state. Therefore it cannot compete with other states like Rajasthan due to high transportation cost. The fragile ecology of the state also inhibits the setting up of large industries based on minerals. In order to establish large/ medium s important to develop good connectivity through road as well as rail. Agriculture, horticulture, diary production and fisheries are other such sectors which possess a lot of potential in Kashmir. If scientific methods and latest techniques adopted for improvement in agriculture prevalent in other parts of the country, it will be a huge boost for self reliance in Kashmir.
It is time for Kashmir to stop hiding behind the veil of being a disturbed state. Terrorism in the valley is now limited to few isolated locations. The ray of hope has finally dawned upon Kashmir and it is the responsibility of each one of us to take the state to an era of self reliance, development and prosperity. This is only possible with a comprehensive plan of action and ruthless implementation the thought process. The state machinery should stop being dependent on the centre for every minor need and take the forefront in the aspects of Atma-Nirbhrata.
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