On 5 August 2019, when the BJP-led central government removed Article 370, people celebrated it. However, a big change has been seen in Jammu in the last five years. Many reasons can be held responsible for this. These include problems like rising unemployment, lack of jobs, lack of facilities and rising corruption. People say that the real issue here is corruption and unemployment.
Rajan Kaur, a Sikh woman here, says, “The mood of the people has changed a lot. Five years ago, people of Jammu felt that something very good was going to happen but now the reality has set in. People feel that their jobs and lands are being taken away from them. Now they are saying that we should go somewhere else from here.” She says, “People want jobs. Roti, Kapda, Makaan is still a big cause of concern for the common man. You cannot survive for long on emotional slogans.”
Special Police Officer Rukhsana Kausar came into the limelight 14 years ago after killing Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Abu Osama and forcing his associates to flee. She believes that backward and hilly areas have not received any major facilities after the removal of Article 370. She says, “Unemployment is still a problem. People in backward areas are still living in poverty. Terrorism, which we thought would never raise its head again, has returned to almost all the 10 districts of Jammu.” It is worth noting that the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir was 23.09% in March 2023 and by January 2024 it had come down to 18.3% but it is still much higher than the national average. In June 2024, the unemployment rate in India was 9.2%.
Jammu is overlooked
45-year-old Kashmiri Pandit Sumit Hakhu says that the removal of Article 370 was an attempt to eliminate separatists and terrorists in the region but Jammu has been ignored in the last five years. He said, “The entire focus remains on Kashmir. Now look at the situation in Jammu. Terrorists are in almost every district while Kashmir is almost peaceful. It seems that there is no plan for Jammu.” At the same time, 52-year-old banker Shrestha Sharma says that the common man in Jammu has been brought at par with the people of metro cities in terms of tax, but Jammu’s per capita income is very low compared to metro cities. He said that governance has gone online, smart electricity meters and property tax etc. have been introduced, revenue records have been digitized, but facilities remain poor. He said, “In the last five years, Jammu has become a hub of drug addicts.”
‘Where was BJP for 10 years’
Sardar Balwinder Singh targets the mining and liquor mafias and the growing corruption that has flourished in Jammu in the last five years. He said, “Today the BJP is promising to regularise more than 60,000 daily wage workers. Where were they for the last 10 years? Here a lecturer appointed for nine to ten months gets a salary of just Rs 28,000, while in Ladakh he gets Rs 57,000 per month.”
Many people believe that positive changes should come
However, many believe that there have been positive changes since 2019. Garu Bhatti, a youth leader of the Valmiki community, said, “The last five years have brought big changes for us. Our children are now going to school and those who had dropped out have resumed their studies. Around 20 girls from the community are studying law. This year, a youth has been appointed as a junior engineer in the Jammu Municipal Corporation.” Bhatti attributed the positive development to the repeal of 370 and the subsequent introduction of domicile certificates. Pritam Lal, a 65-year-old refugee from West Pakistan, also praised the BJP-led central government for bringing about a huge change in the socio-economic condition of WPRs. He said, “The BJP ended the discrimination we faced for the last 70 years. PM Modi ensured us fundamental rights. He gave us the right to vote in assembly elections. He announced ownership of lands in Jammu where we have been settled since 1947 after Partition.”