RAKESH ANKIT M SHAMSUR RABB KHAN

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Pandit Ramchandra Kak : Tragic Tales of
The Forgotten Premier of Manisha Sobhrajani :
Terror vs. Terror Terror Hunt
Kashmir
P36 P4 P40

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a d
Ro To
R e c o v e r y
E T10
2 0
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nsible jo
se As an independent news monthly, Epilogue is moreover both an unbiased
ur
h year of

40th f
nalis

source of information and a meeting ground for diverse perspectives, serving

o
issue e scholars and analysts in J&K, in the broader subcontinent, and abroad.
m

sens MATTHEW A. ROSENSTEIN,

4t

Associate Director, Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS), University of Illinois, USA P3
 Who Writes the Complex Stories of
J&K Budget in Simplest Possible Form?

Epilogue, Of Course

---images ----
FEB 2007. Jan 2008.
Feb 2008. June 2009.
Sept 2009.

Our Budget Reports and Analysis Are Written By Top of the Line
Experts In A Manner That Even A Layman Enjoys Reading Them
1

Epilogue
because there is more to know

www.epilogue.in CONTENT
Letters 2
Editor
Zafar Iqbal Choudhary
Column
Publisher Terror vs. Terror 4
Manisha Sobhrajani
Yogesh Pandoh

Consulting Editor Ladakh Affairs

D. Suba Chandran HCHF in Service of 6
Himalayan Heritage
Dr. Sonam Wangchok
Associate Editors
Irm Amin Baig 90 Youths Trained for Enhancing 8
Tsewang Rigzin Cultural Skills
Legendary Scholar Kachen 8
General Manager Lobzang Zotpa remembered
Kartavya Pandoh Volume 4, Issue 4, April 2010 Samphel Reviews Tribal Development 9
Academy Discusses Cultural Issues 9
Art Editor with Councilors, Scholars
Keshav Sharma I N FOCUS
Budget 2010 Exclusive Series
Research Officer Pandit Ramchandra Kak : 36
10 Budget 2010-11
Raman Sharma The Forgotten Premier of Kashmir
The Road to Recovery
Epilogue Report Rakesh Ankit
Phones & email
Office : +91 191 2493136 11 Excerpts from Finance Minister's Fighting Terror
Editorial: +91 94191 80762 Budget Speech Tragic Tales of Terror Hunt 40
Administration: +91 94191 82518 M Shamsur Rabb Khan
subscriptions : +91 90188 87136 34 Opposition Reactions
editor@epilogue.in Building Peace
Budget is not About Reciting Couplets
subscription@epilogue.in Muzaffar Hussain Beigh,
Building Peace, 44
Former Finance Minister Countering Radicalisation
Discussion and Survey Report
Printed and Published by
Yogesh Pandoh for Epilogue 35 Opposition Reactions
NewsCraft from Ibadat House, Not Budget, It was
Madrasa Lane, Near Graveyard, Constitutional Filler
Tariq Hameed Karra
Bathindi Top, Jammu, J&K - 180012
Former Finance Minister
and Printed at : DEE DEE
Reprographix, 3 Aikta Ashram, New
Rehari Jammu (J&K)

Disputes, if any, subject to jurisdiction

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Letters 2
Readers Write

Think Before Criticising Others

Dear Editor,
Please refer to the Article Titled "Paying price for justice' written by Mr. M Shamsur Rabb Khan (Epilogue March 2010 issue)
where has painted a gory picture of Hindu discriminating (read atrocities) Muslims in general and with Muslims who are
accused of crimes etc.
Although it is glamorous to talk about M F Hussain but the same standard of empathy should also be applied to Ms.
Taslima Nasreen, Salman Rushdie and one who painted to comic pictures of the last Prophet of Muslims.
Sacrilegious words, pictures do not hurt Muslims only. They hurt Hindus also. Painting nude pictures of Mother Sita with
naked pictures of Hanuman who is like her son, also naked pictures of Mother Saraswati can be considered to be the creation
of a pervert mind.
At least Hussain was not physically attached like Taslima.
Also, Muslims lawyers of Kashmir too are equally guilty of misdemeanor when they categorically refused to defend
Rajneesh Sharma husband of Amina Yousuf.
So, please think before criticism criticizing another for smoking cigarettes when you yourself smoke marijuana is
hilarious.
ANADHI KRISHAN DAS,
Jammu

Cultural Academy Clarifies

Dear Editor
This is in response to the article 'Academy Urged to Preserve Ladakhi Culture, Heritage' (Epilogue, March 2010 issue). In
this connection certain points are required to be clarified and are elucidated below:
1. The Academy ipso facto has no role in formation of Central Committee. The Academy, however, recommends a panel
for consideration by the authorities which always includes a nominee from the Ladakh region also in Central
Committee or General Counci8l.
2. The Academy had taken up the issue of providing funds for opening of Institute of Music and Fine Arts at Leh with the
Finance Department. The Finance Department had asked to take up the issue with the Ladakh Hill Development
Council, Leh for providing Funds. The LAHDC had conveyed regrets to the Academy in this regard. This has again
been brought to the notice of the Finance Department. It is further added that the Institutes of Fine Arts working
hitherto under the auspices of the Academy are under the process of transfer to the respective Universities of
Kashmir and Jammu.
3. As for creation of post of Additional Secy., it is cleared that the divisional offices of the Academy at Srinagar and
Jammu are headed by the officers of the rank of Additional Secretary while as the sub office at district level like the
one at Leh are headed by the cultural officer of the rank of Deputy Secretary which is a natural corollary of
administrative hierarchy.
4. There is a well laid down rule that the qualification for Research Assistants is MA in respective language and where
there is no MA in the respective language, the qualification of MA will do like in respect of Pahari nd Gojri. For
Ladakhi the qualification continues to be MA in Ladakhi.
5. The film festival/competition is a newly launched scheme introduced in 2009 only. The scheme is open to all
filmkaers/films made in J&K in any of the languages including Ladakhi8. The procedure for competition is that the
entries are invited by the Acadmy and any filmkaer can apply including Ladakhi. Last time no entry was received
from the Ladakh region.
6. The post of Editor, Ladakhi held by Sh. Nawang Tsering (Retired Now) was also upgraded to the level of Chief Editor.
7. The post of Drama Instructor for Leh is being advertised for direct recruitment.
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages
Jammu

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

3 Letters
Readers Write

Epilogue Represents
Jefferson's Statement
on Press

T
homas Jefferson, one of
America's founding fathers and
early presidents, once wrote, “The
only security of all is in a free press.
The force of public opinion cannot
MATTHEW A. ROSENSTEIN be resisted when permitted freely to
be expressed.”

Now celebrating three years

(and counting) of publication,
Epilogue represents in the context of
Jammu and Kashmir the spirit of
those concepts embodied in
Jefferson's statement. The magazine
offers an important venue to give
voice to the citizens of
J&K—certainly the challenges and
problems they face, but also their
aspirations and earnest efforts to
bring security and prosperity to the
region. It is the citizens who should
have, as the magazine's name
reflects, the “last word” on matters
meaningful to J&K.

As an independent news
monthly, Epilogue is moreover both
an unbiased source of information
and a meeting ground for diverse
perspectives, serving scholars and
analysts in J&K, in the broader
subcontinent, and abroad.

I offer my congratulations to Mr.

Choudhary and his staff for their
vision and labor to make Epilogue
possible, and encouragement to
continue bringing the force of public
opinion to a growing readership.

MATTHEW A. ROSENSTEIN,
Associate Director, Program in Arms
Control, Disarmament, and
International Security (ACDIS),
University of Illinois, USA

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

column 4
Indo-Pak Dialogue

Terror vs. Terror

MANISHA SOBHRAJANI

India and Pakistan held Foreign Secretary level talks on February 25, 2010, in New Delhi. The two
countries started off by haggling over whether this was the resumption of the composite dialogue or
whether these talks need to be given a new 'name'.

W
hile looking at the Kashmir
c o n f l i c t a n d I n d o - Pa k
relations, one must not ignore
the several issues related to Kashmir on
which early agreements would not just
bring interim peace, but ease the highly
volatile conditions under which Kashmir
is talked about at the policy level. Some
of these issues are: Siachen, Sir Creek,
Wullar Barrage, and Baghlihar. India, as
the larger party, should take the lead in
'finding solutions'. Once these issues are
settled, there is a lot that can be done
towards the so-called 'final solution' to
the Kashmir dispute.
In negotiations, as Henry Kissinger
advises, one must never force the other
side into a corner. One must always give
it an honorable way out.
Kashmir is a highly inflammatory
issue not just in India, but in Pakistan's
domestic politics as well, and no leader
-- military or civilian -- can afford to be
seen as being half-hearted about it.
India, as the so-called status quo power,
should not give the impression that it is
sitting pretty in Kashmir and need not
oblige anyone. In fact, a solution of the
problem would benefit India as much as
anyone.
In Siachen, also known as the
world's highest battleground, the Indian
army controls all of the 70 km long
Siachen Glacier as well as all of its
tributary glaciers as well as the three
main passes of the Saltoro Ridge
immediately west of the glacier, Sia La,
Bilafond La, and Gyong La, thus holding
onto the tactical advantage of high
ground. The Pakistani Army controls the
glacial valley just five kilometers
southwest of Gyong La. The line where
Indian and Pakistani troops are
presently holding onto their respective

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

 5 column
Kashmir is a highly inflammatory issue
not just in India, but in Pakistan's
domestic politics as well, and no leader
-- military or civilian -- can afford to
be seen as being half-hearted about it.
India, as the so-called status quo
power, should not give the impression
that it is sitting pretty in Kashmir and
need not oblige anyone. In fact, a
solution of the problem would benefit
India as much as anyone.
posts is being increasingly referred to as
the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL).
Demilitarization of the Siachen glacier
has been over-discussed, and long
pending.
The long-standing dispute over Sir
Creek hinges in the actual
demarcation from the mouth of Sir
Creek to the top of Sir Creek, a 96 km
strip of water disputed between India
and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch
marshlands. Since neither India nor
Pakistan has conceded ground, India
has proposed that the maritime
boundary could be demarcated first.
However, Pakistan has refused the
proposal on the grounds that the
dispute should be resolved first.
The Wullar Barrage dispute
started in the year 1985 with the
construction of a dam on River Jehlum
by India. The construction was stopped
in 1987 due to protests by Pakistan as it
maintains it is in violation of the Indus
Water Treaty of 1960. India, in turn,
reiterates its position that the
construction is necessary for fulfilling
the energy needs of the Kashmiri
people.
The Baghlihar river power project
on the Chenab River was conceived in
1992, approved in 1996 and
www.epilogue.in
construction began in 1999. Soon
after, Pakistan claimed some design
parameters of Baghlihar project
violated the Indus Water Treaty of
1 9 6 0 . Wo r l d B a n k m e d i a t i o n
acknowledged India's right to
construct 'gated spillways' under the
Indus Water Treaty of 1960. Though
both parties (India and Pakistan) have
already agreed that they will abide by
the final verdict of the World Bank
report, Pakistan continues to be
disturbed about it.
Coming back to Kashmir, the voice
of the Kashmiri people is not
unanimous: it does not even approach
a consensus. There is a perceptible
groundswell in favour of
independence, but Kashmiris are
aware of the difficulties in the way.
Most Kashmiri leaders now concede
that the interests of neither India nor
Pakistan can be ignored and these
interests do not allow for an
independent state, which could
become a hotbed of international
rivalry and intrigue.
At the same time, there are
certain matters on which a broad
consensus is discernible. All Kashmiris
place primary emphasis on personal
security and want an end to
bloodshed. All Kashmiris want to be
free to travel anywhere in the
erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir
without hindrance. All Kashmiris want
more autonomy so that they can run
their own affairs. All Kashmiris would
like to see cooperation between the
two parts of the state in fields like
tourism, forest management, water
and power, and the environment. Most
Kashmiris welcome improvement in
I n d o - Pa k r e l a t i o n s . T h e e a r l y
resolution of Siachen, Sir Creek,
Wullar Barrage and Baghlihar is likely
to ensure all of this.
Vol. 4, Issue 4
Indo-Pak Dialogue
However, all the three parties –-
India, Pakistan and Kashmir -- will
have to show flexibility. India, without
conceding territory and without
compromising its secular credentials
can show the way by diluting its
military presence in Kashmir. Pakistan
can gain much by the disappearance on
the ground of a dividing line without
insisting that the legal status of that
line be changed. The people of
Kashmir should welcome any move
that relieves their sufferings even
without any change in the de jure
situation.
The voice of the Kashmiri people is not
unanimous: it does not even approach
a consensus. There is a perceptible
groundswell in favour of independence,
but Kashmiris are aware of the
difficulties in the way. Most Kashmiri
leaders now concede that the interests
of neither India nor Pakistan can be
ignored and these interests do not
allow for an independent state, which
could become a hotbed of international
rivalry and intrigue. At the same time,
there are certain matters on which a
broad consensus is discernible. All
Kashmiris place primary emphasis on
personal security and want an end to
bloodshed. All Kashmiris want to be
free to travel anywhere in the
erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir
without hindrance. All Kashmiris want
more autonomy so that they can run
their own affairs. All Kashmiris would
like to see cooperation between the
two parts of the state in fields like
tourism, forest management, water
and power, and the environment. Most
Kashmiris welcome improvement in
Indo-Pak relations
Epilogue, April 2010
LADAKH affairs 6

HCHF in Service of
Himalayan Heritage
DR. SONAM WANGCHOK

P eople from different parts of the

globe have been overwhelmed
with the greatest historical monu-
ments or architectural masterpieces,
unique culture, magnificent and eye-
catching landscapes of the Himalayas.
The region has sustained over the cen-
turies a vivacious and rich cultural heri-
tage which is evident in almost all
aspects of Ladakhi life. The villages
across the Himalaya are adorned with
larger heritage like monasteries,
mosques, forts, palaces, lhatos, mane
walls, historic houses as well as other
heritage such as sacred trees, water bod-
ies, mountains etc.
In addition the region is full of mys-
tic traditions and beliefs. Since ancient
time wise men and women shared their
knowledge with the people who seek for disappearing in the region. Over the Ladakh and make reuse of their knowl-
healings and advices. This institution past several decades even, many edge. More publications on art and cul-
includes Lha-pa and Lha-mo (oracles), monastic arts and crafts which have ture would be pivotal in disseminating
Lha-rje (local physicians), and dbon-po served as the critical focus for rituals this information to a wider audience
(Astrologers). These wise men and and prayers have almost completely and help in generating awareness, espe-
women are always consulted for health, died out from within the monasteries. cially among the younger generation on
sicknesses, healing, offering rituals and It is obvious that many of built heritages the need to safeguard our rich heritage.
foretelling. These helpful institutions are being destroyed in several villages There are several Government
are an important part of the Himalayan in name of development and modern- organizations working in this direction.
culture for centuries. “The land of rich ization. Even the remaining ones are The Central Institute of Buddhist
cultural heritage” was a graceful epi- seen in advance state of decay due to Studies is one of the best examples of
thet conferred to the region by the out- lack of maintenance and time factors. formal training in art and crafts skills in
siders. All of a sudden, contemplation in Today, it has become essential to the region. Himalayan Cultural Heritage
retrospection started to happen in our draw attention of the local people to Foundation (HCHF) is a community-
society in fear of losing this graceful epi- the need to generate awareness on the based, non-government organization,
thet. importance of preserving all aspects of devoted to promote and conserve
The knowledge based on myths, our culture before they were lost for- Himalayan indigenous, natural and his-
beliefs, rituals and legends associated ever. We need to find as many resource toric heritage by working directly with
with built and natural heritages are fast persons as possible from the villages of

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

7 LADAKH affairs

the different mountainous communities

and strengthening and supporting com-
munity based institutions. HCHF was
formed by a group of local scholars and
social workers, headed by venerable
Geshe Konchok Wangdu to promote and
preserve the Himalayan living history.
HCHF places great stress on trainings
and workshops that ensure more practi-
cal and beneficial outcomes both in
terms of learning and preserving the cul-
tural heritage. The foundation will sup-
port the village communities to source
funding, provide technical expertise
and identify resource persons for the
conservation works. Local people are
showing increasing interest in their rich
cultural legacy and are committed to
protect and preserve it. Recognizing
their paramount role in safeguarding
the common cultural legacy of
Himalayan region, HCHF organizes the present generation disregards Nubra valley, a book written by a local
training workshops to assist the village them. The workshop provided stage for astrologer on sacred landscape of Nubra
communities in this direction to revive singers, dancers, musicians and people valley and the news letter of the foun-
and promote endangered tangible and who are interested in preserving and dation in which students and local vil-
intangible cultural heritage. It also orga- promoting traditional songs and music. lagers will be predominantly encour-
nizes public and youth education, More than 30 historical songs were aged to write on different aspect of rich
awareness-building, participatory work- recorded and 12 trainees from different cultural heritage of Himalayas. In order
shops, seminars and training courses. villages were trained in playing tradi- to share this rich culture with the for-
One such example was the training tional musical instruments (Daman and eign guests and Ladakhi students study-
workshop initiated by HCHF in collabo- Surna). ing outside Ladakh, HCHF will be con-
ration with Safeguarding Cultural Another very important training ducting weekly talk on cultural heritage
Resources (SACRE) and Yarma Gonbo workshop to revive monastic art and from 18th April to end of September this
Society to revive and record traditional crafts was conducted last year by HCHF year. The lectures will be conducted in
music and songs in the Nubra valley was in collaboration with SACRE and the precinct of the historical building of
organized during last summer. Musical Chemdey Gonpa. During this two Lonpo house in the heart of Leh town
instruments are still preserved in most experts from Bhutan and Darjeeling where scholars both from Ladakh and
of the villages but there is no one to play trained about 20 young monks to make outside Ladakh will give presentations.
them during ceremonial occasions. butter sculptures and to draw more We believe this will not only benefit the
There are several folk songs associated than 25 different types of sand manda- tourists but also help Ladakhi students
with Nubra valley, describing the signifi- las which have almost completely diet and young scholars to learn more about
cance of sacred landscapes, monaster- out from within the monastery over the the cultural legacy of Himalayas.
ies, castles, kings and important per- past several decades. The author is the secretary of
sonalities in the history of the valley. HCHF is planning such more train- Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation
The folk songs confer information on ing workshops this year in collaboration (HCHF) and the Ladakh Liaison Officer
history, culture, religious services, with village communities. The founda- for International Association for Ladakh
trade and society. Unfortunately these tion is also coming up with series of pub- Studies (IALS). He can be reached at
beautiful songs are slowly dying out as lications which includes heritage map of sonam_sakya@yahoo.com

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

LADAKH affairs
90 Youths Trained
for Enhancing
Cultural Skills
A T
Week long training program
in skill development of sing-
ing folk songs, playing tradi-
tional music, dancing, acting,
anchoring and Interviewing ended
March 10 at SECMOL Complex Phey.
As many as 90 trainees from all over
Ladakh including few from Kargil
district participated in the training
program. The training program was
organized by the Ladakh Young
Buddhist Association in collabora-
tion with Ladakh Autonomous Hill
Development Council, Leh.
On the occasion of valedictory
function, the Executive Councilor,
Art and Culture Mr. Tsering
Wangchuk was the chief guest while
as the President of Ladakh Buddhist
Association, Mr. Lobzang Rinchen
was the guest of honor.
Speaking at the function, Mr.
Wangchuk said that Ladakh is
known for richness in its traditions
and culture, and as such, it is the
high time to take such measures to
preserve and promote our heri-
tages. He said that Ladakh has vast
potential for promotion of tourism
industry and maintenance of cul-
tural principles and its values
becoming much and much impor-
tant to protect our deep rooted cul-
ture as well for the economic bene-
fits to the people of Ladakh through
tourism.
He appreciated the commit-
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m e n t s o f Yo u n g B u d d h i s t
Association for selflessly working
for promotion of Ladakhi culture
and making lot of un-employed
youth skilled for self employment
through knowledge and culture. Mr.
Wangchuk assured that LAHDC will
further extend all possible coopera-
tion and assistance for holding such
training program in future also.
The President, LBA, Mr.
Lobzang Rinchen underlined that
Ladakh Young Buddhist Association
has been contributing a lot for the
over all welfare of the Ladakhi soci-
ety with special emphasis on pres-
ervation and promotion of Ladakh's
culture heritage. He appreciated
the devotion of the workers of
Young Buddhist Association for work-
ing sincerely for a common cause of
the society.
Earlier, the Vice President,
Young Buddhist Association Mr.
Otsal Wangdus in his welcome
address threw a light on the activi-
ties of the Association and sought
cooperation from LAHDC and all
walks of the society to carry for-
ward such programs. He said that
the main aim of holding this week
long cultural training program was
to prepare and train un-employed
youth in various fields of skill so as
to ensure their livelihood through
acting, singing, music and anchor-
ing.
Vol. 4, Issue 4
8
Legendary
Scholar Kachen
Lobzang Zotpa
remembered
he J&K Cultural Academy Leh in collab-
oration with Thiksay Monastery cele-
brated 88th birth anniversary of late
Kachen Lobzang Zotpa, one of Ladakh's leg-
endary scholars, on March 12 at Thiksay mon-
astery.
The President, Ladakh Gonpa Association, Ven
Tokdan Rinpochey was the chief guest on the
occasion. Ven. Tokdan Rinpochey in his
address said that celebration of such occasion
and highlighting the contributions of eminent
teachers and scholars in preservation and pro-
motion of cultural values is a true tribute to
them. He urged that the religious poems and
literary works of Kachen Lobzang Zotpa should
be brought into publication and disseminate
among the society in order to know their con-
tribution. Rinpochey has announced to pro-
vide Rs: 25,000 from the Gonpa Association as
a bit of assistance to publish Kachen Zotpa's
works.
The Executive Councilor, Agriculture, LAHDC,
Leh, Mr. Tsewang Tondup extended apprecia-
tion to the Cultural Academy Leh headed by
Cultural Officer, Mr. Tsewang Paljor for cele-
brating this day in honor of a great scholar.
Referring to an important resolution which
was passed in the recent general council of
LAHDC regarding preservation and promotion
of culture and heritages of this region, Mr.
Tsewang Tondup said that LAHDC would
extend all possible assistance at every level to
promote the cultural identity of this region by
strengthening the Cultural Academy Leh. He
strongly urged that the LBA, Ladakh Gonpa
Association, LAHDC, scholars, intellectuals,
monks and monasteries of Ladakh should
Epilogue, April 2010
 9 LADAKH affairs
jointly struggle for recogni-
tion of Bhoti language in
the Constitution of India so
that the identity of the peo-
ple of Ladakh is well pro-
tected.
The President, LBA, Mr.
Lobzang Rinchen,
Councilor Thiksay, Mr.
Tondup Spalzang, Gay
Thupstan Paldan Saboo, Dr.
Jamyang Gyalson, Dr.
Lobzang Tsewang also
spoke on the occasion and
highlighted the life and con-
tributions of Kachen Zotpa.
Welcoming the guests and
the audience, the Cultural
Officer Leh Mr. Tsewang
Pa l jor sa i d th a t th e
Academy has been cele-
brating the birth anniversa-
ries of three eminent schol-
ars of Ladakh i.e. Kachen
Lobzang Zotpa, Kachen
Ishey Tondup and Tashi
Phuntsog Zomde under the
approval of the govern-
ment for the last three
years. He said that
Academy is making all
effort to bring out publica-
tions and literatures on the
life and achievements of
great scholars of Ladakh
besides highlighting other
important matters of art,
culture and language of
this region.
On this occasion a Novel in
Ladakhi language titled “
Ye-Phes “ written by
renowned Novelist
Tsewang Tondan Alchi
Lonpo was released by the
President of Ladakh Gonpa
Association, Ven Tokdan
Rinpochey.
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Samphel Reviews
Tribal Development
M
ember of the National Commission for STs and SCs Mr. Tsering Samphel on March 10 in a
meeting in Leh with Sectoral officers discussed and reviewed the implementation and
progress under Tribal Sub Plan and other issues relating to Tribal Affairs.
Mr. Samphel in view of making a systematic procedure to ensure scholarship to all
deserving students of Ladakh who studying our side Ladakh, sought a proposal that would
facilitate the students in getting direct scholarship through the LAHDC in Leh itself. He urged
for having on-line information and application facility for scholarship so that all needy and
deserving students would get scholarship without difficulty. He said that more than 200 cases of
scholarship of Ladakhi students have been found rejected from Kashmir last year. Mr. Samphel
further said that ST and SC Commission will do their best to get good flow of funding for Ladakh
under tribal schemes and as such he sought good proposals and projects covering genuine
demands of the region.
Briefing the scenario of Tribal Sub Plan, the Deputy Commissioner, Leh Mr. AK Sahu said
that Rs: 15.00 lacs have been received to Leh during 2007-08 and thereafter no any fund has
received. Mr. Sahu said that land for construction of hostel building for the ST students of
Ladakh at Delhi and Jammu are available. He sought Commission's help to ensure funding for
construction of these hostels at Delhi and Jammu. The Deputy Commissioner further apprised
him that a Career Counseling center is being set up at Degree College Leh to aware the students
about their future strategies. Besides an Employment Mela is also proposed to hold very soon in
Leh to educate the students about the potential of jobs.
Academy Discusses Cultural
Issues with Councilors, Scholars
T
he Cultural Academy Leh organized an interactive meeting between the Councilors of
LAHDC, Leh and the Scholars and intellectuals of Ladakh on March 13 at Academy
Complex. The main aim of this meet was to have open deliberations on various aspects of
present scenario of the culture and to find out ways and means to keep the distinct cultural
identity of Ladakh well intact.
The Cultural Officer Leh Mr. Tsewang Paljor has given a power point presentation
highlighting each and every important features of art, culture and language of this region and
how much important to preserve these values for the coming generation. Through the
presentation, it was also highlighted that how the cultural part of Ladakh remained unattended
through the years which resulted great threat of extinction for some important components
like folk songs and arts. The power point presentation also suggests various promotional
measures of cultural values of Ladakh.
The scholars of Ladakh welcomed for passing of a resolution in the recent General Council
Meeting which was aimed to give special attention for the preservation and promotion of
cultural heritage of Ladakh. At the same time, they demanded the Hill Council to materialize
the resolution into a regular policy of LAHDC so that the cultural aspiration of the people of
Ladakh is fulfilled.
The Councilors assured that LAHDC would extend every possible assistance in this matter
and they urged that the scholars, intellectuals, artists and poets of Ladakh should contribute
their best to promote the cultural values.
Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010
in focus
Budget 2010
BUDGET 2010-11
The Road to Recovery
Epilogue Report
I
n an election year the lack of sops
in budgetary proposals sounds
typically un-populist for any ruling
regime but the National
Conference-Congress coalition
seems to have taken that risk as Finance
Minister Abdul Rahim Rather's budget
speech on March 12 reflected an
approach at skirting the short term
concessions to focus at long term
overhauls in state's economy.
In view of upcoming elections to
urban civic bodies and panchayats in the
state, the Budget 2010-11 was expected
to be a slew of sops but the government,
instead, came up with a focused
approach to do some structural
overhaul in key areas like primary
sector and power production. While
hike in the toll tax has come in for
severe criticism as it is bound to
escalate prices of essentials, the
humane side of the budget –a corpus
fund for cancer patients –has been
widely hailed.
Even has the Capital Expenditure
has been pegged up higher much to the
surprise of economists, the stupendous
rise in revenue expenditure remains a
cause of worry. In Rs 25984 Crore
Budget, a whooping sum of Rs 17698
Crore goes to the revenue expenditure,
including security related expenses,
leaving only Rs 8286 Crore as capital
expenditure. Digging into the capital
expenditure it comes out that Rs 3000
Crore is proposed to be mobilized from
the tax revenue and around Rs 800 Crore
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from the non-tax revenue thus leaving
nearly Rs 4500 Crore hope on the central
grants.
Leader of opposition Bhartiya
Janta Party Prof Chaman Lal Gupta
pointed out that Budget reflects huge
dependence in the central grants and
there are no proposals at generating
own resources. In trademark
observation of his party, Gupta said,
“over 75 percent receipts of collections
are from Jammu region but on
expenditure side share of Jammu is
awfully little”. His allegation is,
however, least substantiated by the
budget documents.
The trade and industry sector
seemed quite happy over the budget
proposals as measures have been
suggested for creating an enhanced
industrial atmosphere. “This year's
budget is hugely encouraging for the
industry”, says Annil Suri, representing
Bari Brahmna Industrial Estate, one of
the largest industrial growth centers in
the state. He said, the continuation of
VAT remission and few concessions in
some new areas will largely help the
industries grow even as major demand
of rationalization of VAT regime has
been left unaddressed. The reasons not
touching the VAT regime, as Finance
Minister also indicated this morning, is
apparently to wait for a countrywide
new taxation regime which is coming up
next fiscal.
“A look at the figures makes it an
unexpectedly great budget but it will
Vol. 4, Issue 4
10
have to be seen how this mechanism has
been arrived at”, says Dipankar
Sengupta, a professor of Economics at
the University of Jammu. What makes
Sengupta to doubt figures is certain
positive aspects in Budget like
significant hike in capital expenditure
which was not expected in the present
economic scenario.
The key focus area of the budget
2010-11 is seen as organized attention
to the primary sectors of economy
(agriculture, horticulture and allied
sectors) and power generation. This
focus is driven from the fact that
contribution of the primary sector to
the Gross State Domestic Product is
drastically declining with this year's
figures reaching as low as 24.60 per
cent. Nearly two and half decades back
the primary sector contributed to 47 per
cent of the GSDP and this alarming
decline is a worrying factor.
In the strict terms of economic
management, normally sector which is
least contributing to the GSDP is not
taken up for support at the cost of well
performing sectors but this year's
budget has made agriculture and allied
areas a priority sector. To boost growth
VAT has been completely waived off on
the agriculture inputs like seeds,
fertilizers, tools and tractors etc even
as incentives have been proposed
intensive cropping. Irrigation
department has also got an increased
allocation with a view to boost primary
sector.
Epilogue, April 2010
11 in focus
Budget 2010

Former Finance Minister Tariq Hameed Karra says he is not

impressed with measures proposed for agricultural growth. Excerpts from
“Put together all concessions do not go beyond Rs 10 Crore
which is nothing but peanuts for agriculture sector in a state
like Jammu and Kashmir”, Karra told Rising Kashmir while
Finance Minister's
reacting to the budget proposals. He described the overall
budget as “uninspiring, figurative to create confusion and
Budget Speech
constitutional filler”. They are presenting budget in March and
still there is no idea of what was coming from Delhi, said Karra
and recalled “I had presented my last budget in January and
there were details of every penny”.
Shakil Qalandar, representative of the Kashmir Federation
of Industries, says Budget 2010-11 is a brilliant roadmap
towards enhanced economic growth and fiscal discipline. He
said, “this is one Budget in many years which has completely
refused to speak in the language of politics…instead, the
budget aims to address key issues of economic growth”.
Qalandar sees as the Budget as a foundation for long term
growth trajectory and suggests that continuation of such
approach for next four years can put Jammu and Kashmir on a
sound economic model.
“Hike in toll by Rs 10 per quintal is going to increase prices
of essentials but apparently there was no other way out in
mobilizing resources”, says YV Sharma, President of Jammu
Chamber of Commerce and Industries. Impressed by the
Budget proposals, Sharma said, “Finance Minister has left very
little for the trade and industry sector to complain about”.
The budget lays thrust on improving agriculture and allied
sectors with toll tax and VAT exemption extended to
agriculture appliances, fertilizers, fodder etc. The aim is to
increase the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) share of
agriculture from 25% to its erstwhile level of 47% in eighties. ECONOMIC SCENARIO:
A step forward for Women empowerment in the State, the The preliminary estimates given in the Economic
special feature of the budget is a rebate of 25% in stamp duty in Survey place the State GSDP for the current financial year
matters of sale and transfer of landed property when in the at Rs.38,298 crore in comparison to last year's figure of
name of a female member of any family. Rs.34,805 crore indicating a growth rate of 10.03%. At
Rather also said that from the next financial year a constant prices, the GSDP works out to Rs.26,153 crore.
uniform tax regime, Goods & Services Tax, would be introduced This indicates a growth rate of 6.87% which is higher than
throughout the country and for the 2010 year he proposed the growth rate registered last year.
exemption of VAT and Toll tax on Industry and Tourism. He said a The per capita gross income works out to Rs.33,285 at
new trade policy is on the anvil favouring more investment and current prices and Rs.22,730 at constant prices. The last
trade activity. year's per capita income figure at current prices was
The Minister said the Centre has agreed to restore five Rs.30,665. Thus the per capita income has registered a
telephone links across LoC for making the trade transactions growth of 8.54%.
smoother and simpler. He said the State Government is A notable feature of these figures is that while the
requesting the Centre for making the trade easier and basic national GDP growth rate is being estimated at around 7.5%
infrastructure in this regard is being developed. He said the for the current fiscal – down from the last 5 years average
quantum of trade across LoC is also increasing. of 8%, there is considerable improvement in current year's

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

in focus
Budget 2010
GSDP growth rate in our case. This is
despite the fact that our exports have
suffered for the second year in
succession due to global economic
meltdown and also that the agricultural
production has been hit by inadequate
rainfall during the last kharief and by
delayed rains during the current rabi
season.
As per preliminary estimates, the
primary sector has contributed 24.60%
to our GSDP. Secondary sector has
contributed 29.60% and the share of the
tertiary sector has been 45.80%. As will
be seen, the contribution of the primary
sector comprising of agricultural and
allied activities has slipped down from
25.82% registered last year. The
secondary sector comprising of industry
and manufacturing activities has
improved from the last year's figure of
28.29%. There is a marginal lowering of
contribution from the tertiary sector
comprising of services from its last
year's share of 45.89%. I may point out
here that during the last 20 years
counted from 1980-81, the share of
primary sector has come down from the
level of 47.40%. The secondary sector
has substantially gained from 12.90%
and the tertiary sector improved from
39.70%. While the shares of the
secondary and tertiary sectors have
improved because of growing number of
manufacturing and service units, there
is stagnancy in primary sector. This
stagnancy calls for our fullest attention
for possible interventions and
corrections.
THIRTEENTH FINANCE COMMISSION
AWARD:
The Finance Commission
appreciated our memorandum as one of
the most comprehensive documents
touching upon all the relevant issues
and its Terms of Reference. During its
visit to our State, the Commission held
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very detailed discussions with the
Council of Ministers and various other
stake-holders. The Members of the
Commission visited all the three regions
of the State to have first hand account
of development issues and further
interacted with various stake-holders
locally. For the first time, we had
arranged special meetings of the
Commission with the representatives of
all the political parties and some
honorable members of this House. As
per our information, all parties,
individuals and groups made very
effective and strong presentations
before the Commission. I am really very
happy to say that our joint efforts have
yielded adequate dividends.
The Award of the Thirteenth
Finance Commission has been laid by
the Union government before the
Parliament on 25th February, 2010. The
Report reveals that the Commission has
been particularly considerate in
appreciating the needs of our State and,
therefore, there are enough reasons to
thank the Commission for their Award.
Firstly, as against our share of 1.297% in
the central taxes recommended by the
previous Commission, the present
Commission has enhanced our share to
1.551%. As a result of this enhancement,
our share during the next financial year
is estimated to increase to Rs.2,911
crore as against Rs.1,880 crore
available during the current financial
year. For the full period of the Award,
we are likely to receive Rs.20,183 crore
on this account, as compared to the
amount of only Rs.7,442 crore available
under the previous Award. This
indicates a jump of 171%. The actual
devolution shall be related to the actual
realizations of taxes by the Union
government. Secondly, the non-plan
revenue deficit grant for the next five
years has been increased to Rs.15,936
crore as against Rs.12,353 crore
Vol. 4, Issue 4
12
available under the previous Award
indicating an increase of 29%. Thirdly, in
addition to the enhancement of the
provision for Natural Calamities Relief
by 155%, the Commission has also
recommended specific needs grants of
Rs.135 crore for Kashmir and Rs.120
crore for Jammu. For the first time,
Rs.90 crore has been specifically
allocated for Ladakh region as strongly
advocated by the government. Fourthly,
the Commission has also recommended
a grant of Rs.1,000 crore for settling the
state government's over draft with the
J&K Bank. In totality, the Award of the
Thirteenth Finance Commission works
out to Rs.40,439 crore which is almost
double of Rs.20,880 crore made
available to us by the previous
Commission.
We have noticed that the specific
needs grants and some other sector
specific components of the last Award
were not utilized fully. This has resulted
into great financial loss to the State as
the un-utilized portion lapses at the end
of the Award period. There are various
stipulations attached to the release of
such grants such as preparation of
detailed plans of action, project
reports, proper sanction by the
prescribed committees at the Centre
and periodical submission of progress
reports and utilization certificates in a
time bound manner. In order to ensure
100% utilization of the grants awarded
by the Thirteenth Finance Commission,
the government shall constitute a High
Level Empowered Committee headed
by the Chief Secretary to monitor the
progress of expenditure on all the
relevant items. A Finance Commission
Cell in the Department of Finance shall
keep regular tab on the periodical
progress registered by the concerned
departments. Each department shall
also make comprehensive quarterly
review of the physical and financial
Epilogue, April 2010
13
progress and apprise hon'ble Chief
Minister about such progress.
MAJOR ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE
INITIATIVES:
The entire earth work for single
lane of Rs.640 crore Mughal Road has
been completed. We are hopeful that
the consolidation and metalling of the
road surface will be completed in the
next financial year so that the road is
thrown open for motorable traffic for
the general public. This road will fulfill
one of the many dreams of Sher-e-
Kashmir Janab Sheikh Mohammad
Abdullah Saheb and provide an
alternative road connection between
Kashmir and Jammu as well as to
visitors from outside. The road shall
boost trade and commerce and further
strengthen the emotional & cultural
bonds between the two regions of the
State. This road was being earlier
funded by the State and the Central
government on 50:50 basis. I am happy
to state that on the personal
intervention of Hon'ble Chief Minister,
the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Dr
Manmohan Singh Ji, during his visit to
the State in October, 2009 has agreed
to provide 100% funding for this road
under PMRP.
The government has recently
decided to explore PPP possibilities for
D. Capital Expenditure
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in focus
Budget 2010
execution of Rs.400 crore tunnel H I G H L I G H T S
between Vailoo & Singhpora to provide
all weather connectivity between the Women Empowerment: A
district of Kishtwar in Jammu Region
rebate of 25% in stamp
with the Kashmir valley. The project
report for its implementation in PPP duty in matters of sale and
mode has been prepared. It will be the transfer of landed
earnest desire of the government to see property when in the
this work getting started as early as
name of a female member
possible.
The Qazigund- Khanabal segment of any family.
of the railway line in Kashmir valley was
formally dedicated to the people of the
State in October 2009 by the Prime
Special revolving corpus
Minister Dr Manmohan Singh Ji in of Rs. 10 crore for soft
presence of the Chairperson of UPA loan for setting up self-
Shrimati Sonia Gandhi ji. The entire
employment enterprises
Qazigund Baramulla railway line now
stands completed. The work on the by the girls and women.
railway line from Udhampur-Katra to
Qazigund which remained suspended
beyond Katra for about two years, has
Monthly honorarium of
been resumed due to personal efforts Anganwari Workers and
made by our Chief Minister. It is now Anganwari Helpers
going on in full swing and is targeted for enhanced by Rs. 300/- and
completion by the year 2017.
Four laning and upgradation of the
Rs. 200/- respectively
National Highway from Lakhanpur to w.e.f. 01.04.2010
Srinagar is also progressing with good benefitting about 57,000
pace. The entire length has been
women folk.
divided into six segments. All these
segments of the highway between
Nagrota and Qazigund have been Employment provided to
approved by the Central government for
over 20,200 youth since
January 2009 and so far
6500 new posts created
particularly in Health and
Education Sectors.
Cancer Treatment and
5710 7790 7560 8286
Management Fund set up
with initial contribution of
Rs. 1 crore for the corpus
of this Fund.
Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010
in focus
Budget 2010
execution under PPP mode at a cost of
Rs.9,700 crore.
Completion of Toll Plaza Complex
at Lakhanpur is in its final stages and
shall get commissioned early in next
fiscal. Adequate funding for the same is
being arranged.
Two Central universities have been
approved by the Union government –
one each for Kashmir Valley and Jammu
region. Suitable sites have been
selected by the central team which
visited the State for looking into the
suitability of various sites suggested by
the State Government each covering
about 500 acres of land. It is hoped that
these universities shall become
functional very soon and they will take
care of the growing needs of higher
education and research, particularly in
the non conventional and sunrise areas
as well as in educational fields of
modern relevance.
Urban Transport System for
Srinagar and Jammu cities requires
special focus. Apart from the regular
interventions being made by the
government to tackle the ever growing
traffic needs for these cities such as
construction of a fly over from Jahangir
Chowk to Rambagh in Srinagar and
construction of another bridge over
river Tawi for Jammu city, a long term
solution to this problem is also called
for. The government accordingly
intends to engage M/S RITES to prepare
reports for creating Metro systems for
both these cities on the pattern of
Delhi.
BROAD BUDGETARY FEATURES:
revised estimates for the current
fiscal (2009-10)
As per revised estimates, the
current year's receipts total to
Rs.22,885 crore in comparison to
Rs.22,739 crore adopted in the budget
estimates, up by Rs.146 crore. The tax
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receipts are estimated at Rs.3,075 crore
in comparison to BE of Rs.3,011 crore
showing a further improvement of Rs.64
crore. I may mention here that in
comparison to last year's tax revenue of
Rs.2,683 crore, the current year's tax
revenue is up by Rs.392 crore,
registering an increase of over 14%. The
non-tax revenue figures proposed in the
RE are Rs.1,294 crore in comparison to
budget estimates of Rs.1,219 crore
indicating an improvement of Rs.75
crore. The fiscal deficit has been
reworked at Rs.2,090 crore in
comparison to the figure of Rs.2,081
crore in budget estimates indicating a
very small variation of Rs.9 crore.
EXPENSES ON SALARIES AND
ESTABLISHMENT:
As is well known to the Hon'ble
Members of this August House, there is a
spiralling effect on the cost of
establishment because of its big size,
implementation of the Sixth Central Pay
Commission Award and release of two
new installments of DA every year. The
total salary expenditure is estimated at
Rs.6,629 crore as per revised estimates.
The expenditure on pension payment is
now estimated at Rs.1,495 crore in the
revised estimates.
NEW PENSION SCHEME:
I had announced introduction of
the New Pension Scheme for the
employees who would be recruited
after 01.01.2010. A Bill incorporating
this scheme was passed by this House
during the last session. The scheme has
come into operation with effect from
the first January 2010. The introduction
of this scheme and gradual building of a
massive Fund outside the annual state
budget shall be insulating the
employees recruited in future from the
regular budgetary pressures of the
government on year to year basis. On
Vol. 4, Issue 4
14
the other hand, the ever mounting
demand of funds for the old pensioners
and the existing employees retiring in
near future shall be gradually contained
in a long-term perspective, indirectly
ensuring that the existing employees
also continue to get their pensionery
benefits and regular monthly pension
when they retire.
BUDGET ESTIMATES 2010-11:
I now take up broad budgetary
features of the budget for the next
financial year. The total budgetary
receipts have been kept at Rs.25,984
crore. Out of this, an amount of
Rs.22,849 crore is expected as revenue
receipts and Rs.3,135 crore as capital
receipt. Out of the total expenditure,
also estimated at Rs.25,984 crore, the
revenue expenditure will be Rs.17,698
crore both on account of plan and non-
plan. The total capital expenditure is
estimated at Rs.8,286 crore both on
account of plan and non-plan.
The State's own revenue
comprising of tax revenue, non-tax
revenue and share of central taxes
totals to Rs.7,873 crore and represents
over 30% of the total receipts.
Exclusive of our share of central taxes,
the state's own tax & non-tax revenue
comes to Rs.4,962 crore which is about
19% of the total budgetary receipts. I
have accounted for the non plan
revenue deficit grant of Rs.3,940
available under the TFC Award. The
inter se breakup of the remaining
receipt figures shall be finalized by the
Planning Commission at the time of
determining the scheme of financing
of the next year's plan. The scheme of
financing shall also determine the
level of our next year's loans and
market borrowings. For the time
being, I have based my assessment of
these figures on the pattern of
financing of our current year's plan.
Epilogue, April 2010
15
TAX REVENUE:
The next year's estimates of tax
revenue are Rs.3,655 crore indicating
an increase of about 19%. The next
year's estimates of VAT receipts are
being placed at Rs.2,611 crore
indicating increase of Rs.545 crore
over the current year's BE of Rs.2,066
crore. I am targeting a growth rate of
over 26%. Excise revenue target for the
next year is Rs.280 crore. The target of
collection of taxes on goods &
passengers has been kept at Rs.384
crore. Duties on electricity are likely
to yield Rs.206 crore. Taxes on vehicles
and stamps duties are expected to
yield Rs.101 crore and Rs.67 crore
respectively.
NON –TAX REVENUE:
The next year's budget estimates
for non-tax revenue have been kept at
Rs.1,307 crore indicating a negligible
growth. The main item is power receipt
for which next year's target has been
kept at Rs.1,055 crore. Receipts from
mining, forestry, water supply and
health sectors have been kept at Rs.30
crore, Rs.38 crore, Rs.27 crore and
Rs.15 crore respectively.
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in focus
Budget 2010
EXPENDITURE: H I G H L I G H T S
The total expenditure of Rs.25,984
crore is divided between plan Rs.6,000 Exemption from sales tax
crore, PMRP Rs.1,206 crore, centrally
on income from room
sponsored schemes Rs.850 crore and
non plan expenditure of Rs.17,928 rent of hotels, lodges and
crore. In revenue & capital terms, the guest houses continued
break up is Rs.17,698 crore on revenue upto 31.03.2011.
account and Rs.8,286 crore on capital
account. Out of the total revenue
expenditure, about Rs.8,200 crore is For popularizing
estimated to be spent on pay and mechanization of
allowances of the government
Agriculture and
employees including Rs.725 crore on
two new installments of DA and Rs.129 Horticulture farms,
crore on migrant salaries. A provision of agriculture tools and
Rs.482 crore has been kept as grant-in- implements exempted
aid, mostly for government aided
institutions which use it mainly for
from VAT and Toll.
salary payments. Rs.1,800 crore have
been kept for pensions and retirement Fodder, Fertilizer,
benefits. Rs.2,251 crore is earmarked for
payment of interest. Expenditure on
Pesticides, Weedicides
power purchase is another major item and Insecticides
and the next year's provision on this exempted from Toll.
account is Rs.2,051 crore. As far as capital
expenditure is concerned, Rs.959 crore are
estimated to be spent on repayment of Solar appliances
loans and Rs.7,327 crore on various exempted from VAT and
capital formation schemes including
Toll to encourage use of
capital component of the plan.
renewable source of
energy.
Feni, Agarbatti, Dhoop
exempted from VAT.
Anardhana, Guchchi,
Paneer exempted from
VAT.
Bee hives and bee
colonies exempted from
VAT and Toll.
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in focus
Budget 2010
ANNUAL PLAN 2010-11:
Despite the delay in sanctioning of
the current year's plan outlay by the
Planning Commission, we hope to meet
the physical and financial targets
assigned to us under the plan. As such,
the government has decided to ask for
about 10% step up in the next year over
the current year's plan. We feel that our
request shall surely meet acceptance of
the Planning Commission. As such, the
plan out lay for the next financial year
has been kept at Rs.6,000 crore. The
working group meetings of all our
concerned officers with their
counterparts in the Planning
Commission have already taken place
yesterday and day before yesterday. We
hope that the Plan outlay shall be
settled very soon in the meeting of our
Chief Minister with the Deputy
Chairman of the Planning Commission as
per past practice.
Out of the total plan outlay, the
capital expenditure is estimated at
Rs.5,073 crore forming 84.55% of the
total plan outlay. The revenue
expenditure is estimated at Rs.927
crore forming 15.45% of the out lay. The
increase in the revenue expenditures is
mainly on account of creation of a large
number of plan posts for the new
districts and establishments including
upgradation of the existing
establishments such as those in health
and education sector.
Over and above the plan out lay of
Rs.6,000 crore, a sum of Rs.1,206 crore
has been proposed to complete the
schemes taken-up under PMRP. A
provision of Rs.721 crore has been kept
under the next year's state plan as the
State share for the centrally sponsored
schemes. This provision is expected to
provide access to about Rs.2,377 crore
as central share from various ministries.
A component of Rs.118 crore out of
PMRP is being kept as state counter part
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share to enable the Economic
Reconstruction Agency (ERA) to raise
matching loans from the World Bank.
Some of the salient features
pertaining to various sectors are
summerised here.
AGRICULTURE:
Primary sector consisting of
agricultural and allied services sustains
75% of our population and engages 50%
of our total work force. The natural
factors have not been favourable for
agricultural operations in the current
financial year. Scarcity of rain during
the last kharief and delayed rains during
the current rabi have caused substantial
loss of production. The government has
decided to give thrust to paddy-wheat
rotation techniques which will be now
carried into the next year. The
agricultural department has gone ahead
with the acquisition of three units of
paddy transplanters for mass
demonstration during the next kharief
2010. Likewise, the department has
also procured fourteen wheat thrashers
for popularizing paddy wheat rotation
and farm mechanization. About nine
thousand kanals of land has been
covered under this scheme during the
current rabi season.
The government is providing
subsidy on purchase of agricultural
machinery and farm equipments such as
sprayers, irrigation pump sets, tillers,
thrashers, shellers, reapers, potato
planters, seed cum fertilizer drills etc in
order to encourage farm mechanization.
In respect of tractors, the amount of
subsidy is as high as Rs. 45,000. For
horticulture farm management
equipment and power tillers the subsidy
amount is Rs.15000. For seed cum
fertilizer drills, the amount of subsidy is
Rs.20,000 and on potato planters,
potato diggers, strip till drill, Dal mill
etc the amount of subsidy is Rs.15000.
Vol. 4, Issue 4
16
HORTICULTURE:
I had stated last time that the
productivity of our orchards can be
improved by providing root stock for
high density plantation from our
departmental nurseries as also by
encouraging the private nurseries to
join in this effort. The initiative taken
by the government is showing
encouraging signs. The availability of
root stocks and planting material in the
next year is expected to increase by
more than 60%. The Horticulture
Department is going to install micro
irrigation system at its Zainpora farm
with a view to popularizing drip
irrigation amongst the horticulturists.
The Department is going to extend its
activities in difficult terrains such as
Gurez and Uri. While Apricot has been
introduced in Gurez, additional area is
being brought under olive plantation in
Uri. Kiwi is also being popularized
amongst private orchardists. Stone
fruits, pears, peaches and olive are
being promoted in the hilly regions of
Jammu. New varieties of apricots are
being introduced in Ladakh region.
Cluster approach is being followed so
that technical know-how to the farmers
can be effectively imparted. A MoU has
been signed by the Department with
APEDA for arranging consultancy for
setting up cold atmospheric stores and
cold chain in the State.
SERICULTURE INDUSTRY:
As stated by me before this House
in last August, the government is giving
lot of importance to this traditional
industry of Jammu and Kashmir. A Multi
Task Force has been constituted to work
out strategies for holistic development
of mulberry, cocoon production, silk
reeling, weaving of silk fabric and other
down stream products. Four clusters of
100 sheds each are being established in
the State for intensification of cocoon
Epilogue, April 2010
17
rearing. The next year's target for
production of cocoons has been kept at
9 lakh kilograms.
FLORICULTURE:
After signing a Memorandum of
Understanding with Airport Authority at
Srinagar, land measuring 150 square
metre has been leased out to the
Department of Floriculture. APEDA has
been approached to provide financial
assistance and set-up a walk in type
cooling chamber on this piece of land
for stocking perishable commodities
like flowers, fresh fruits and trout fish.
The cooling chamber shall be managed
by the Floriculturists Association on no
profit, no loss basis.
POULTRY:
Poultry farming has lot of potential
for generation of employment
opportunities for our youth. The
government's policy of encouraging this
industry has started showing results.
Several initiatives by the private sector
are in the offing. In the meanwhile the
government initiative of using taxation
as an economic tool by abolishing toll
tax on import of day old chicks and
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in focus
Budget 2010
enhancing toll tax on import of poultry H I G H L I G H T S
birds has started showing positive
results. After my announcements to this Period of VAT
effect in the month of August 2009,
exemption on
Lakhanpur check post has recorded a
decline of 23% in the import of poultry replacement of defective
birds and an increase of 22.5% in the parts by new parts raised
import of day old chicks upto the end of
from existing 90 days to
February 2010. In terms of number, the
increase in import of chicks is 24.69 lakh 180 days.
and the decline in the number of poultry
birds is 15.85 lakh.
Simultaneously, the government is
Traders with a turnover
also encouraging establishment of exceeding Rs. 60 lakhs
backyard poultry units for which the will now be required to
department is gearing-up its production
for supply of low tech poultry birds from
file an audited report
the departmental hatcheries to the BPL under J&K VAT Act as
families. The Department is working on against Rs. 40 lakhs
a PPP initiative for developing hi-tech
earlier.
parent stock.
The Central Government has
offered to extend financial assistance Slight enhancement in tax
for setting up of poultry estates.
However, as availability of chunks of
rates viz. VAT rate of 4%
land around the growth centers is to go up to 5%. VAT rate
limited, the State Government is trying of 12.5% to go up to 13.5%.
to persuade the Central Government
not to insist on providing chunks of land
Rate of Service Tax to go
for establishment of poultry estates and up from 8% to 10% and
to extend financial assistance for units increase in Toll from Rs.
40 per quintal to Rs. 50
per quintal.
For Media, revision of
advertisement rates done
after 2006. Rates
enhanced by 40%.
Budgetary provisions also
increased by Rs. 150 lakhs
under REs 2009-10 and
further by Rs. 245 lakhs in
2010-11.
Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010
in focus
Budget 2010
set up on private lands by the
entrepreneurs in clusters around
identified growth centers.
IRRIGATION SCHEMES :
Under the Indus Waters Treaty, the
State can irrigate 13.96 lakh acres of
agricultural land. We have covered an
area of 12.65 lakh acres so far. In the
current year, we hope to add another
34000 acres to our irrigation potential.
In Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh
region,12 major/medium irrigation
schemes are under execution at a cost
of Rs.614 crore. Further more, five new
schemes are in the process of approval.
About 507 minor irrigation schemes are
under execution at an estimated cost of
nearly Rs.900 crore. Out of them, 100
schemes are expected to be completed
in the current financial year. While
more schemes are being formulated and
regularly sanctioned to bring more area
under irrigation, efforts shall be made
to compress the period of execution of
the on going schemes and all the
requisite funds as may be needed for
the purpose shall be made available by
the government on priority basis.
For kandi areas of Jammu region, 9
check dams are proposed to be
constructed at a cost of Rs.80 crores
under BADP and AIBP. Additionally 18
more check dams on rivers Basantar,
Ujh, Devak, Tarna and Yak are under
examination of the Central
Groundwater Board for artificial
recharge of ground water.
FORESTRY:
Forestry alongwith conservation of
environment and ecology, wild life,
forest protection and research shall be
provided due attention under plan
development. A sum of Rs.23.25 crore is
proposed to be allocated in the next
year's plan for this sector. The forest
sector has also been allocated a sum of
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Rs.133 crore by TFC for the five year's
period of the Award.
POWER SECTOR:
Wide gap between demand and
supply has been in existence in power
sector. The present restricted peak
demand is estimated at 1450 MW where-
as the total availability from state's
sources comes to about 945.70 MW. The
balance of the demand is met on
payment against state's allocation in
projects outside the State and by
special adhoc allocations from the
Centre. The total availability of power
comprises of State's own installed
capacity of 758.70 MW and 12% free
power available from the central
projects located within the State
equivalent to 187 MW. The gap between
demand and supply becomes precarious
during winter months when the
generation from the local hydel
stations, owned by State as well as the
Centre, is reduced to almost one third
of the installed capacity and the power
demand goes up primarily because of
heating needs. The long term answer
lies in the expeditious exploitation of
our own hydel resources. The 450 MW
Baghlihar HEP-II is estimated to cost Rs.
2800 cr and the work on execution of
this project is already going on. We also
hope to start work on execution of 1200
MW Sawalkot HEP in near future for
which the work on Rs.119 crore access
road is going on in full swing. Bidding
process for 690 MW Ratle HEP in IPP
mode is in its final stage. Three projects
with an aggregate capacity of 2120 MW
at Kiru, Kawar and Pakaldul shall be
taken-up by the JK SPDC with
participation of NHPC. Preparatory
works on 93 MW new Ganderbal HEP, 240
MW Kirthai HEP, 50 MW Lower Kalnai HEP
and 37.50 MW Parnai HEP to be
executed by our JKSPDC are in full
swing. The installed capacity of all the
Vol. 4, Issue 4
18
HEP's to be executed by JKSPDC totals
to 2070 MW involving capital investment
of over Rs.15000 crore. Installed
capacity of joint sector and IPP project
adds to an additional figure of 2810 MW.
Many other smaller HEP's are under
execution by JKSPDC as also by the
private sector under IPP mode. A plan
provision of Rs.519 crore has been kept
under power generation in the current
year and the same is proposed at Rs.567
crore in the next year.
In the transmission and
d i s t r i b u t i o n s e c t o r, t h e s t a t e
government has engaged M/s TERI as
consultants to prepare a comprehensive
turn around plan. Simultaneously, 30
towns are being covered under
restructured APDRP at a cost of Rs.144
crore as part B of this scheme. The state
intends to install high voltage
distribution system and aerial bunched
cables to avoid thefts and control the
mounting T&D losses. Under PMRP, 77
schemes of T&D stand approved at a
cost of Rs.707 crore. The cost has been
revised to Rs.1350 crore. Ten grid
stations are targeted for completion on
turnkey basis in current year and the
remaining six grid stations shall be
completed next year. Thirteen grid
stations are being completed
departmentally. Fifteen Transmission
Lines are being completed in the
current & next financial year on turnkey
basis and twenty one transmission lines
are under execution departmentally.
An allocation of Rs.504.13 crore
has been proposed for next year for
strengthening of T&D System, under
PMRP.
POWER SECTOR REFORMS AND
RECOVERIES OF DUES:
Power sector is in need of major
and basic reforms, particularly because
of ever growing and unmanageable gap
between the amounts annually spent on
Epilogue, April 2010
19
power purchases and the total
recoveries made by the department.
The position can be better understood
from the facts that six years ago the
expenditure on power purchase was
Rs.882 crore and the revenue realized
by the department was Rs.607 crore
leaving a gap of only Rs.275 crore which
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amounted to 31.12 % of the expenditure
on power purchases. As compared to
these figures, the expenditure on power
purchases in the year 2008-09 was
Rs.2034 crore and the recovery was only
Rs. 630 crore leaving a gap of Rs. 1404
crore which amounts to 69.30% of the
expenditure on power purchase.
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in focus
Budget 2010
H I G H L I G H T S
Rs. 8 crore for migrants'
group mediclaim
insurance.
Estimates of Total
Receipts (TR) – Rs. 25984
crore as against Rs. 22885
crore in 2009-10.
Estimates of Total
Expenditure (TE) also at
Rs. 25984 crore as against
Rs. 22885 crore in 2009-
10.
Highest ever Share in
Central Taxes – Rs. 2911
crore under 13th Finance
Commission Award as
against Rs. 1880 crore in
2009-10.
Central Grants also at a
high of Rs. 3940 crore as
against Rs. 2385 crore in
2009-10. However, the
flow will be tapering with
terminal year (2014-15)
flow of Rs. 2096 crore.
Revenue Receipts (RR)
contribute Rs. 22849
crore, Capital Receipts
Rs. 3135 crore.
Epilogue, April 2010
in focus
Budget 2010
Under the Constituency
Development Fund Hon'ble Legislators
have been authorised to utilize upto
Rs.8.50 lakh for improvement of HT/LT
net work in their areas against which
power development department will
provide Rs.25.50 lakh. An amount of
Rs.30 crore has been proposed in the
transmission and distribution sector for
improving HT/LT net work through
constituency development route. Rs.20
crore allocation has been proposed for
creation of a transformer bank to take
care of replacement, augmentation of
capacities and longer shut downs for
repairs so that the inconvenience
caused to the consumers on this account
is minimized.
I have earlier mentioned that the
next year's power purchase budget has
been kept at Rs.2050 crore. Against this
figure, the revenue realization target is
only Rs.1055 crore. This means a loss of
Rs.1000 crore. I am excluding the
energy available free of cost as well as
operation and maintenance expenses
from my calculations. It is clear that
such heavy recurring losses in power
sector are not sustainable. To grapple
with this alarming situation, some
fundamental changes have become
inevitable. Hon'ble Chief Minister has
already announced in this House that
the government shall be bringing a new
Electricity Bill and an Electricity
Conservation Bill before this House for
consideration during the current
session. Un-bundling of Transmission
and Distribution functions shall be
carried out and responsibilities of the
individuals and the organizations shall
be pinpointed. Greater thrust shall be
given to the recovery of outstanding
arrears. A system of incentives for
prompt payments and recoveries
coupled with an effective system of
penalties for delays and non recovery
shall be put into place. Billing and
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collection of dues and settlement of
disputes shall be made transparent and
user friendly.
In the meanwhile, the State Hydel
Policy is being revised to make it
s i m p l e r, m o r e a t t r a c t i v e a n d
practicable for private investors in
micro and mini hydel area.
TOURISM:
Tourism is one of the most crucial
economic sectors for the State. Apart
from sight seeing and adventure sports,
the pilgrim tourism has become the
biggest component of visitors to the
State. The government is encouraging
and supporting the private sector with
financial incentives and development of
infrastructure. Massive government
effort is also involved in providing
regulatory and security cover to the
tourists. The government has also been
undertaking promotional activities and
organizing publicity to attract tourists
to our beautiful state.
The government has almost
completed the project of widening and
upgradation of Khanabal-Pahalgam road
at a cost of Rs.110 crore. The work on
Narbal-Tangmarg road is in full swing
and is expected to be completed by
June 2010 at an estimated cost of
Rs.116 crore. The work on widening and
upgradation of Domel-Katra road is
under execution through Border Roads
Organization. These three roads are
being funded under PMRP.
Completion of Rs.640 crore Mughal
road between Bafliaz in Poonch District
of Jammu Division with Shopian town in
Kashmir Valley will open-up new vistas
for tourism promotion in the State.
The government has sanctioned 22
local development authorities at
important tourist spots so that the
tourists are attracted to various other
beautiful corners of the State apart
from the traditional tourists sites. The
Vol. 4, Issue 4
20
plan allocation in tourism sector is
proposed to be enhanced to Rs.161
crore in the next year. Additionally, the
Thirteenth Finance Commission has
provided Rs.50 crore for Mubarak Mandi
Complex and Rs.25 crore for
development and conservation of Tawi
front. Rs.15 crore allocation has been
proposed under the Plan for the Cable
Car Corporation to take up new projects
including one for Makhdoom Sahib in
Srinagar and Mubarak Mandi at Jammu.
Apart from developing facilities
and places of attraction at various
places, the government is presently
engaged in preparation of a vision
document and master plan for
sustainable tourism for all the three
regions of the State. Eleven
experienced and professional
consultants have been shortlisted by
the Department. Technical and
Financial bids have been received from
them. Action has also been initiated for
collecting the necessary data for
undertaking break even analysis of
various tourism related activities so as
to formulate an appropriate insurance
mechanism for various groups of
investors in tourism sector.
INDUSTRY SECTOR:
Hon'ble Members may kindly recall
that the Central Government had
extended a special package of
incentives for new industrial units to be
set up in J&K. Part of the package
pertaining to excise duty exemption
was withdrawn without completing the
prescribed period. The State
government had been vigorously
pursuing the case with the central
Government for restoration of the
original package of incentives and its
extension by a further period of 10
years. Our Hon'ble Chief Minister, Janab
Omar Abdullah Saheb had personally
taken up the matter with the Central
Epilogue, April 2010
21
government. I am happy to report that
the excise duty exemption for value
addition within J&K has been restored
and the benefit has been extended by a
further period of 10 years.
The government has constituted
two Rehabilitation Task Forces for
Kashmir and Jammu Divisions
respectively with a view to revive the
closed and sick units. The Task Force
constituted by the Prime Minister has
recommended soft loans for revival of
sick units for which creation of a corpus
of Rs.100 crore has also been
recommended. A Standing Forum for
simplification of procedures and
removal of bottlenecks is also being
created. An Industrial Advisory Board
stands constituted where policy
matters and macro level issues can be
projected and promptly decided. The
government is conscious of the fact that
speedy industrialization will help in
employment generation consistent with
the policy frame work outlined in
SKEWPY.
The Common Effluent Treatment
Plant under execution at Lassipora
through the Central Leather Institute at
a cost of Rs.6.42 crore is expected to be
completed by June, 2010. The
construction of Inland Container Depot
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in focus
Budget 2010
at Rangreth is making steady progress. H I G H L I G H T S
The government has approved
construction of a Rs.24 crore Udyog Revenue Expenditure
Bhavan for Kashmir. This was a long
(RE) including Security
pending demand of entrepreneurs.
Food processing industry which is one of Related Expenditure
our thrust area shall receive a boost (SRE) – Rs. 17698 crore,
after the new promotional policy Capital Expenditure
recommended by the Task Force
(CAPEX) – Rs. 8286
appointed by the Prime Minister for J&K
is formally approved. crore.
The government intends to
maintain the focus on promotion of
Non Plan Revenue
handicrafts and handloom Sector. Six
handloom clusters are being Expenditure (NPRE)
operationalised. There is a plan to consumes Rs. 16717 crore
modernize 40,000 carpet looms at a of which Rs. 2251 crore
cost of Rs.120 crore for which a
prototype is being developed in the
for interest payment.
Institute of Carpet Technology at
Srinagar. The government has decided Non Plan Capital
to provide 50% to 75% subsidy on
premium for health insurance cover to
Expenditure (NPCE) of
the handicrafts artisans which will the order of Rs. 1211
provide much needed relief to this crore of which Rs. 959
segment of the population. crore comprise loans
Crafts of Kanishawl, Pashmina and
Sozni have been brought under the
repayment.
purview of Geographical Indicators or
GI. A pashmina testing lab is being Non-Plan salaries burden
established at a cost of Rs.4.62 crore.
The government intends to facilitate a at Rs. 8179 crore
including Rs. 725 crore
for DA installments.
Pension bill soars to Rs.
1800 crore as against Rs.
1495 crore in 2009-10.
Rs. 15 crore set apart for
10% Employer's share
under New Pension
System introduced from
January, 2010.
Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010
in focus
Budget 2010
mega marketing campaign during
common wealth games and other
festive occasions to enable the
craftsmen and small traders of
handicrafts to clear their stocks.
The current year's plan allocation
for industrial sector is Rs.93.12 crore.
During the next year's plan, outlay of
Rs.111 crore has been proposed for this
sector.
The J&K State Finance Corporation
has gone out of way to help out the
industrial units which suffered due to
law and order problems and other
reasons during the last 20 years. Various
exit schemes were sanctioned and
implemented. I had announced a one
time settlement scheme during the last
budget session which is presently under
implementation. In the process of
helping out the assisted units, the
Corporation got drained out of its
resources, particularly because Small
Industries Development Bank of India
(SIDBI) which is its co-owner stopped
further funding and refinancing of the
Corporation. We are seriously pursuing
the case of revival of the Corporation
with SIDBI and hope for a positive
outcome in near future. In the
meanwhile, the Board of Directors of
the Corporation approved a
comprehensive revival plan for the
Corporation. As the first step in that
direction, the government proposes to
contribute Rs.35 crore towards its
additional share capital for which an
initial provision of Rs.5 crore has been
proposed in the next year's plan.
Revitalization of the public sector
units remains in our focus. Rejuvenation
of economically viable units, disposal of
unused assets particularly the real
estate for mobilization of resources,
disposal of the closed units unfit for
revival and policy of golden handshake
and voluntary retirement schemes are
the hallmarks of the government
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approach in this direction. A sum of
Rs.60 crore has been proposed in the
next year's budget for this purpose.
Disinvestment in the public sector
is an area which has not been attended
to so far. The government intends to
make a beginning in this direction in
near future.
The government is providing
financial support to the local industry in
the shape of exemption from taxes on
raw materials and finished products in
order to make them competitive. CST
and VAT exemption for industry now
costs Rs.375 crore. The toll exemption
alone accounted for Rs.90 crore during
last year. For market promotion, the
government has maintained a policy of
price preference and purchase
preference to the local SSI units in all
government purchases. Adoption of
quality standards has been encouraged
with financial support. The government
has initiated steps for setting up of two
Tool Rooms in the State for the benefit
of industry. However, in a global
scenario of competition, the industry
will have to come forward in a big way
for brand promotion, as a very sizeable
non-government market lies ahead for
them both within and outside the state.
The financial requirements for this
purpose shall be fully met by the
government.
TRADE POLICY:
A new trade policy is under
formulation for which a Committee
stands constituted involving all
concerned officers and representatives
of trade & commerce. In the meanwhile
proposals have been sent to
Government of India for approval and
allocation of funds, for creation of
infrastructure for promoting trade
across LOC. Special phone lines have
been authorised for reliable
communication for trade.
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22
RESTORING INDUSTRIAL CLIMATE:
A very encouraging and promising
industrial climate was created by the
strenuous efforts of the government in
the seventies and eighties.
Unfortunately, eruption of militancy
wrecked that climate. With the large
scale closure of industrial activities,
premises of many industrial units and
industrial estates as well as other public
and private properties have been used
for accommodating security forces. The
government has decided to gradually
restore the original activities in the
interest of industrial development of
the State as well as for restoration of
normalcy. Hon'ble Chief Minister has
himself taken the initiative in his hand
and has constituted three Standing
Committees at the State and Divisional
levels for regularly monitoring the
progress of vacation of the industrial
estates, industrial units and other
properties in a gradual manner by
providing alternative accommodation
to the security forces. Significant
progress has already been made in this
direction and more is expected to
follow shortly.
ROAD SECTOR:
Road sector, particularly the rural
roads are the life line of the community.
They also make very valuable indirect
contribution to the growth of the
economy. We have 9,933 habitations in
the State out of which 4,163 habitations
were unconnected as on 1.4.2000. The
R&B department aims to cover 1,426
habitations under phases I to VI of
PMGSY at a cost of Rs.4,772 crore. Out
of this target, 776 habitations have
been connected ending January, 2010,
taking total connected habitations to
6,546. Under PMGSY, the current year's
expenditure ending January, 2010 is
Rs.700 crore and 743 more habitations
are expected to be taken up under
Epilogue, April 2010
23
phases VII and VIII. The next year's plan
provision for R&B has been proposed at
Rs.687.93 crore. The Thirteenth
Finance Commission has awarded
Rs.140 crore for maintenance of roads &
bridges.
PHE, HEALTH AND EDUCATION:
Drinking water, health cover and
primary education are the socio
economic activities on which lot of
emphasis is being given by the
government. The number of rural water
supply schemes completed so far is
2,283.
Accelerated Rural Water Supply
Scheme has been renamed as National
Rural Drinking Water Programme and
made a part of Bharat Nirman
Programme. The current year's
estimated expenditure on this scheme
is Rs.447.74 crore and 400 schemes are
expected to be completed this year.
Additionally, urban water supply
schemes are being executed under the
state plan and ERA.
Upto the current year, 17.70
Million Gallons per day capacity has
been added to the system in Jammu City
and 12.25 MGD added for Srinagar City.
Rupees 46 crore are being spent in
current year for other towns in Jammu
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in focus
Budget 2010
Division on 6 projects estimated to cost H I G H L I G H T S
Rs.116.43 crore. Similar projects are on
the anvil for Kashmir under UID SS MT. A Starting with fiscal 2007-
scheme for Sopore town has been
08, an amount of Rs. 4
cleared for Rs.33.53 crore. Schemes for
Anantnag and Dooru costing Rs.72.69 crore is being provided
crore are expected to be cleared soon. every year for settling
Projects for Baramulla, Bijbehara,
outstanding of JAKFED
Awantipora, Pulwama, Shopian,
Khansahib and Chrar-i-sherief have towards JCCB crystallized
been sent to the Centre for clearance. at Rs. 80 crore.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT:
The Housing & Urban Development Besides Rs. 128 crore for
Department is charged with the maintenance under non-
responsibility of housing, execution of
schemes under various components of
plan, Rs. 20 crore under
JNNURM, Urban Local Bodies and Plan also for Flood
environmental engineering works. It has Protection and R&B
taken up a scheme for conservation of
Tawi waters by diverting nallahs and
Sector.
drains. Protection of water bodies is
likely to receive momentum with the
Annual Plan 2010-11 for
initiatives taken by the central
government as also the funding Rs. 6000 crore submitted
expected to be provided under the excluding Rs. 1206 crore
Award of the Thirteenth Finance
under Prime Minister's
Commission. Two abattoirs are being
constructed at Srinagar and Jammu. Reconstruction Plan
Provision has been made in the Master (PMRP).
Plans for developing warehousing
facilities in the capital cities. Many
Plan Revenue
Expenditure (PRE)
estimates at Rs. 927
crore. Plan Capital
Expenditure (PCE) Rs.
6279 crore and Rs. 850
crore under CSS.
Rs. 7.62 crore for
strengthening of Regional
Rural Banks.
Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010
in focus
Budget 2010
parking sites have been already
developed in both the cities and more
sites have been planned for execution in
government sector as well as in PPP
mode.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Remote villages and hamlets
numbering 27 in Gurez tehsil have been
provided 3,726 solar home lighting
systems. Additionally, 68 remote
villages have been identified under this
scheme. The Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy has agreed to
provide 41,000 additional solar home
lighting systems to 191 remote villages
and hamlets at a cost of Rs.54 crores
under this scheme. The beneficiary is
required to meet a small component of
about Rs.750 where as assistance of
more than Rs.11,000 is available from
the central government.
Solar power plants are being
provided to Dargah Sharif Hazratbal,
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi ji Shrine and
Ziarat Chrarisharief. The Rajbhawans at
Srinagar and Jammu and the Legislature
Complexes at Srinagar and Jammu,
together with 22 health institutions are
also being provided solar power plants.
The Union Ministry for New and
Renewable Energy has also agreed to
provide assistance of Rs.45 crore for
implementation of 56 micro Hydel
projects. It has further indicated a
target of upgrading 2000 water mills
and installation of 3000 biogas plants
during the next two years.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT:
During the last year, 79.25 lacs
mandays were generated, 13,122 works
were taken up and funds to the tune of
Rs.86.90 crore were utilized under
National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme. This year, we increased the
daily wage rate from Rs.70 to Rs.110 per
day. This has expectedly resulted into
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improved performance. During the
current year, till date 101.03 lacs
mandays have been generated and
6,48,196 Households have been
provided Job Cards. Number of works
taken up for execution is 24,459 out of
which 10,029 works have been
completed and funds to the tune of
Rs.132.16 crore have been absorbed in
the Scheme. This is a very significant
improvement over the last year.
Under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY)
26,804 houses were taken up for
construction out of which 19,010 were
completed last year. During the current
financial year 38,968 houses were taken
up for construction out of which 15,005
have been already completed.
Similar achievements and
improvements have been made in
implementation of Swaranjayanti Gram
Swarozgar Jojana (SGSY), and Total
Sanitation Campaign (TSC).
WELFARE SECTOR:
Welfare of weaker sections of the
society like scheduled castes,
scheduled tribes, backward classes etc
and attending to the special needs of
women and children is amongst the top
most priorities of the government.
Talking of all these segments together in
my budget speech does not in any way
reduce the importance which the
government attaches to each individual
constituent of this group. The
government is, in fact, attending to the
needs of each and every constituent
separately. A sum of Rs.253.73 crore is
proposed to be kept in the next year's
plan for ameliorating the conditions of
the weaker sections of the society and
for welfare of women and children.
The State Women Commission
organized two workshops for the senior
officers of the government for
highlighting the principles of gender
budgeting and incorporating the same
Vol. 4, Issue 4
24
in budget formulation. In view of the
importance of this concept, I have
included a separate report in the budget
documents for information of the
Members.
The government has sanctioned
3,094 new Anganwari Centres in the
current financial year, taking the total
number to 28,577. The government has
further decided to enhance the
remuneration of Anganwari Workers and
Anganwari Helpers. I accordingly
announce increase of Rs.300 PM in the
remuneration of Anganwari Workers and
Rs.200 PM in respect of Anganwari
Helpers. The total financial implications
on this account are Rs.15.30 crore per
annum.
INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT:
The government is committed to
balanced regional development for all
regions and sub regions of the State.
The government would like to do it in a
systematic and structured manner The
State Finance Commission constituted
to study the issue and suggest solutions
to the problem alongwith the related
issues of financial restructuring,
economic development,
decentralization, good governance,
empowerment, employment issues etc
has concluded its field visits, meetings
with all strata of the society, studies and
debates. They are in the process of
analyzing the collected data and
preparing the final report. Accordingly,
the government would now be keenly
awaiting their recommendations after
which this important task shall be
attended to in right earnestness in a
systematic manner.
In the meanwhile, the State
Government has provided Rs.10 crore
under BADP for development of areas
adjoining international border, line of
control and line of actual control. A
similar amount is expected to be
Epilogue, April 2010
25
available under this programme during
the next financial year as well.
EMPLOYMENT ISSUES:
During my last budget speech, I
had drawn the kind attention of the
hon'ble members of this august House
towards the growing unemployment in
the State, particularly amongst our
educated youth. In this connection I had
also enumerated various steps which
the government intended to take to
tackle this problem in a systematic and
holistic manner. I am glad to announce
that all those measures have been
placed on the ground for fulfillment of
their declared objectives.
The government's announcement
about the policy evoked a very positive
response from the unemployed youth
who came forward in large numbers to
get themselves registered in the District
Employment and Counseling Centres. As
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in focus
Budget 2010
per the latest figures available with us, H I G H L I G H T S
the number of youth registered in these
centres is 5.84 lakh, comprising of 3.08 Rs. 114 crore for
lakh in Kashmir and 2.76 Lakh in Jammu implementation of Sher-e-
division. These figures have given us a
fair idea of the size and nature of the
Kashmir Employment &
problem now. This information input Welfare Programme for
shall be utilized to work out feasible Youths.
solutions suiting to various segments of
unemployed youth.
As promised, the government has
For bringing greater
announced the “Sher-e-Kashmir transparency and
Employment and Welfare Programme accountability in
for the Youth” on 5th December, 2009. It implementation of
is for the first time the government has
development programme,
documented a well thought out plan of
action to specifically deal with all
150 projects worth Rs. 744
aspects of un-employment and laid for crore assigned to
itself not only a number of pre- NABCONS and M/S
identified tasks to be performed in the Mckenzy.
coming years but also fixed the
numerical targets for generation of
employment in various fields and Rs. 60 crore for meeting
cost of VRS/GHS in
PSUs.
Provision of Rs. 2051
crore for purchase of
power from CPSUs and
J&K SPDC.
Completion of all ongoing
Health and Educational
institutions and making
these fully operational by
end 2010-11 a major
thrust area under Plan.
Rs. 30 crore for improving
HT/LT network through
CD route. Another Rs. 20
crore for creation of
transformer bank.
Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010
in focus
Budget 2010
sectors. An innervated self employment
programme and a massive skill
upgradation programme for improving
employability of our educated youth are
in the offing.
Five Rural Self Employment &
Training Institutes (RSETIs) are being
established by the J&K Bank and the
State Bank of India in collaboration with
the Ministry of Rural Development,
Government of India in the current year.
In the coming years, all the remaining
districts shall be covered by such
institutes. The government has started
a process of creating mass awareness
amongst the youth about the bright
prospects in self-employment
programme to be undertaken under the
seed capital scheme of the J&K
Entrepreneurship Development
Institute. A sum of Rs. 50 crores has
been provided as Entrepreneurship
Development Fund to be
operationalised through J&K
Entrepreneurship Development
Institute. (JK EDI) for this purpose. The
JKEDI has already finalized the
procedural aspects in consultation with
the concerned state government
departments and J&K Bank for
implementation of the programme and
the same is expected to be on the
ground very shortly.
The employment department has
been organizing District Level
Employment fairs as part of its efforts to
create mass awareness amongst the
youth about various aspects of SKEWPY
and to set up their own enterprises with
the help of government's active support
and financial help.
An Overseas Employment
Corporation has been approved by the
government and the same shall come
into existence very soon after
completion of legal formalities. The
procedural formalities for its
registration under the Company's Act
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are also under finalization. The process
for setting up of an Empowered
Employment Facilitating Agency is also
on.
A sum of Rs.10 crore has been
sanctioned by the government in favour
o f J & K Wo m e n D e v e l o p m e n t
Corporation for setting up self
employment enterprises by the girls and
women. The Women Development
Corporation is presently engaged in the
process of identifying entrepreneurs
and selecting appropriate schemes for
them for setting up women specific
entrepreneurial ventures.
The government has already
instituted 5 awards in the field of
innovations with a prize of Rs. 1 lakh
each as announced by me during the last
budget session. A committee has also
been constituted for selecting the best
innovations every year.
As per the declared policy of the
government, the selections by the PSC,
SSSB and the Police Recruitment Board
have been fast tracked. As per the
figures available for the year 2009, 1300
candidates have been selected by the
PSC, 10,045 candidates have been
selected by SSSB and 7499 candidates
selected by the Police Recruitment
Board after first January, 2009. The
government has simultaneously settled
2912 cases of compassionate
appointments under SRO-43. Out of this
number, employment has been provided
in 1,362 cases and cash assistance in the
remaining cases. This takes the total
figure of employment to 20,206, the
highest ever in a single year.
The government has created
around 6,500 new posts since January
2009. Currently, 20,665 vacancies have
been identified and accordingly over
20,000 youth are likely to get
government jobs in the year 2010. The
government has additionally created
3000 posts exclusively for the migrants
Vol. 4, Issue 4
26
which are to be filled up shortly through
a special recruitment drive.
The government has taken a bold
and historical initiative of introducing
Voluntary Service Allowance for the
unemployed youth hailing from
financially weaker families from the
next financial year. The details of the
VSA form part of the policy document on
SKEWPY copies of which had been sent
by the government to the hon'ble
members. The government considers
that this support extended to the most
deserving boys and girls among the
educated unemployed youth shall prove
to be an important hand holding
measure in the interim, till they get
absorbed in their self employment
ventures or get a government or private
sector job during their eligibility
period. This measure is also in
consonance with the popular demand
made by many members of this august
House during the last session.
The policy document released by
the government was mostly welcomed,
though criticized by some. We have
tried to pick up all constructive
suggestions for further improvements in
our plan of action reflected in SKEWPY.
In fact, I will be very keen to listen to
more suggestions from the Hon'ble
members on making further
improvements in the scheme shaped up
by the government and gratefully
acknowledge well meaning practical
and concrete suggestions forthcoming
from any quarter on this engaging issue
which is our common problem
regardless of the positions of the chairs
we occupy in this House.
A provision of Rs.113.80 crore has
been kept under plan and non-plan for
implementation of various schemes
falling under SKEWPY. The government
shall not hesitate in supplementing
these allocations to any extent as per
actual need.
Epilogue, April 2010
27
WELFARE OF CANCER PATIENTS:
Apart from providing
infrastructure for long-term benefits to
the society, it also becomes necessary
for the government to give lead in such
philanthropic measures as are generally
initiated and carried out by
conscientious members of the society.
Cancer is a malady which cannot be
handled merely by making available
infrastructure and diagnostic facilities
in government institutes or private
sector mainly because the treatment
and management of cancer is expensive
and beyond the financial means of poor
and even middle class families.
Accordingly, the government has
decided to create a Cancer Treatment
and Management Fund designed to run
on voluntary donations qualifying for
income tax rebate. The Fund shall be
managed under the advice of experts
and philanthropists with the active
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involvement of the government.
Assistance from the Fund shall be
targeted toward poor and lower middle
class families. I announce an initial
contribution of Rs100 lakh for corpus of
this Fund.
There are a large number of
employees in the government and
autonomous bodies who are drawing a
substantial amount in the name of
monthly medical allowance. I appeal to
them to get a small amount ranging
between Rs.10 per month to Rs.50 per
month deducted at source from this
allowance as contribution towards the
Cancer Treatment & Management Fund
to help their less fortunate brothers and
sisters. I will be issuing instructions to
the DDOs on these lines.
As the proposed donations shall be
purely voluntary, any employee may ask
his DDO in writing not to make such
deductions. However, I am sure that all
Vol. 4, Issue 4
in focus
Budget 2010
our government employees have a
human heart full of compassion and
such exceptions would be rare. The
Fund shall seek voluntary donations
from individuals and philanthropic
institutions as well.
THE FOURTH ESTATE:
The Press is recognized as the
Fourth estate in our democratic set up.
Apart from serving as a potent medium
for expressing public opinion, it also
provides an effective medium of
communication between the
government and the people in respect
of government policies and
H I G H L I G H T S
Rs. 35 crore envisaged for
enhancing share capital of
State Financial
Corporation for its revival.
Initial Rs. 5 crore
provisioned in 2010-11.
Rs. 20 crore for
reactivation of worn out
and procurement of new
water supply pumps.
Rs. 2 crore for
strengthening the
Planning mechanism.
Plan outlay for Rural
Development raised by
82%. Roads Sector gets
51% hike. Social Services
receive 45% enhancement.
Agriculture Sector outlay
hiked by 28%.
Epilogue, April 2010
in focus
Budget 2010
programmes. Often this objective is
achieved through government
advertisements. With the ever
increasing costs of printing, the need
for making an increase in the
advertisement rates was felt and the
same has been already notified by the
government. With a view to ensuring
that no shortage of funds is faced in
making timely payments to the
newspapers and magazines, I have
already enhanced the budgetary
allocation of Information Department
from the existing level of Rs.530 lakh to
Rs. 680 lakh in the revised estimates of
the current financial year. For the next
year, a provision of Rs.925 lakh has been
proposed.
These allocations are in addition to
the funds drawn for meeting
department specific needs from the
allocations under individual schemes
and projects. I intend to create a
mechanism for ensuring that no
liabilities are carried forward by any
department on account of costs of
advertisements and all bills are paid off
in a timely manner from the budgetary
allocations of the same financial year.
GOOD GOVERNANCE:
The government is committed to
bring in good governance at the door
steps of the people. Transparency in the
functioning of the government, Right to
Information Act, effective monitoring of
all government schemes and
programmes are hallmark of realizing
goals of good governance. Hon'ble
members will be happy to know that for
the first time a sizeable chunk of our
plan projects numbering 150 and
costing Rs.744 crore have been assigned
for monitoring to independent
professional agencies in consultation
with the Planning Commission.
The Unique Identification scheme
for all citizens has been launched by the
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central government. A Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
has been already created. The State
Government is in close touch with this
Authority and would like to take a lead
in getting the first set of UID numbers in
our State. This scheme shall provide an
effective platform for financial
inclusion and targeted subsidy
payments. The Voluntary Service
Allowance announced as part of
SKEWPY shall be brought into the ambit
of this scheme. The Public Distribution
System shall be our another major
initiative for electronically controlling
the movement and stocking of food
grains, issuance to the dealers and
monitoring of distribution of food grains
to the targeted population which shall
be linked to UID scheme. Matters of
Permanent Resident Certificates are
being linked to this scheme, resulting
into lot of convenience to the people.
The government is also examining
the possibility of introducing e-
tendering with a view to make
t e n d e r i n g o f w o r k s s p e e d i e r,
transparent and more efficient.
ENTRY TAX:
The State Government is heavily
investing in infrastructure
developmental programmes to change
the economic landscape. The
Government granted exemption from
payment of Entry Tax, (subject to the
fulfillment of certain conditions) on
'earthmoving machines' required by
registered contractors for execution of
works contract in respect of Centrally
Sponsored Schemes, Mega Flagship and
other Central Schemes. It has been
experienced that the procedure in
vogue, for grant of such exemption is
time consuming. I, accordingly propose
to simplify the procedure by a suitable
regulation. This shall ensure speedy
completion of development projects in
Vol. 4, Issue 4
28
the State for the benefit of its economic
development and prosperity.
SIMPLIFICATION OF TAX
ADMINISTRATION:
During my pre-budget discussions,
the need to bring about several
amendments, in various taxation laws
and rules pertaining to Excise and
Commercial Taxes Departments was
emphasized by representatives of trade
and industry. Many of these suggestions
are seemingly logical and need mutual
understanding. Dynamism lies at the
core of every taxation law. As a
consequence, the law keeps on
evolving. With the twin objective of a
better tax administration and a hassle
free compliance, I propose to constitute
a Committee, comprising of senior
officers of the Commercial Taxes,
Excise and Finance Departments to
revisit various provisions and to propose
changes, wherever required.
VALUE ADDED TAX AND PROPOSED
GOODS & SERVICES TAX ACT.
Successful transition from the
State General Sales Tax Act to the Value
Added Tax regime has been experienced
in our state. Now transformation of
Value Added Tax into a much more
comprehensive Goods and Services Tax
is under consideration of the
Empowered Committee of State finance
ministers of which I am also a member. A
lot of debate has already taken place on
this subject. The Union Finance Minister
has announced that GST Act may be
considered for adoption with effect
from 01.04.2011.
The SSI units operating in the state
were enjoying Sales Tax exemption on
raw material and finished goods for the
periods prescribed in the package of
incentives sanctioned by the
government from time to time. With the
transition from the State GST Act to VAT
Epilogue, April 2010
29 in focus
Budget 2010

regime, exemption from general sales
tax was automatically withdrawn. In
order to protect the industry from the
additional burden falling on account of
imposition of VAT, I continued
exemption favouring industry even
under the VAT regime. Now that the
proposal for application of the new
Goods and Services Tax Act has been
deferred by one year and VAT Act shall
continue to be in force, I propose to
extend the benefit of this exemption to
the eligible industry by one more year.
TAXES ON ROOM RENT CHARGED BY
HOTELS, LODGES AND GUEST HOUSES:
Income arising out of room rent by
hotels, lodges and guesthouses is liable
to tax. With a view to support the
tourism industry, I had agreed to
exempt such income from any tax
leviable under the General Sales Tax
Act. We are hoping for better tourist
arrivals during the next financial year.
However, in order to continue support
to this sector and the hotel industry, I
announce continuation of such
exemption from General Sales Tax Act
for another period of one year
commencing from 01.04.2010.
achieved by better management and
expected growth in economy. However,
a portion will have to be contributed by
introducing changes in the existing
taxation rates. I propose to touch only
two items for meeting my instant
objective.
The Value Added Tax or VAT is being
administered under the policy frame
work designed by the Empowered
Committee of the State Finance
Ministers constituted at the national
level so as to maintain uniformity in
taxation rates for important
commodities all over the country and
avoid tax war between neighboring
states. The rates are enforced by all the
states on a system of Uniform Floor
Rates for various categories. The
individual states are free to go above
the Uniform Floor Rates. We have
maintained a large number of items at
the Uniform Floor Rate of 4%. Now the
Empowered Committee has decided to
increase the UFR for this category to 5%.
I propose the enhancement of the
existing rate of 4% to 5% accordingly. On
a proportionate basis, the rate of
service tax chargeable under GST act is
proposed to be increased from 8% to
10%. I did not intend to change the
existing VAT rate of 12.5%. However, our
neighboring states have gone for a 10%
surcharge on this rate which means an
increase of 1.25%. I have no option but
to fall in line keeping in view the
understanding in the Empowered

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE
MOBILIZATION (ARM):
It is part of my inescapable duty to
periodically initiate measures which
would improve the internal resources
of the government. The state's income
comes from two categories classified as
tax revenue and non-tax revenue. The
structure of non tax revenue requires a A. Plan Capital Expenditure 4106 6047 5770 6279
systematic revamping. However, I
refrain from touching the rates, fees,
tariff applicable in various sector of
non-tax revenue for the time being. I
have already stated that I am targeting
a 23% increase in the tax revenue
collection during the next financial
year. Part of this growth shall be

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in focus
Budget 2010
Committee and, therefore, propose an
increase of only 1%.
The rate of toll tax chargeable by
weight and fixed at Rs.40 per quintal
more than seven years ago has not been
revised for a considerably long time
though the cost of goods has increased
by now several times. I propose to
increase it to Rs.50 per quintal.
RELIEF TO FARMERS:
I mentioned in the beginning that
the agriculture and horticulture sector
needs stimulation. I intend to start the
p r o c e s s b y a b o l i s h i n g VAT o n
Agricultural tools & implements
because these items are already being
subsidized by the government for
popularizing mechanization of
agricultural and horticultural farms.
The proposed measure shall make them
still cheaper and their use will,
hopefully, become more popular. The
toll tax on these items shall also be
abolished.
Pesticides, weedicides and
insecticides are essential for disease
control in agriculture, horticulture and
allied sectors. As a support to the
farmers in crop protection, I propose to
abolish toll tax on these items as well.
During the last budget session, I
had experimented with using toll tax as
a tool for stimulating economic activity
by abolishing toll tax on day old chicks
and increasing the rate of toll tax on
poultry birds. Encouraged by the
success of that experiment, I propose to
abolish toll tax on all types of fertilizers
w.e.f. 01.04.2010. I hope that this
measure shall provide a much-needed
major stimulus to the agriculture sector
as the cost of all fertilizers including
urea shall be now lower by Rs.500 per
MT.
The state is supporting a large
animal population, almost equal in
number to the human population.
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However, the land available for feeding
them is far from being adequate. It is
estimated that about 60% of our
requirement of green and dry fodder is
met by purchases from outside the
state. I accordingly announce abolition
of toll tax on fodder as well.
Bee hives and bee colonies are
often required to be transported across
the state border. The movement of
these items is currently subjected to
toll tax. The bee colonies and bee hives
are also subjected to VAT. In order to
encourage beekeeping, I announce
abolition of both toll tax as well as VAT
on bee hives as well as bee colonies.
Solar energy equipment including
solar cookers, solar heaters, solar
dryers, solar lantern, solar street
lighting etc need to be encouraged in
the interest of keeping our planet green
and to help a large number of our people
living in remote villages. Even in urban
areas such equipments need to be
encouraged. Accordingly, I propose to
abolish VAT as well as toll tax on these
items.
Fresh cheese or paneer is a very
important source of protein and
particularly important in a vegetarian
diet. I propose abolition of VAT on this
item. Incidentally, this should also help
in promotion of D-Industry in the state.
SOME OTHER RELIEF:
Feni or Femian is an item
consumed particularly on some special
occasions by our mothers and sisters
when they take to fasting to celebrate
some very pious occasions. The item
presently attracts VAT rate of 12.5%. I
propose to abolish VAT on this item all
together. Similarly dhoop and agarbatti
are popularly used for cleaning up the
air and environment. Accordingly, it has
come to be associated with worship and
important social occasions in all regions
of the State and all religions. I propose
Vol. 4, Issue 4
30
to do away with the VAT on this item as
well.
Guchchi or Gushian, Gul Banafsha
or Banaksa and Anardana are items from
forests and barren lands which are
collected by a large number of people
living in villages for their livelihood. The
VAT rate on these items is 12.5%. In view
of labour intensive process of collection
of these items, I propose to include this
item in 0% category of VAT schedule.
Wheat, flour, suji, besan, paddy
and rice are presently in 0% VAT
category. I propose to continue them in
the exempted category for another
year.
GENDER BUDGETING:
I have mentioned about creation of
additional Anganwari Centres and
increase in honorarium of Anganwari
Workers and Helpers. Mention has been
made by me about employment
programme for women under SKEWPY.
In our society, most of the landed
property is held in the names of men
folk. Transfer of ownership rights to
women in the family will result into
positive socio economic changes and
qualitative shift in the attitude of the
male dominated society toward the
female members of the families. In
order to encourage adopting of such a
practice by the society, I propose to
provide concession of 25% in the amount
of chargeable stamp duty if the land is
purchased in the name of a female
member of any family. This will
empower our women folk in real sense.
RELIEF TO TRADERS:
Every trader with a turnover
exceeding Rs.40 lakh is required to file
an audited report under section 60 of
J&K VAT Act, 2005. With the passage of
time, this limit needs to be increased. I
propose to increase this limit to Rs.60
lakh.
Epilogue, April 2010
31 in focus
Budget 2010

As per rule 9A of J&K VAT Rules,

2005, the practice of replacement of
defective parts is recognized and no VAT
is chargeable on the new parts if the
defective part is returned within 90
days of purchase. It has been observed
that in some cases this time period may
not be sufficient. I propose to extend
the time limit to 180 days.

ARREARS OF PAY REVISION:

As the Hon'ble Members are
already aware, the government
sanctioned the revised pay scales
recommended by the Sixth Central Pay
Commission to the state government
employees, retrospectively from
1.1.2006 and released cash benefits
from the first of July, 2009. I had stated
in this house during the last budget
session that the requirement of funds to
clear the arrears comes to over Rs.4000
crore. I had also stated that the demand
for allocation of this amount had been
projected to the Thirteenth Finance
Commission adding further that if this
amount is made available to the
government in one go, I would be the
happiest person to release 100% arrears
in cash. I had accordingly appealed to
the government employees to wait till
the picture becomes clear with the
Thirteenth Finance Commission's
Award.
The Commission has been fairly
appreciative of our financial needs and
has accommodated us to a great extent
in respect of many other demands made
through our Memorandum, as I have
already stated. In respect of the arrears
of pay revision, the Commission has
considered our demand alongwith
similar demands made by other states.
It has made very categorical
observations on this demand and I
quote,
“In our discussions with State
Governments, a significant portion of

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Budget 2010
the memoranda presented and the
discussions on the future fiscal roadmap
centered around the impact of this
award on state finances. For the
Centre, arrears alone amounted to
Rs.28,160 crore on a salary base of
Rs.44,360 crore. While many reforms
can and should be, contemplated to end
this self-inflicted distortion, one action
that could be taken immediately is that
of making the pay award commence
from the date on which the
recommendations of future Pay
Commissions are accepted by the
government. In effect, this would do
away with the need for arrears. Since
state governments' awards typically
follow those of the central government,
this would allow states to time their
awards such that the need for arrears
does not arise. In our view, if Finance
Commissions are able to present their
inter-governmental recommendations
without any need for retrospective
fiscal transactions, then the same
should be possible in the case of Pay
Commission as well”.
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I may also share with the Hon'ble
members that all Finance Commissions
give Awards keeping in view a basic
common objective to put the states
under pressure to improve their own
resources and fiscal performance during
the next five years of Award.
Accordingly, they normally provide
higher non plan revenue deficit grants
in the first year and gradually reduce
the same to a lower level in each
successive year. The state governments
are consequently bound to improve
their own resources and to cut their non
plan expenditure. Any increases in
expenditure such as incremental
growth in salary e xpen diture,
additional DA installments, office
expenses and other establishment costs
etc have to be fully matched by
improvements in their own tax and non
tax revenues. The Thirteenth Finance
Commission has chosen to give this
message rather more loudly and
strongly. Speaking of my own state, I
may point out that our non plan revenue
deficit grant in the year 2010-11 has
Vol. 4, Issue 4
32
been fixed at Rs.3940 crore which
sharply declines to Rs.2096 crore in the
last and the final year of the Award. It is
a dip of Rs.1856 crore. Not only this,
the Commission has also stipulated
that the fiscal deficit in respect of our
state should be reduced to 3% in the
final year of the Award. Therefore, our
borrowing capacity shall also get
reduced gradually. Intermediate
targets for reduction of fiscal deficit
from its current level of 5.5% to 3%
have also been prescribed by the
Commission.
I am sure that the Hon'ble members
of this August House understand the
position clearly. I appeal to the
government employees who have been
resorting to frequent strikes on this
issue to understand the position with
the same clarity. The government
earlier committed to pay the arrears as
soon as the resources for the same
would be found. The government would
like to reiterate its commitment with
the same degree of conviction. After we
found that the issue has been closed by
Epilogue, April 2010
33 in focus
Budget 2010

the Thirteenth Finance Commission, our
Hon'ble Chief Minister has raised this
demand at the highest level asking for
additional funds specifically for
liquidation of these arrears. We have
not lost our hope nor I would like the
fraternity of the government employees
to think differently. Without arranging
the requisite additional funds, issuing
a government sanction shall be
meaningless. Similarly no amount of
strikes or agitations can generate
resources. Either we get the requisite
additional funds in near future or we
sit across together and mutually look
into any practicable alternatives. I
accordingly appeal to the employees
to cooperate with the government on
this issue. All of us sitting in this House
and the government employees who
are on the streets today, are
accountable to the people and also
duty bound to work for their welfare.
Even if a single individual member of
the public suffers because of
abstention of employees from work, it
w o u l d b e a n
unpardonable sin. I would
appeal to the striking
employees to return to
work forthwith on this
single consideration alone.
sessions with the representatives of
farming community representing
diverse interests like agriculture,
horticulture, sericulture, vegetable
growers, floriculturists, sheep and
cattle breeders, poultry, milk
processing, cooperation and credit, bee
keeping etc. I would be failing in my
duty if I do not express my
appreciation for the knowledge they
exhibited about the government
functioning and programmes and the
awareness of the national and in some
cases global environment in which
they are operating. Some of the
Hon'ble Members of the House chose to
address communications to me
through print media. They were also
joined by economists, intellectuals
and activists from various fields. I have
studied their communications with
interest and reverence. The valuable
information collected through all
these interactions has been preserved
by us and shall continue to guide us in
future.
The first year of functioning of
the coalition government has been
m om e n tou s i n m a n y re sp e c ts,
inclusive of fiscal corrections and
consolidation of financial
management. Apart from what I have
been able to do within one year, I am
fully conscious that a lot more remains
to be done quickly. All that remains
will have to be done with patience,
understanding and dispassion to
enable the people of the state to
become equal and effective partners
in the national economy in the global
context. The solutions to all our socio-
economic problems will continue to be
searched in progressive, scientific,
transparent and pragmatic manner by
utilizing the latest skills, tools and
technology available across the globe.
This vision of the coalition government
headed by our dynamic and young
Chief Minister Janab Omar Abdullah
Sahib will continue to guide all our
policies and programmes.

CONCLUSION:
During my pre budget
discussions with
representatives of the
t r a d e a n d i n d u s t r y,
tourism, economists,
intellectuals and
academicians etc, very
valuable suggestions were
made by the participants.
For the first time in the
history of budget
preparation, I also held
detailed interactive

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

in focus
Budget 2010
OPPOSITION REACTIONS
Budget is not About
Reciting Couplets
MUZAFFAR HUSSAIN BEIGH
Former Finance Minister
T
he budget presented by Finance
Minister Abdul Rahim Rather was
more or less a balance sheet of a
company secretary as this document
lacks concrete road maps to solve the
burning economic issues confronting
the State. By writing couplets you are
not going to change the economic
landscape of the State.
I understand limitation of a
Finance Minister but nothing concrete
has been proposed in the this year's
budget to address the burning issues
like unemployment, price rise, power,
fiscial deficit, problems of employees
and public sector units.
The provisions made in the budget
for creating job avenues are all
cosmetics and unrealistic. People of
Kashmir consume mutton, chicken and
milk products worth Rs 2000 crore per
year but in your budget proposal no
provision has been made to involve
unemployed youth of the State in this
sector. More than two lakh youth could
be provided employment in dairy,
poultry and sheep breeding sectors. It
is unfortunate that in the budget
Finance Minister has not make proposal
to tap this sector. I am equally surprised
over Finance Minister's non serious
attitude on herbs and floriculture
sectors in creating employment
opportunities. During the tenure of
www.epilogue.in
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed some serious
efforts were made in both the sectors.
The proposal of Rs 118 crore corpus tax
for employment is not going to solve any
purpose because last year 85 crores
were kept for same purpose. The
government has failed to take
suggestions from the poultry and sheep
breeding experts in this regard.
The government has to bring down the
debt ratio by 25 percent by the end of
the year 2014 but there is no road map
for this in the budget proposal. Finance
Minister also appears to have failed in
taking some concrete measures to
improve power situation in the State.
No provision has been made in the
budget for the augmentation of
transmission lines especially in the
Kashmir Valley to improve power
situation
Opposing proposal of the Finance
Minister to increase VAT by one percent,
I warn that this step would have
cascading effect as it will further
increase prices of essential
commodities and poor people would be
worst suffer of the this unnecessary
step. This is no compulsion on the State
to increase VAT by one percent. Despite
decline in the agriculture production
this sector has not given thrust in the
budget proposals.
Vol. 4, Issue 4
34
As far as fiscal deficit is concerned,
the government has to bring down the
debt ratio by 25 percent by the end of
the year 2014 but there is no road map
for this in the budget proposal. Finance
Minister also appears to have failed in
taking some concrete measures to
improve power situation in the State.
No provision has been made in the
budget for the augmentation of
transmission lines especially in the
Kashmir Valley to improve power
situation. In its award the Finance
Commission has mentioned that
conservation of electricity and efforts
to control power thefts be given
priority. It is height that Chief Minister
who himself holds power as well as
Home portfolios has shown his inability
to control power thefts despite
powerful state apparatus in his hand.
The excuses being offered by the
government in resolving issues of
employees particularly on sixth pay
commission recommendations are
questionable. In my opinion you have
not properly read Award of the 13th
Finance Commission as according to my
opinion the Commission has accept in
principal. The Finance Commission in its
Award has asked the State Government
to dis-invest or privatize all non
profitable public sector units by the end
of March 2011. No roadmap has been
proposed in the budget in this regard.
(Excerpted from Beigh's speech
in Legislative Assembly)
Epilogue, April 2010
 35
OPPOSITION REACTIONS
Not Budget, It Was
Constitutional Filler
TARIQ HAMEED KARRA
Former Finance Minister
T
his year's budget appears
more like constitutional filler
than a concrete document.
What Finance Minister Abdul Rahim
Rather read out in Assembly sounded
quite uninspiring and a crude fraud
of figures. It reflected a collective
incompetence of the National
Conference-Congress coalition
government.
People had lot of expectations
from the budget presented by
finance minister, Abdul Rahim
R a t h e r. B u t w h a t R a t h e r h a s
presented is very uninspiring and
figurative. The intention seems to
confuse the members. In some
sectors, the minister has even
blamed nature to hide his
It was for the first time in the history
of Kashmir that a tentative budget has
been presented in the assembly. The
presentation of tentative budget has
exposed the government's
performance
www.epilogue.in
incompetence. During our term,
Rather sahib used to say that the budget
figures were fudged. Today he has given
me an opportunity to say that today's
budget is fraud of figures.
It was for the first time in the
history of Kashmir that a tentative
budget has been presented in the
assembly. The presentation of
tentative budget has exposed the
government's performance. The
government has presented the
budget without having figures. Last
year the government said the plan
allocation was Rs 5500 crores but they
conveniently created fraud. Out of Rs
5500 crore budget, 3000 crores were
advanced additional assistance,
recoverable within next five years. In
actuality, last year's plan was just 2500
crores. As far as the State annual plan is
concerned, maximum the state
government will be able to achieve will
be 80 per cent with the parked money of
Rs 600 crores.
The coalition government is out
to create a messy situation in the
power sector by losing Rs 1300
crores which State used to get from
the New Delhi as power reforms. In
our rule, the power transmission and
distribution losses were just 45 per
cent. However, in just one year, it
has reached 72 per cent.
Interestingly, the department is run by
the chief minister himself. This speaks
volumes about the performance of the
Vol. 4, Issue 4
in focus
Budget 2010
The coalition government is out to
create a messy situation in the power
sector by losing Rs 1300 crores which
State used to get from the New Delhi
as power reforms. In our rule, the
power transmission and distribution
losses were just 45 per cent. However,
in just one year, it has reached 72 per
cent. Interestingly, the department is
run by the chief minister himself. This
speaks volumes about the
performance of the State government
State government. During our rule,
every year we would get Rs 1300 crores
from New Delhi. However, since NC took
over, we're suffering a deficit of Rs 1300
on power infrastructure sector. Against
the projected revenue of Rs 1100 crore,
the government was only able to collect
Rs 670 crore revenue from the power
sector. The government is not providing
electricity to the people. However, the
bills are rising. When Mufti sahib took
over as chief minister in 2002, concrete
steps were taken to improve the power
scenario. Thankfully we achieved a lot.
Instead of controlling the price
rise of essential commodities, the
government was increasing toll tax,
service tax and VAT taxes. Fresh
taxes are burden on the people as
they had to bear the brunt. The
prices of essentials are soaring. I fail
to understand why meat prices rise
only during NC's rule.
Epilogue, April 2010
exclusive series 36
New Research on Kashmir

PANDIT RAMCHANDRA KAK

The Forgotten Premier of Kashmir
RAKESH ANKIT

th
One of 20 century England's most brilliant biographers, Giles Lytton Strachey – in the preface of his
smashing Eminent Victorians (1918) – argued that 'Human beings are too important to be treated as
mere symptoms of the past. They have a value which is independent of any temporal processes –
which is eternal, and must be felt for its own sake'. Among all the important 'human beings', with
eternal value, associated with Jammu and Kashmir in the year 1947, Rai Bahadur Pandit Ramchandra
Kak remains the least known. This is surprising because Kak was the Prime Minister of the Jammu and
Kashmir State from 30 June 1945 to 11 August 1947 – the all-important prelude to the events of
August-October 1947. In his retirement in Simla 9 years later, Kak wrote a note titled 'Jammu and
Kashmir State in 1946-47: Dilemma of Accession – The Missing Link in the Story' which can be accessed
at the Oriental and India Office Collection, British Library (London), manuscript no. MSS Eur D 862.
This is an important document which allows a rare window into the views of the man who has been
banished to the margins of history for a variety of personal reasons.

K ak begins by setting the record
straight that while the question
of accession was posed to the
Jammu and Kashmir Government on two
different occasions under two different
sets of conditions, the reaction of the
Kashmir Government was the same in
both cases: it did not wish to accede,
but would be willing to enter into a
stand still agreement. He confirms that
on the question of accession, his views
and those of His Highness Maharaja Hari
Singh (1925-1947) 'coincided though not
for identical reasons'. The subject of
accession arose first in late-1946 post-
the deliberations of the Cabinet
Mission. At this time, the issue of
partition had not arisen except as a
remote contingency, and accession was
envisaged only with reference to the
newly to-be-created Dominion of India.
It arose for a second time in 1947, after
Lord Mountbatten's assumption of
office, when decision had been taken
with regard to the partition of India into
two dominions and Srinagar was asked
whether it would accede to India or to
Pakistan. On this latter occasion, the J
& K State proposed stand-still
arrangements with both Dominions 'in
respect of the spheres in which the
State's administrative arrangements,
for example the running of post office,
were interconnected with different
areas now to be incorporated within
India or Pakistan' (underlined in
original).
The decisive factor which
influenced Kak in 1946 to hold the
abovementioned view on accession was
'the attitude of the Indian National
Congress, in regard to the affairs of the
State'. Kak had been worried by the
growing closeness between the
Congress and Sheikh Abdullah during
1938-46. In his opinion, 'the Congress
had identified itself with Sheikh
Abdullah and lent its great weight of
authority to his agitation against the
State Government'. For Kak, 'the climax'
was the behaviour of the Congress
leadership – in particular Pandit Nehru –
when the Sheikh was arrested in May
1946. For the next two months, the
Congress leaders sent telegrams to Hari
Singh and Kak demanding Abdullah's
release; 'highly coloured, inaccurate
and vituperative statements' were
published; Nehru courted arrest in
trying to pay a visit to Abdullah at
Muzaffarabad and Uri; Asaf Ali and
others from the Congress stayed at
Srinagar appearing for Abdullah's
defence in his trial; the Congress passed
a resolution condemning the Kashmir
Government and appointed a
Commission comprising Jairamdas
Daulatram and Sri Prakasa to hold an

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

37
enquiry with regard to the happenings
in connection with Sheikh Abdullah's
agitation, arrest, trial and conviction;
and, pressure was brought on Kak
himself – to secure Abdullah's release –
in his meetings with Mahatma Gandhi
and Sardar Patel in Bombay which also
saw Kak agreeing to Nehru's visit to
Kashmir and meeting with Abdullah
which duly took place at the end of July
1946.
It was against this background that
Kak and Hari Singh decided not to
accede in 1946. Earlier in the year, in
April, Kak had, 'notwithstanding the
attitude of the Congress in regard to the
Kashmir Government', supported the
Congress' demand – emphatically and
unequivocally – for the transfer of
power in India to the Congress, to Lord
Pethick Lawrence when the Cabinet
Mission visited Srinagar.
In 1947, once Lord Mountbatten
and partition both arrived on the scene,
accession which had previously been
merely a matter of choice now became
a matter of necessity. Kashmir now had
to state whether it would accede to
India or to Pakistan. Mountbatten
visited Srinagar in June 1947 with the
specific object of getting a decision
from Hari Singh on accession. He also
met Kak and then met him again in Delhi
the following month. On both occasion,
he emphasised the 'admissibility and
advantages' of accession and pointed
out that he himself was 'by birth, up-
bringing and conviction' a believer in
constitutional monarchy. Kak relates an
interesting anecdote from these
meetings. When asked by Kak, as to
which Dominion he advised Kashmir to
accede, Mountbatten said, 'That is
entirely for you to decide. You must
consider your geographical position,
your political situation and the
composition of your population and
www.epilogue.in
then decide'. Kak rejoined, 'That means
that you advise us to accede to Pakistan.
It is not possible for us to do that; and
since that is so, we can not accede to
India'. As Kak later put it, 'since Kashmir
would not accede to Pakistan it could
not accede to India' (underlined in
original).
Kak's case falls into two parts –
economic survival and politico-military
survival. According to Kak, in 1947, the
revenue of the State was about Rs. 5
crores 60 lakhs, out of which about a
crore was expended on the army. The
period of Sir B. N. Rau's prime-
ministership (1943-45) had been
difficult for Kashmir and the State had
to borrow from the J & K Bank a sum
of Rs. 10 Lakhs to supplement its
revenue in the budget year 1945-46.
Kak managed to turn the fortunes
around, pay off all the liabilities and
achieve a surplus of Rs. 77 lakhs in the
budget year 1946-47. Writing in 1956,
Kak surveys around among other
comparable under-
developed/developing Asian/African
countries that were slowly emerging
from their colonial periods and asks
sardonically, 'whose resources…are
now adequate to meet all the needs?
Kashmir could also have queued up
with the rest for assistance without
any undue feeling of shame
During this visit to Delhi from 23 to
27 July 1947, Kak also met Mahatma
Gandhi, Jinnah, Sardar Patel, Pandit
Nehru ('for a few minutes') and V. P.
Menon. Kak's accounts of his
conversations with Jinnah and Menon
are particularly important – in the light
of what happened later. After a 'lengthy
and frank discussion', Menon – according
Vol. 4, Issue 4
exclusive series
New Research on Kashmir
to Kak – 'quickly appreciated the reasons
prompting the State's decision as
regards accession'. They parted on the
understanding that Menon would visit
Kak soon after the transfer of power on
15 August to consider the future
security arrangements – a meeting
which never happened as Kak was
removed from his post by Hari Singh on
11 August. Jinnah, after a long talk,
advised Kak 'to accede to Pakistan and
stated that Kashmir, by immediate
accession would get far better terms
from Pakistan than she was likely to get
later'. When Kak responded by assuring
Jinnah that Srinagar's position on non-
accession was definite, Jinnah said that
'so far as he was concerned, he was
prepared to concede that this was an
option which could be exercised by the
State and so long as the State did not
accede to India, he would not mind if it
did not accede to Pakistan'.
August-September 1947 is an
action-packed and dramatic period in
Kashmir's modern history – perhaps the
most moving and decisive in the crisis of
Kashmir. Its significance stems from
what Kak terms 'the decapitation of the
entire administration'. Kak was
eliminated from the scene on 11 August;
the Revenue Minister was retired a few
days later and then came the deluge.
The Chief Secretary, the Chief of the
Army Staff, the IG-Police, the Governor,
the Director of Civil Supplies, the Chief
Engineer – all were removed and in their
place were appointed people 'of little or
no experience; doubtful reputation;
[and, most crucially] the majority
belonging to one community, the
Maharaja's own'. The lack of authority
was best symbolised by the 82-year old
Major General Janak Singh – the new
Prime Minister – and his 64-days tenure.
So if – as stated in the beginning –
there was no difference of opinion
Epilogue, April 2010
exclusive series
New Research on Kashmir
between the Maharaja and his Prime
Minister with regard to the policy of
non-accession, particularly after the
partition, then what changed? How did
things start to unravel so rapidly from
towards the end of August 1947? Why
was Kak removed and then detained; an
enquiry initiated on charges brought
against him? Was Kak's persecution, as
he puts it, 'initiated by Hari Singh to
mask the discrepancy between his real
intentions se elements inside the State
which urged immediate accession to
India, to believe?'
Kak is at pains to clarify that 'so
long as it was thought that India would
be one single unit, his objection to
accession was due to the identification
of the Congress with Sheikh Abdullah,
and their refusal to see any other point
of view'. From May 1946 onwards,
Congress had insisted not merely on
Abdullah's immediate release but on the
drafting of a new constitution for the
State and transfer of power to the
Sheikh under its terms. This was
obviously unacceptable to Kak but this
unacceptance had more to do with the
'particular set of circumstances' in 1946
and not to the principle of accession per
se. However, in 1947 – when the decision
to partition was taken – Kak's objection
to accession, was of 'a fundamental
character'.
Kak explains his position
brilliantly in his note.
He begins by arguing that
'whatever may be said to the contrary,
the decision to partition India owed its
inception to the state of discord
prevailing between the Hindus and the
Muslims' and was to be effected 'in such
a manner that not merely did the
country fall into two parts, but
provinces and even districts were
divided' along the majoritarian
principle regardless of the party in
www.epilogue.in
power, for example, the NWFP where
despite a Congress ministry 91% people
voted for accession to Pakistan in the
referendum.
He further points out that 'the only
rational course for a state – if it decided
to accede – [was] to assure itself first
whether its population would support
During his meeting with V. P. Menon in
July 1947, Kak had drawn a parallel
between the circumstances of 1846 –
when the state of J & K was created
and 1947. It is an insightful and
meaningful lesson from history. The J&
K State emerged under General Gulab
Singh after the first Anglo-Sikh War in
which while the Sikhs had been
militarily defeated, their political base
and power had remained far from
being vanquished. The East India
Company agreed with Gulab Singh in
1846 for the creation of a semi-
independent J & K State – an area
ceded by the Sikh Government of
Lahore to them – which would remain
friendly with the British and be a less-
expensive economic and military ally
from behind the backs of the still-
turbulent Sikhs of the Punjab. The
strategic idea was that if the Sikhs
moved against the East India Company,
Gulab Singh and the J & K forces would
be able to harass them from the rear.
the accession' (and gives the highly
pertinent example of the Nawab of
Junagadh and his failed attempts to
accede to Pakistan); notwithstanding
the rather 'disingenuous and lofty legal
option to accede to either'.
For Kak, 'In the case of Kashmir,
with an extensive border running with
Pakistan and a population of 76%
Muslims, the only safe and possible
Vol. 4, Issue 4
38
course, short of acceding to Pakistan,
was, in the circumstances then
prevailing, to remain outside the
arena…To achieve this, however, it was
essential so to act that it was obvious to
all, friends and foes alike, that the
State's policy was genuine and that it
really meant what it said'.
As for India and Pakistan, Kak
writes that 'it would have paid both to
come to an understanding between
themselves, at any rate, during the nine
weeks that elapsed between 15 August
1947 and 22 October 1947, that no
inducement be held out or pressure
exercised to bring Kashmir within the
orbit of either the one or the other, and
that both Governments would
guarantee the security of the State from
outside aggression'.
Of course, we know what
happened. Events developed
otherwise; interests in Delhi, Srinagar,
Karachi and Rawalpindi pulled Kashmir
in different directions and an
unresolved saga began. What then is the
'Missing Link' in the story of the dilemma
of accession, mentioned in the title? It
is, namely, 'could Kashmir have survived
if it had not acceded?' As the man most
committed to the possibility of such a
scenario, Kak now argues his case. With
the passage of time and the benefit of
hindsight, it is a useful – if an academic –
exercise to take a trip down the 'Kak
lane' and probe the possibility of this
alternative.
Kak's case falls into two parts –
economic survival and politico-military
survival. According to Kak, in 1947, the
revenue of the State was about Rs. 5
crores 60 lakhs, out of which about a
crore was expended on the army. The
period of Sir B. N. Rau's prime-
ministership (1943-45) had been
difficult for Kashmir and the State had
to borrow from the J & K Bank a sum of
Epilogue, April 2010
 39
Rs. 10 Lakhs to supplement its revenue
in the budget year 1945-46. Kak
managed to turn the fortunes around,
pay off all the liabilities and achieve a
surplus of Rs. 77 lakhs in the budget year
1946-47. Writing in 1956, Kak surveys
around among other comparable under-
developed/developing Asian/African
countries that were slowly emerging
from their colonial periods and asks
sardonically, 'whose resources…are now
adequate to meet all the needs?
Kashmir could also have queued up with
the rest for assistance without any
undue feeling of shame'.
Turning to the security scene, Kak
convincingly claims that in an internal
sense, in the period 1945 to August
1947, the J & K State did better than
both its neighbours – the Punjab and the
NWFP – in maintaining law and order and
tackling with the refugee problem
arisen from the communal clashes in
these two provinces while dealing with
the agitations of the National
Conference and the Muslim Conference.
Kak goes further and claims that 'on or
two occasions (eg. at Kohala), the State
Forces rendered assistance to the
Punjab authorities in dealing with
disturbances in their area'.
Externally, Kak has no illusions that
Kashmir would not have withstood for
any length of time, an attack from its
northern, north-western and north-
eastern borders. That left the Indian
and Pakistani borders from where
danger could have arisen for Kashmir
(this is what happened). Kak holds the
mutual 'apprehension of danger' on
behalf of the pre-dominantly Hindu
State administration and the pre-
dominantly Muslim State population
responsible for the events of August-
October 1947 with none-too-subtle
participation from New Delhi (political
maneuvers) and Karachi/Rawalpindi
www.epilogue.in
(military interventions).
During his meeting with V. P.
Menon in July 1947, Kak had drawn a
parallel between the circumstances of
1846 – when the state of J & K was
created and 1947. It is an insightful
and meaningful lesson from history.
The J& K State emerged under General
Gulab Singh after the first Anglo-Sikh
War in which while the Sikhs had been
militarily defeated, their political
base and power had remained far from
being vanquished. The East India
Company agreed with Gulab Singh in
1846 for the creation of a semi-
independent J & K State – an area
ceded by the Sikh Government of
Lahore to them – which would remain
friendly with the British and be a less-
expensive economic and military ally
from behind the backs of the still-
turbulent Sikhs of the Punjab. The
strategic idea was that if the Sikhs
moved against the East India Company,
Gulab Singh and the J & K forces would
be able to harass them from the rear.
Three years late, in 1849, the second
Anglo-Sikh war brought to an end the
Sikh political/military dominance in
Punjab and showed the short-
sightedness of the hurried nature in
which the Company had come to terms
with Gulab Singh. With the 1947
boundary between India and Pakistan
Authorised Dealer :
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KWALITY OPTICIANS
Authorised Dealer : Baush & Lomb, Rayban, Fastrack, Tommy, Vogue etc.
Jain Bazar, Jammu
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Vol. 4, Issue 4
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New Research on Kashmir
in Punjab not very different from the
1846 boundary between the Company
forces and Ranjit Singh's successors in
Lahore – this obvious and powerful
parallel was best summed up by Maj.
Gen. W. J. Cawthorn, the founder of
ISI, in a speech (ref. no. 8/1575) at the
Royal Institute of International Affairs
(Chatham House), London on 28
September 1948:
'Whatever the legal position might
be, from the political, economic and
strategic points of view, Pakistan could
not afford to have a hostile India right
up to the Western borders of J & K : a) It
would bring Indian army within 30 miles
of the military headquarters of Pakistan
and right behind the vital north-south
communication line; b) it would give
India control over the waterworks of
Chenab, Jhelum and Indus; c) it would
give India direct contact with
Afghanistan and Chitral and Swat in the
backdrop of indications that the Indian
Congress and the Young Afghan Party
were jointly encouraging the
Pathanistan idea; d) it would also place
India in an almost direct contact with
Russia'.
The above reasons then meant that
since Kashmir did not accede to
Pakistan and could not become
independent, it was not allowed to
accede to India, either.
VARILUX
50-North Block, Bahu Plaza Complex, Jammu
Phone : 0191- 2471036
Epilogue, April 2010
fighting terror 40
Persecution of Muslims

Tragic Tales of
Terror Hunt
M SHAMSUR RABB KHAN

The acquittal of eight innocent Muslims by the Patiala House Court in January 2010 shows how
security agencies, in the name of fighting terrorism, are found to be involved in prosecuting a
particular community with unbridled oppression, and without any legal justification.

T hese youths were arrested by the

Special Cell of Delhi Police on
charges of plotting terror attacks
on Indian Military Academy (IMA),
Dehradun. While delivering the
judgement, the court has not only
criticized the Special Cell of the Delhi
Police for cooking up false cases against
innocent Muslims (see Tehelka
Magazine, Vol. 7, Issue 8, 9 & 10,
February 27-March 13, 2010), it also
puts a serious question mark over the
working of the Anti-Terrorist Squad
(ATS) of various states. The stories of ill-
treatment meted out to these Muslims
show how the Special Cell of Delhi
Police planned, doctored and executed
the whole arrest drama to frame
innocent Muslims. In addition, it brings
to the fore the sheer lack of
transparency and accountability in the Commission headed by Justice shoddy and illegal investigations and
working of ATS or Special Cell that have G.D.Khosla, and following the extra-judicial methodology adopted by
been instrumental in the violations of recommendations of the Srivastava the Special Cell started casting doubt
legal procedures and professional
Committee, it has 70,000 personnel to over its covert operations. The most
ethics, which led to the prosecution of
look after the security of Delhi. The glaring example of Special Cell's
many innocent Muslims in the country.
Special Cell of the Delhi Police was investigation is the terror attack on
With the motto 'with you, for you
formed in 1986 as a counter-terrorism Parliament in December 2001, which it
always' and manning 177 police stations
force, which shot into prominence in completed in mere 17 days! On the
in India's capital, Delhi Police is
the late 1990s, when some of its speed with which the investigations of
considered to be a model police force in
'counter-specialist' officers went on to such an important case were carried
the country. Reorganized in 1946 and
kill many terrorists and claimed to have out, the Delhi High Court pulled up the
again in 1966, when the Government of
solved several cases. But very soon, Special Cell for the production of false
India constituted the Delhi Police

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

 41
arrest memos, doctoring of telephone
conversations and the illegal confining
of people to force them to sign blank
papers. Despite these observations,
instead of any strictures against the
officers, the Supreme Court of India, it
is startling to notice, accepted the Cell's
charge sheet against the accused
verbatim and upheld the death
sentence of Mohammad Afzal, albeit the
apex court acknowledged that there
was no proof that Mohammed Afzal
belonged to any terrorist group, but
went on to say, quite shockingly, "The
collective conscience of the society will
only be satisfied if capital punishment is
awarded to the offender."
In time, some of Special Cell
officers began to figure in extortion
cases and dubious encounters. In August
2005, a Delhi court ordered the Delhi
Police Commissioner to hold an inquiry
into the alleged high-handedness of its
officers for officially registering the
arrest of a couple four days after they
were actually arrested and for
threatening to implicate them in a false
case. The victims – Nazar Ali and his wife
Kusum – were picked up from their
house at Loni in the wee hours of July 24
in a fake case but their arrest was
officially indicated to have taken place
on July 27 morning. After the arrest, the
police demanded Rs 50,000 for
releasing them and threatened them
that if the amount was not paid, they
would be implicated in a false case. The
Metropolitan Magistrate observed:
“Prima facie, it appears that the
accused was detained by the police
prior to his actual time and date of
arrest shown in the their file; the report
of Investigation Officer (IO) along with
this order be sent to the office of
Commissioner of police to conduct a
separate inquiry in this case.”
In November 2009, charging
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Ravinder Tyagi, one of its celebrated
officers and a member of the
September 2008 Jamia Nagar
encounter, for framing two police
informers on terror charges – Irshad Ali
and Moarif Qamar – the CBI demanded
action against him. In an affidavit, the
CBI said that a team from Delhi's Special
Cell (the same team that led the Jamia
Reorganized in 1946 and again in 1966,
when the Government of India
constituted the Delhi Police
Commission headed by Justice
G.D.Khosla, and following the
recommendations of the Srivastava
Committee, it has 70,000 personnel to
look after the security of Delhi. The
Special Cell of the Delhi Police was
formed in 1986 as a counter-terrorism
force, which shot into prominence in
the late 1990s, when some of its
'counter-specialist' officers went on to
kill many terrorists and claimed to
have solved several cases. But very
soon, shoddy and illegal investigations
and extra-judicial methodology adopted
by the Special Cell started casting
doubt over its covert operations. The
most glaring example of Special Cell's
investigation is the terror attack on
Parliament in December 2001, which it
completed in mere 17 days!
Nagae encounter, including Mohan
Chand Sharma) had abducted two
innocent men, Irshad Ali and Moarif
Qamar, in December 2005, planted two
kg RDX and two pistols on them, and
then arrested them as "terrorists" who
belonged to Al Badr. To counter it,
Special Cell put up a new theory, filing
an affidavit to the Delhi High Court in
which it linked the duo with a Pakistan-
based terrorist, Baig and attributed the
Vol. 4, Issue 4
fighting terror
Persecution of Muslims
new finding to its deceased officer MC
Sharma. Interestingly, the links of
Qamar and Ali with Baig were not
mentioned in the charge sheet filed by
the Special Cell in a lower court in May
2006, and this theory came only after
the CBI filed a closure report in the case
with a conclusion that the two were
innocent (see Delhi Police Special Cell
Red-faced, Outlook magazine, April 21,
2009). As a result, Ali and Qamar spent
five years in jail.
Going through the dismal record of
the Special Cell of Delhi Police, there is
no doubt that not it has picked up
innocent Muslims and framed false
cases against them, it has crossed all
limits of a legal entity, and which has
been ridden with communal approach
to prosecute Muslims. More than that,
this security agency, instead of
upholding the law, has been engaged in
criminal act and if the Special Cell or
ATS is not checked by the government,
many more innocent Muslims will be
trapped in the quagmire of its extra-
judicial authority. Commenting on the
shoddy role of Special Cell of Delhi
Police, noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan
said: “Unfortunately, whenever the
courts have found that they [the Special
Cell] have been framing people by
fabricating evidence, they have not
suggested any action to be taken.
Unless they are punished very severely
by law, police officers will keep on
framing innocents as terrorists.”
Since the advent of terrorism in
India, the country has faced with
unprecedented loss of life and property,
in addition to a constant threat of bomb
blasts anywhere, anytime by invisible
hands. However, more heartening has
been the fact that in the aftermath of
every terror strike, persecution of
innocent Muslims has become a
systemic pattern. In order to prove their
Epilogue, April 2010
fighting terror
Persecution of Muslims
discredited credentials, what the police
and investigating agencies do after
every bomb blast is to go on arresting
Muslim youths indiscriminately, detain
and torture them before they are
acquitted due to lack of any credible
evidence against them. Once the blast
occurs media come up with stories of
police catching 'terrorists' who
invariably happen to be Muslims. This
trend has been very much in practice in
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, where
ATS has been engaged in indiscriminate
arrests and victimization of innocent
Muslims followed by illegal detention;
third-degree torture, long periods in
police remand without bail, and
prolonged trials and finally, the
traumatic impact of their persecution
and repeated harassment even after
acquittal.
We have many innocent young
Muslim youths from Hyderabad,
Azamgarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahemedabad
and Jaipur who are in jails on mere
suspicion. Many Muslim youths were
arrested and later released
immediately after Hyderabad's Makkah
Masjid blast of May 2007 underwent
severe torture and were labelled as
terrorist. A set of stories 'They Just Want
Muslim Boys To Be Always in Jail' and 'A
Doubtful Crime, And Years Of Unfair
Punishment' (Tehelka, August 16, 2008)
proves beyond doubt that how young
Muslim students randomly arrested and
tortured with electric shocks by the
police during investigations in
Hyderabad. One of stories go on to
prove how Moutasim Billah, an
engineering student of Hyderabad was
arrested on March 5, 2008, after his
name came up in alleged confessions of
other Muslims, and who was forced to
give up studies because of cases of
sedition and terrorism against him.
www.epilogue.in
The 11 July 2006 blasts in suburban
railway trains in Mumbai, for example,
killed at least 207 people and injured
more than 700. Albeit no individual or
group officially claimed responsibility
for the attacks, a large segment of the
media, the police as well as a number of
politicians and groups were swift to
point the finger at Muslims, and hence
in the aftermath of the bombings, about
350 Muslim from Muslim majority areas
of Mumbai were detained overnight by
Since the advent of terrorism in India,
the country has faced with
unprecedented loss of life and
property, in addition to a constant
threat of bomb blasts anywhere,
anytime by invisible hands. However,
more heartening has been the fact that
in the aftermath of every terror strike,
persecution of innocent Muslims has
become a systemic pattern. In order to
prove their discredited credentials,
what the police and investigating
agencies do after every bomb blast is
to go on arresting Muslim youths
indiscriminately, detain and torture
them before they are acquitted due to
lack of any credible evidence against
them.
the ATS headed by K.P. Raghuvanshi,
and who is in charge of the Pune blast.
The suburb of Mahim was especially
targeted by the ATS and more than 250
people from the area were detained and
interrogated a few days only after the
blasts. After the Jaipur blast in May
2008, many Muslims were picked for
questioning by the police that
conducted raids without proper legal
documents.
In many cases, Muslims are picked
up off the streets with no explanation
for their arrest. Numerous experiences
Vol. 4, Issue 4
42
testify to this process of illegal
detention. One such story, 'Picked up
randomly, tortured, branded terrorist,
acquitted with no evidence'. (Hard
News, February, 2009) is of Ahmed
Mohiuddin Rashid from Bhongir district,
Andhra Pradesh, who mentions in the
'Peoples Tribunal on the Atrocities
Committed against Minorities in the
Name of Fighting Terrorism' as to how
he was picked up by task force
personnel on August 20-21, 2004, when
he came out of the mosque after
offering evening prayer. This perverse
trend has been used systematically in
Gujarat and reflected during and after
the Jamia Nagar encounter, when the
entire community was hounded,
condemned, and some youngsters
picked up with little evidence to show.
We have the same story after the
Pune blast. For example, some of
headlines like 'Indian Mujahideen is
Prime Suspect' (The Hindustan Times),
'Hunt Begins for Mohsin, Missing IM
Recruiter' (The Indian Express), 'Intel
Suspects IM Hand' (The Asian Age), 'Pune
Blast Part of Karachi Project' (The
Times of India) do send the message
that it was done by Pakistan-based LeT
or JuD with the help of Indian Muslims
albeit neither the probe is complete nor
the government is sure about the
possible Indian suspects. Media reports
were quick in jumping to conclusion. In
a news report 'Pune blast: Police to quiz
IM militant Shahzad' (The Indian
Express, February 15, 2010), the Pune
Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh
ruled out any group in connection with
the attack. But on the next day, more
than 30 Muslim were picked up from
Pune, Aurangabad and elsewhere, many
of them on pretext that they are
believed to have been associated with
IM leaders at any point of time. We have
the media full of reports about the
Epilogue, April 2010
43
arrest of Salman, alias Chhotu, a
suspected IM terrorist and a prime
accused in the September 2008 serial
blasts in Delhi, and who was arrested by
a team of UP ATS on March 5, 2010.
Similarly, in the first week of February
2010, another youth, Shahzad, was
arrested as accused in the 2008 serial
blasts in Delhi and is linked to Jamia
Nagar encounter. Along with Muslims of
Azamgarh, a top Muslim body, Ulema
Council claimed that Shahzad was
falsely implicated in the terror case.
Given the number of false cases that ATS
of various states and Special Cell of
Delhi Police have found to be involved,
should we not cast doubt over the claim
of any new arrest linked to terror?
Once arrested, the life of such
Muslim youths and their families
becomes a living hell. From
victimization and illegal detention to
third-degree torture, long periods in
police remand without bail and
prolonged trials to the traumatic impact
of their persecution and repeated
harassment even after acquittal. Since
the legal process (including defence
lawyers being beaten, branded anti-
national and even killed) is made so
complicated and full of hurdles that
they have hardly any chance to get bail.
Some of the accused have more than 50
cases registered against them in four
states and six cities. How can a poor or
middle class family afford to get
justice? The Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh acknowledged a few
weeks after the Mumbai serial blasts
that "terrorism has resulted in certain
sections of our population being
targeted, with the result that a wrong
impression has been created of the
radicalization of the entire Muslim
community".
The sheer violations of human
rights is matter of deep concern since
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fighting terror
Persecution of Muslims
Article 21 of the Constitution
guarantees the right to life, liberty,
equality and dignity of every individual
citizen that are also embodied in the
international covenants and
Epilogue
because there is more to know
enforceable by the courts in India. As
per the resolution adopted by the UN
General Assembly on December 17, Monthly Magazine
1979, all security personnel shall
respect and protect human dignity and Extensively Researched
uphold the human rights of all persons
and abide by the international
conventions against torture and other
Written with Clarity
cruel punishments, principles of
and Insight
The 11 July 2006 blasts in suburban
railway trains in Mumbai, for example, Covers Four Key Issues
killed at least 207 people and injured
more than 700. Albeit no individual or Politics
group officially claimed responsibility
for the attacks, a large segment of the Economy
media, the police as well as a number
of politicians and groups were swift to Culture
point the finger at Muslims, and hence
in the aftermath of the bombings, Strategic Affairs
about 350 Muslim from Muslim
majority areas of Mumbai were
detained overnight by the ATS headed
by K.P. Raghuvanshi
Unlike the General
international cooperation in the
detention, arrest, extraditions and Run of the Mill
punishment against humanity. Given the
frequency of terror attacks, the role of
security forces has become crucial in
News Magazines
upholding the rule of law, rather than
alienating a community through blatant
discrimination, hence weakening our
fight against terror. The principle
objectives of an effective counter-
terror measure are to safeguard human
Epilogue
rights, uphold rule of law and Has a shelf life That Extends
strengthen democratic values. And in
any circumstances, the investigating
Far Beyond the
agencies can neither be selective nor News Period Covered
repressive.
Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010
building peace 44
IPCS Report

,
BUILDING PEACE

Countering Radicalisation
DISCUSSION AND SURVEY REPORT

A recent conducted by the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in Jammu province observes upward
trends of radicalization in the society even as influence of Pakistan in the region is seen fast waning
out. The report, reproduced in following pages, is the result of a yearlong project that IPCS
undertook, headed by Dr. Suba Chandran. The researchers traveled to different parts of Jammu,
conducted a survey and subsequently held a workshop at the University of Jammu in December 2009.
The report and its recommendations are the culmination of the survey and the workshop. The report
reveals a renewed trend towards radicalization in Jammu and Kashmir. The report also finds that
different religious communities are getting radicalized not just by local events but by events at the
national and the regional level. Finally, in the report, Pakistan is not mentioned even once and that
might be indicative of Pakistan's waning influence in the region. The report was released in New Delhi
on March 9 where a panel of eminent experts and participants drawn from different parts of Jammu
and Kashmir suggested measures for building peace and countering radicalization. Here are experts
from panel discussion.

AVM KAPIL KAK
Additional Director,
Center for Air Power Studies, New Delhi
It is imperative to recognize that in
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the tradition
and culture of Sufi Islamism has stayed
strong. Despite the pressure that has
been generated in the region, the
shrines in J&K are flourishing. For the
first two or three years after 1990,
there was a fear of the gun, but that
vanished after 1996. On the other hand,
the community that has become
radicalized is the Kashmiri Pundits and
it would be interesting to analyze how
the highly educated and intellectual
Kashmiri Pundits got radicalized.
An issue that needs to be worked
upon is connectivity within the region.
It needs to be widened for any progress
to occur in the state. By connecting the grassroots; second, setting up of
people and ideas, hope can be nerve centers that could identify new
regenerated in the region. radical political thought; third, further
Subsequently, decentralization in the sensitization of the police forces; and,
region should be strengthened. This lastly, revival of the old city of Srinagar
approach should be based on the to prevent it from becoming a centre for
Legislative Assembly at the top and radicalization.
autonomous Councils at the lower level
with the Panchayati Raj institutions
made more effective. The report could
further expand to study the significance
of the Right to Information Act (RTI) as a
means of empowering people at the
grassroots.
Few recommendations that could
be considered for implementing the
above mentioned steps include: one,
setting up a regional group responsible
for identifying moderates and urban
communities that could recommend
individual action on peace-building at

www.epilogue.in Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010

45
GOPAL SHARMA,
Former DGP,
Jammu and Kashmir Police
When militancy started in the region, it
was only confined to the Kashmir valley
where as the major land areas of Ladakh
and Jammu were hardly affected. It,
however, slowly spread to the entire
state. The radicalization of Ladakh can
be traced back to the mid-1980s with
the agitation by Ladakh Buddhists
demanding central rule from 1989.
There is a feeling now that more
problems might emanate from Ladakh.
As far as decentralization in the state is
PROF. SIDDIQ WAHID
Vice Chancellor,
Islamic University, Srinagar
The IPCS workshop report needs to be lauded for
contributing to developing a nuanced understanding of
radicalization in the region. By pointing out that
radicalization is not specific to any particular region or
religion in J&K, the report greatly enhances the
understanding of the region. Radicalization in Ladakh
www.epilogue.in
building peace
IPCS Report
concerned, it does not always work. For
instance in the recruitment for police
service, reservation for Scheduled
Castes (SC) is eight percent in J&K, but
there SC population in Kashmir valley is
very small. This only compounds
problems by creating dissatisfaction
among the public. On the other hand,
problems might get solved by greater
employment opportunities and
economic development. There should
be a better process for the selection of
police and government service
personnel because the government is
the biggest employer in J&K.
must be avoided and decentralization can assist in
reducing the threat of radicalization. The Gorkha Hill
Council has not been as successful as the Panchayati Raj
and hence the latter should be strengthened. A similar model,
however, might be challenging to replicate in other parts of
the state, for instance in Jammu, because it can heighten the
communal fault lines.
The report has some language that can be
misinterpreted, for example, words like 'Kashmiriyat'. This is a
relatively new term considering the 7000-year-old history of
Kashmir, which was used 60 years ago and it means acceptance
of other cultures and traditions. This creates a bit of
dissonance, if it means that Kashmir is the only area that is
tolerant. It fails to appreciate the fact that there is also a
sense of 'Ladakhiyat', and 'Dogriyat'. Again, Sufism is not the
domain of Kashmiris alone; Sufism is present in Ladakh as
well.
To flip it, this intolerance has cut across the state. The
Buddhists in Ladakh are showing stronger tendency of
radicalization. They acidly boycotted the entire Muslim
community in Ladakh. Something that might be explored is
the real need for truth and reconciliation processes not just
for the Kashmiri Pundit community, but for the Muslim
community and the Buddhist community. The row over
Central University can be turned around by looking at
universities as integrators of society. There is also a denial of
radicalization in Kashmir and Jammu and this should be
addressed.
Vol. 4, Issue 4 Epilogue, April 2010
building peace
IPCS Report
DISCUSSION
The Army and the Police:
Given the ongoing atmosphere of insta-
bility and intermittent violence, talks of
demilitarization might be considered
immature. The army is working under
great pressure. On the one hand, it is
reaching out to the people and civil soci-
ety at large, and on the other hand,
there are extremist propagandas work-
ing against the army. Human rights vio-
lations have undeniably taken place,
but the Indian army has managed with
the templar model of insurgency. In
Kashmir, it has been confined to mortar
and small arms. There have been talks
about replacing the army with the
police but it must be realized that the
danger of the police going in there is
that they have local agendas. Police
reforms are urgently required. Elders
have to be consulted in the law enforce-
ment process. The Police has now
become a near paramilitary force
because it has the communication,
equipment, the professionalism, but
they are human beings and so could
develop local orientation.
On the other hand, it must be
appreciated that policing in J&K is not
an easy task. Policing in a state is based
on a principle that the population is
abiding with the state apparatus, but in
J&K, the population is against the state
apparatus. The Police become an easy
victim as was witnessed in the Shopian
case. If the police cannot be supported
then the armed forces should not be
removed because this means that the
state apparatus is not being allowed to
deal with the situation. There is no one
to defend the police, except the media
and civil society which goes by rumors;
but the army has the government's back-
ing. There should be caution against say-
ing that police should not be there;
their operations now are almost without
collateral damage and they are even try-
ing to protect buildings.
www.epilogue.in
Gen. Dipankar Banerjee (Second from Left) Chairing Panel at New Delhi Discussion Session.
Radicalization:
The report deals with the issue of 'radi-
calization' in J&K, which can be
described as a situation where one is not
willing to live with other communities
and a situation where violence is used to
express dissent. Radicalization also rep-
resents extremism; not just harboring
an extremist view, but imposing it on
others.
In J&K, there is religious radical-
ization but the responses have been sec-
ular. Religion has always been used as
medium of communication because it is
the only education that has been given
to the society. Many leaders have done
that, Gandhi too did that and it is the
only education that is universal. To coun-
ter radicalization, there is a need to go
back to religion because secular
responses will not be adequate.
In Jammu, there has been no effort
to understand the issue of
marginalization and radicalization.
Radicalization in Kashmir leads to radi-
calization in Jammu among the Hindus,
giving rise to feeling of marginalization
among the Muslims in Jammu.
The assumption that Sufism in J&K
is not under attack needs to be ana-
lyzed. Ahl-e-Hadith University's philoso-
phy is the philosophical base of Lashkar-
e-Toiba's and they are growing in
Kashmir. If the state is sponsoring this
University, then it has already agreed to
the marginalization of Sufism in
Kashmir.
Vol. 4, Issue 4
46
Decentralization:
A division along communal lines might
not work because that will be artificial.
Jammu will have to work on another
plan, maybe based on governance at the
grassroots level. The problem is bad poli-
tics (majoritarianism and
minoritarianism), and radicalization go
hand in hand. The model in Ladakh is
both in Leh and in Kargil but it is not
working in Kargil because of corruption
and factionalism. Even in Leh, the
model is not perfect. Leh is seen as pre-
dominantly Buddhist but there is a
nested community of Muslims, some
Shias and some Sunnis.
Young Political Leaders:
J&K's young political leadership must be
consulted because the majority of the
leaders in the assembly are not old peo-
ple and they have been elected by 64
per cent of the voters and they are not
hardliners and their viewpoints on the
way forward, must be considered.
Democracy and free media:
Transparency, objectivity and free
media can really transform
misperceptions. As soon as Shopian hap-
pened the initial report was that no mur-
der took place, but hardliner elements
were shaping agenda to turn falsehood
into truth. At the end, democracy and
civil society can really make a differ-
ence in J&K.
Epilogue, April 2010
47
RESEARCH REPORT
Participants at Jammu Workshop
Despite the recent elections for the
Legislative Assembly of J&K and the
Parliament during 2008-09 and the con-
tinuing cross-LOC interactions, the state
of J&K has been witnessing an increas-
ing radicalization of three distinct kinds
– regional, religious and ethnic. While
there has been much focus on military
and human rights issues in the state, the
growing regional antagonisms, radical-
ization and souring relations between
various local communities, are newer
trends that need to be studied and
addressed.
It was with a view to understand
these contemporary negative develop-
www.epilogue.in
ments, that the Institute of Peace and
Conflict Studies (IPCS), New Delhi,
undertook a project on the above theme.
The primary focus of the project was to
understand the nature of change that has
been taking place at various levels
within the state and work towards
building peace. It aimed to bring
together the younger generation from
different regions to discuss these emerg-
ing issues and reach an understanding
on how to prevent further radicalization
and build peace among the various com-
munities of J&K. The project was specifi-
cally focused on the following three
forms of radicalization:
Vol. 4, Issue 4
building peace
IPCS Report
Regional Radicalization
In recent months, there has been an
unmistakable rise in the radicalization of
regional sentiments between Jammu,
Kashmir and Ladakh. The violence that
followed the Amarnath Shrine Board
crisis in Jammu and Kashmir regions,
and the growing demand for Union
Territory Status for Ladakh are expres-
sions of how divided these three regions
are today.
Administrative issues such as the
establishment of educational institu-
tions have also demonstrated their
potential to exacerbate the regional
divide, as was observed during the
Epilogue, April 2010
building peace
IPCS Report
recent agitation in Jammu regarding the
setting up of the Central University in
the region.
Religious Radicalization
There has been a slow, but steady
radicalization that has taken place
between and within different communi-
ties in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Kashmir Valley has been well
known for its practice of Sufi Islam,
which has played an important role in
preserving what is defined as
Kashmiriyat — the composite cultural
identity of the people in this region.
Unfortunately today, both Kashmiriyat
and Sufi Islam are under stress due to the
radical onslaught, which has progres-
sively crept into the state in recent years.
A section of the younger generation,
unlike their elders, does not believe as
much in Sufi Islam. Led by certain mili-
tant groups, there has been a deliberate
effort to alter the nature of Islam in the
Valley. While the older generation
stresses the Sufi nature of Islam, a sec-
tion within the younger generation
seems to be looking beyond Sufism.
In Jammu region, certain funda-
mentalist forces have been trying to radi-
calize the Hindu youth. There have been
deliberate attempts to use the Amarnath
Yatra for instance, and places of Hindu
worship such as Vaishno Devi,
Ragunath Temple in Jammu, and
Buddha Amarnath in Poonch district to
radicalize the Hindus in the Jammu-
Rajouri-Poonch belt. There seems to be a
definitive trend in the sudden spurt in
these yatras, under the deliberate
patronage of certain groups.
Radicalization within communities
has also had an adverse impact on the
relations between communities, mainly
Hindus and Muslims. The recent com-
www.epilogue.in
munal violence in Kishtwar, Rajouri,
and Poonch bears testimony to this new
trend. Despite the presence of different
religious communities, these sub
regions and cities have always main-
tained religious harmony. Though there
have been tensions between communi-
ties, these have largely been contained
through local dialogue. However, in the
recent past, not only has J&K seen an
accelerated recurrence of such tensions,
but has also been witness to distur-
bances in one region or town spilling
over to and adversely affecting the com-
munal harmony in neighbouring
regions/towns.
Ethnic Radicalization
Besides the religious and regional
divide, one can also observe a growing
divide between the Gujjar and Pahari
communities in the Jammu, Rajouri and
Poonch belt. Ever since the Gujjars were
granted the ST status, the Pahari com-
munity has felt disadvantaged. The par-
allel processions and counter arguments
and articulation of interests by both
these comminutes against each other are
indicators of a growing divide that has
the potential to affect the peace and har-
mony between these communities
which share common space in these twin
districts.
I I
METHODOLOGY
The project was divided into three
phases. In the first phase, the Institute
commissioned surveys to a select
research team of the IPCS, which were
conducted across the three regions –
Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, specifi-
cally in ten towns – Jammu, Rajouri,
Doda, Kishtwar, Anantnag, Srinagar,
Baramulla, Sopore, Kargil, and Leh. The
surveys were conducted primarily
Vol. 4, Issue 4
48
among the youth, to understand their
perceptions of religious, regional and
ethnic differences, and the measures
they deem necessary for the state and
civil society to adopt to prevent an esca-
lation of conflict and violence. The ques-
tions were open-ended, seeking the opin-
ion of the respondents to find what they
considered the causes for radicalization
and their recommendations on how the
growing divide between communities
may be addressed.
Additionally, the Institute also com-
missioned discussion papers on regional
and religious issues to academicians,
journalists, media persons, bureaucrats,
researchers, and conflict resolu-
tion/transformation experts from Delhi
and the regions of Jammu, Rajouri,
Poonch, Doda, Kishtwar, Anantnag,
Srinagar, Kargil, Leh, and Turtuk, to
seek their perspectives and recommen-
dations. These papers were subse-
quently discussed in interactive sessions
during a workshop held in Jammu, in
collaboration with the University of
Jammu. Some of these papers have
already been published in the December
edition of Epilogue.
In the second phase, the Institute
organized a three-day workshop in col-
laboration with the University of Jammu
on 'Building Peace and Countering
Radicalization in Jammu, Kashmir and
Ladakh', during 2-4 December 2009 in
Jammu.
Three-day Workshop in Jammu
University
The objective of the workshop was
to engage people from the academic and
strategic communities, media, and stu-
dents from various regions of the state to
reflect on the nature of radicalization
and its impact on the region and people
Epilogue, April 2010
49
and also draft policy recommendations
based on the deliberations of the work-
shop. The three regions of Jammu,
Kashmir, and Ladakh were discussed
through background papers and survey
reports.
The workshop primarily aimed to
get the younger generation from differ-
ent regions of the state to discuss and
debate the issues outlined above. It
brought together youth from varied
backgrounds – students, scholars, and
media persons, representing various
communities of Jammu, Kashmir and
Ladakh, to deliberate on these issues in
smaller, sub-groups and make specific
recommendations on how to prevent
further radicalization. The workshop
also witnessed the participation of
senior scholars who acted as Resource
Persons to help the younger participants
understand the current issues in a larger
perspective.
Additionally, the surveyors briefly
presented the findings of the surveys
conducted by them across J&K to give
the participants a sense of ground level
perceptions and in turn, make the work-
shop proceedings more meaningful.
During the workshop, the partici-
pants were divided into two groups to
discuss religious and regional issues
respectively, make policy recommenda-
tions and suggest measures to counter
the growing radicalization. On the third
day of the workshop, both groups made
their recommendations on how to
address the regional and religious differ-
ences in the state.
The final phase of the project which
the Institute is currently engaged in is
focused on the summation of the pro-
ceedings of the entire workshop as also
the findings of the surveys conducted,
through separate workshop and survey
www.epilogue.in
reports that will be made available on
the IPCS website and circulated widely
as news briefs among leading newspa-
pers and magazines in Jammu and
Kashmir. Further, the Institute will also
bring out a set of recommendations to be
submitted to the governments of India
and J&K, and circulated among the civil
society at large.
FOCUS OF THE WORKSHOP:
MAJOR ISSUES OF DEBATE
The discussion which spanned
eight sessions, touched upon critical
issues such as the regional differences
within J&K, role of the Amarnath land
row agitation in polarizing communities
and regions and its spillover effect in
other states, the gradual waning of Sufi
influence in the Valley, displacement of
Kashmiri Pandits, alienation of Rajouri
and Poonch districts, the growing
Gujjar-Pahari divide in these twin dis-
tricts, and the challenges that confront
Ladakh since its division into Leh and
Kargil districts, among other topical
issues in the context of J&K.
The debates contributed to devel-
oping a nuanced understanding of
regional perspectives on radicalization
and underscored the fact that radicaliza-
tion is not specific to a particular region
or religion, but has infected all regions
across J&K and the country in varying
degrees.
The Amarnath land agitation,
being a recent controversy, was the cen-
ter of attention and debate during the
first day of the workshop. The differ-
ences in perceptions of various commu-
nities, especially with respect to the 'eco-
nomic blockade' were also debated at
length. As the discussion proceeded, the
misperceptions on either side regarding
how each viewed the different phases of
Vol. 4, Issue 4
building peace
IPCS Report
the Amarnath crisis, became evident. It
became clear that these misperceptions
had fueled significant insecurity and trig-
gered negative responses from either
side during the entire episode.
What also came to the fore during
the debate on this and various other
issues, was the physical isolation of dif-
ferent regions and lack of connectivity
that have affected emotional linkages
between and within the regions.
Participants, especially from Leh,
Kargil, Kupwara, Doda, Kishtwar,
Rajouri, and Poonch, highlighted the
existing situation in terms of connectiv-
ity and the urgent need to improve it.
These sub regions, thanks to the lack of
physical connectivity, have become
inward-looking, isolated islands.
Besides these, the participants also
debated another crucial issue—the allo-
cation of funds for regional develop-
ment. It was clear from the debate that
every region and sub region believes
there is an imbalance and that they are
specifically being neglected while the
other regions and sub regions are bene-
fiting at their cost. However, in the
absence of sufficient data to prove or dis-
prove these claims, significant
misperceptions continue to exist
between the regions and sub regions.
These misperceptions in turn, have
fueled acerbic sentiments and mobilized
people to respond violently. The recent
violence and apprehensions regarding
the Amarnath land and Central
University rows are expressions of these
misperceptions.
In view of the growing regional rad-
icalization, the most interesting session
was on identity politics in the districts of
Doda, Kargil, Rajouri and Poonch.
Speakers commented on the demand for
autonomous development councils on
Epilogue, April 2010
building peace
IPCS Report
grounds of distinct ethno-cultural com-
munity identities.
There was also an intense and emo-
tional debate, on the issue of the tensions
between the Gujjar and Pahari ethnic
identities. It was pointed out by some
that while the Gujjars have benefited
immensely since being granted the
Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, the Paharis
have lagged behind considerably. While
the Gujjars maintain that they deserve
the reservation status, the Paharis argue
that they are just as deserving since both
communities have been living together
in the same space, share the same
resources and have suffered the same
social and economic challenges. This has
led to a reinforcement of the ethnic
divide between the two communities,
while also bolstering demands from the
non-Gujjars to be included in the ST cate-
gory.
Ladakh, an Autonomous Hill
Development Council, divided into
Kargil and Leh with majority Shia
Muslim and Buddhist populations
respectively, is demanding a union terri-
tory status on the grounds that it has suf-
fered on account of the gross negligence
of both, the Union government and the
state of Jammu and Kashmir. It also
claims autonomy on the basis of preserv-
ing its own culture and the need to
develop its regions economically, a need
which has been subsumed by other con-
cerns of the Jammu and Kashmir
regions. Lack of physical connectivity,
neglect by Jammu/Srinagar and poor
social and economic indicators drive
their demand to maintain an independ-
ent identity.
The workshop also witnessed
intense debate on internal displacement
in J&K, especially with respect to the
Kashmiri Pandits. While the discussion
www.epilogue.in
highlighted the role of violence in trig-
gering internal displacement from
Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar, Rajouri and
Poonch regions; it was in particular, the
displacement of Kashmiri Pandits and
their possible return that became an emo-
tionally charged debate.
Subsequently, the participants also
debated religious radicalization in all
the regions and sub regions of J&K. The
growing attack on the Sufi tradition of
Islam in J&K and the new and mounting
pressures on the composite nature of the
State's culture were also discussed,
The debates contributed to developing
a nuanced understanding of regional
perspectives on radicalization and
underscored the fact that radicaliza-
tion is not specific to a particular
region or religion, but has infected all
regions across J&K and the country in
varying degrees.
along with what could be done to coun-
ter this new negative trend.
The last session addressed the
future concerns and measures that could
help minimize the growth of radicaliza-
tion in the state. The key areas discussed
were roads, the economy, and tourism. It
was suggested that the development of
these would be an effective way to
address the grievances of the people and
build cross-regional bridges. The costs
of non-cooperation between regions are
significant because radicalization has
not only constrained the growth of the
economy, but has also impeded greater
connectivity between the regions. The
Vol. 4, Issue 4
50
speakers emphasized the need to
develop infrastructure and tourism to
improve connectivity and enhance
mobility across regional and religious
divides.
MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS
An important achievement of the
workshop was organizing the young
participants from different regions and
sub-regions of J&K into two Working
Groups to discuss these vital issues and
make recommendations on regional and
religious issues. The two working
groups made certain recommendations,
which were discussed at length during
the workshop. Some of the agreements
reached by the participants of the work-
shop include the following:
There are serious regional and reli-
gious issues between the three regions,
which need to be addressed in a con-
structive way; there is a need to under-
stand each other's perspectives and
address both, real and perceived griev-
ances.
Commissions should be set up and
studies undertaken to enquire into the
problems of refugees, migrants and the
internally displaced. This is important
given the significant mistrust regarding
what has happened in the last two
decades vis-à-vis the movement of popu-
lations. It is essential to have independ-
ent studies on these issues, with a view
to publish white papers on what has actu-
a l l y h a p p e n e d . T h e s e c o m m i s-
sions/studies should be impartial, com-
prising people from all regions and sub-
mit a white paper on the issues.
Independent research organizations
could commission such studies with
inputs from all three regions of J&K.
Governance must be taken down to
the grassroots level and political decen-
Epilogue, April 2010
 51
tralization should take place through
Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). One
of the major challenges to effective gov-
ernance in J&K is the question of decen-
tralization. Projects implemented by the
State and Union governments are
caught up in State capitals—Jammu and
Srinagar. They seldom reach the district
headquarters in all the three regions.
Even if they do, they never move beyond
the district headquarters. Effective
implementation of PRIs is the only way
to ensure that the decentralization pro-
cess reaches the grassroots level in the
far-flung areas of J&K.
Besides the effective implementa-
tion of PRIs, the working of the Hill
Councils in Leh and Kargil should be
studied closely to find out whether these
models could address the growing alien-
ation between regions, by empowering
people at the grassroots level. There has
been a growing demand for regional
councils in Doda and Rajouri/Poonch
regions. Despite their several problems,
the Hill Councils in Leh and Kargil are
important models of governance, that
could become effective in the Doda and
Pir Panjal regions.
There exist serious grievances —
real and perceived, along regional and
religious lines. Irrespective of whether
they are real or imagined however, there
is a need to first, create awareness and an
understanding of each other's senti-
ments as a means to promote peace and
tolerance within the state. Second,
besides creating awareness, there is a
need to initiate a debate at two levels —
between and within the communities.
Such a debate should not only be aimed
at seeking to understand the other's
grievances, but must also attempt to find
common ground and understanding.
In addition to the debate between
www.epilogue.in
the communities, debates within each
community are equally important.
Unfortunately, in recent years, the
debate has been inward-looking, as was
seen during recent controversies such as
the Amarnath land transfer and new
Central University for J&K. There is a
need for communities to strive to arrive
at a consensus within themselves as also
to be cognizant of the sensitivities and
grievances of others.
Recent years have also witnessed
There was also an intense and emo-
tional debate, on the issue of the ten-
sions between the Gujjar and Pahari
ethnic identities. It was pointed out by
some that while the Gujjars have bene-
fited immensely since being granted
the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, the
Paharis have lagged behind consider-
ably. While the Gujjars maintain that
they deserve the reservation status,
the Paharis argue that they are just as
deserving since both communities have
been living together in the same space,
share the same resources and have
suffered the same social and economic
challenges.
an enormous and increasing strain on
Sufi Islam in J&K, which until now has
remained the bedrock of peace and tran-
quility in the state, ensuring harmony
both, within and between communities.
The revival of Sufism should therefore,
be encouraged, to dilute radical ele-
ments.
As part of the endeavor to pro-
mote communal harmony and peace,
there is a need to strengthen institu-
tions, such as shrines, across the three
regions which welcome devotees from
all faiths. For example, the shrine of
Vol. 4, Issue 4
building peace
IPCS Report
Baba Ghulam Shah in Shahadra near
Rajouri is a symbol of harmony; people
from different regions and faiths, not
only from J&K, but also from outside
visit this shrine. Such institutions
should be encouraged.
There are numerous apprehen-
sions regarding the safety and mainte-
nance of places of worship, especially in
Kashmir Valley. Kashmiri Pandits, liv-
ing outside the Valley for instance, fear
the desecration or occupation of their
temples. On the other hand, the
Kashmiris feel that the local civil society
has taken extra care of these places of
worship and that the fear of the Pandits
are exaggerated. Many in the Valley
would welcome an independent study
on this issue, to ensure that these fears
which are exaggerated or motivated
may be addressed.
Lack of connectivity has been the
major factor in keeping the regions
divided — physically and psychologi-
cally. Measures to improve infrastruc-
ture to promote connectivity and mobil-
ity between regions should be under-
taken. Unless there is a physical move-
ment of people, especially students,
media, and the business community, the
regions are likely to remain divided.
Besides improved connectivity
between the regions, there is also a need
to improve connectivity within the
regions. Gurez in Kashmir Valley; Doda,
Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region;
and Batalik, Nyoma and Turtuk in
Ladakh, remain on the peripheries. For
the people, traveling within their
regions, even to the capital cities of
Srinagar, Jammu and Leh, is a major chal-
lenge. Even the district headquarters in
many of the border districts lack basic
facilities of accommodation, transport,
boarding and lodging. Unless the border
Epilogue, April 2010
building peace
IPCS Report
districts are physically connected with
the rest of the region, and each of these
regions in turn, are connected with the
others in J&K, people are likely to
remain disconnected not just physically,
but also emotionally.
Initiatives such as the revival of the
tourism industry and other cultural
activities will help in the growth of the
economy and facilitate cross-regional
movement. Tourism has a major role to
play in not only developing the local
economies, but also bridging gaps
between the different regions and also
with the rest of the country.
The tourism industry in J&K needs
to be revived through special packages
and schemes that will help the communi-
ties to invest in addressing basic issues.
The media as a platform to voice
the concerns of the people within the
three regions in a constructive manner,
is also of vital importance. It has a
responsibility to objectively communi-
cate the ground realities in J&K to the
other regions as also to the rest of the
country.
People must be made part of the
solution and must begin to see opportu-
nities within the several problems that
confront them rather than focus their
energies on the problems alone. For this
to come about, the efforts of the civil soci-
ety along with the government will be
crucial to prevent further radicalization
and build peace among various commu-
nities and regions of J&K.
It is imperative to promote inter-
regional movement for which the youth
in particular, must take the lead to par-
ticipate in cross-cultural and educa-
tional programmes. Both the
Universities in Jammu and Srinagar
could act as nodal agencies to facilitate
such interactions.
www.epilogue.in
A p a r t f r o m t h e s e f o r-
mal/institutional exchanges, the stu-
dents could initiate informal cross-
regional interactions. Students from
each region could visit other regions
and stay with the families of students
from these areas. Both these initia-
tives, the student participants at the
workshop believed would help build
institutional and inter-personal net-
works thereby, weakening regional
barriers
The regional media could provide
space in each other's respective papers to
highlight the several instances of com-
munal harmony within their regions
which often go unreported. As a means
to counter growing religious radicaliz-
ing tendencies therefore, the regional
media could publish a series of progres-
sive stories on communal harmony
within each region and highlight the sig-
nificance of certain shrines in Jammu
and Kashmir regions such as the
Shahdra Sharief and Khir Bhavani,
Former US Diplomat Howard B Schaffer discussing his book ‘The Limits of
Influence: America’s Role in Kashmir’ at an event hosted by IPCS in New Delhi
Vol. 4, Issue 4
52
which could become religious centers of
attraction for all faiths.
Looking Ahead
In the days ahead, the Institute
proposes to pursue the following,
depending on the availability of fund-
ing support: To research and debate
specific issues such as Regional Hill
Councils, the Right to Information
Act, decentralization, and Panchayati
Raj Institutions and how these might
contribute to effective governance in
J&K.
Subject to the availability of
funding support, this debate will be
carried forward and continued
among the youth on contemporary
issues confronting the different
regions of the state. While the first
round took place in Jammu, there
will be similar interactions in other
centers—Srinagar and Leh, followed
by regional towns, including Kargil,
Doda and Rajouri.
Epilogue, April 2010