Until one-and-half-years-ago when the panchayats were not in place, there were only 87 people in Jammu and Kashmir holding Indian constitutional flag in their hands. These people were called MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly). But after the panchayats came into being, there are 35,000 people holding the national flag in their hands in each village and ward of the state. Of them, there are 4,125 sarpanches and about 29,000 panches. There is a lot of difference between the two elected groups leading democratic institutions in J&K.

The former group comprising 87 members called MLAs is doing no selfless service to the nation as the members of this group take part in the democratic process only for luxurious life after being elected to the assembly. They get at least one lakh salary per month each apart from other allowances given to them by the government. Not only this, they have luxurious government houses, vehicles to travel and security cover for their protection. The story does not stop here. The panches and sarpanches who are also legal elected leaders of the grass root democracy have nothing attractive to lure others towards institution. They are not being paid a single penny for using transport for official work. They are also not being paid for paper charges. What they get easily in J&K is the bullet from anti-national elements and kicks from the officials of the state government. I do not argue that why members of assembly were being paid for their work but my question is what is the fault of the other group called panches and sarpanches.

As I have already told that there were only 87 people in the state leading democratic institutions but under all protections and privileges. But now there are 33,000 people on the same job which can be described as a major achievement of democracy in the state. These 33,000 people are present in each corner of the state hold the flag in their hand despite threats to their lives from anti-national elements.

Three panchayat heads have been gunned down in the past one year and more than 900 have resigned for after being threatened by anti-national groups. However, despite this humiliation and insecurity to their own lives and family, rest of the people are still intact with the democratic institution. But unfortunately, the union and the state government seem unmoved and no step has been taken for the security and safety of these people. I want to make it clear to the nation should not take the killing of panch and sarpanch in J&K as killing of an individual.

In fact, this is the killing of a democratic institution. If looked back, for the establishment of this institution, the union government and Delhi based policy groups and  other civil society groups have burnt midnight oil in the past two decades and spent a huge amount of money on various projects to strengthen democracy in the state. But it is strange that an institution of 33,000 people is not given a single penny. They are being killed for their only fault of becoming part of the democratic system. But the so-called civil society groups are silent. Even the chief minister of the state is angry over the media for highlighting killings of sarpanches.

If the situation continues and these basic pillars of democracy are not protected, nobody would take part in any such process in future which would be the biggest setback for the state. If you want to see democracy flourishing, you will have to make the institutions attractive. However, in the present scenario, as the government has disgraced this institution by not delegating powers and respect to it, people who are part of the institution are sad.

If analyaed impartially, no doubt “Kashmir Issue” has its historical background which needs to be resolved accordingly, but almost apparently died issue flared up in 1987 when Delhi crushed democracy in the state during assembly elections and didn’t allow the people of the state to elect the representatives of their choice. It was the same NC-Congress alliance which openly rigged elections in 1987 and announced results in favour of their losing candidates. Those candidates who were forced to lose included present united Jahad Council chairman Mohammad Yousuf Shah alias Syed Slah-u-Din who later became militant commanders and are miles away from democracy.

The unanimous opinion in J&K is that the Kashmir issue flared up in 1987 when people witnessed the results of assembly elections against their wishes, vote and expectations. The people got fed up with the democratic system and decided not to participate in the process in following years. And same we witnessed. However, on his personal assurance of clean elections in the Vajpayee regime, a little majority again participated in 2002 and the credibility of democracy was restored somehow in the state.

In fact, the basic problem in the state is not external interference as projected. The external party did only the job of “fuel the fire” but the real fire was always lit by the internal forces particularly Delhi-made rulers of the state. In other words, the basic problem in the state is denial of democracy to its citizens.

It is very strange to understand that real democracy for which India makes tall claims across the globe was never seen in J&K. In other words, we can say that India has adopted another type of democracy in this state as prevails in a jail where inmates are given free food but not allowed to move outside the walls of jail. India has no problem whosoever comes in power in UP, Bihar, West Bangal and Orissa, Assam, but it is always careful about J&K and only puppets are encouraged here. The real problem of the state has always been that Delhi never practises its real democracy in this part of the country.

When the people of this state compare themselves with other states of the country a sense of discrimination emerges among them. And they feel that India has different democracy for them vis-a-vis other states of the country.

Let us take the example of J&K panchayats. In 2011, the people of the state took part in panchayat elections in majority with the hope that they would get local governance system like Kerala, Himachal and Rajasthan. But what they got was humiliation and bullets. A sarpanch of the panchayat has no authority to get a leaking water pipe repaired in his village. I don’t think anybody would like to be a part of this if panchayats in the state are not empowered on a par with other states of the country. Thus this will be the biggest setback to the democracy of India in J&K for which it had been burning midnight oil for the past two decades.