Kashmir And Good Governance
By Tahir Ibn Manzoor
05 October, 2011
Countercurrents.org
The concept of governance is not new. However it means different things to different people. The actual meaning of the concept depends on the level of governance. We are talking about the goals to be achieved and the approach being followed. Exercising power and decision-making for a group of people is called governance. It happens everywhere – from urban centers to rural villages – and the well-being of a community depends on the choices made by people who are granted this authority. "Good governance" is a relatively new term that is often used to describe the desired objective of a nation-state’s political development. The principles of good governance, however, are not new. Good governance is, in short, anti-corruption whereas authority and its institutions are accountable, effective and efficient, participatory, transparent, responsive, consensus-oriented, and equitable. These are the major characteristics of good governance as outlined by the United Nations.
For good governance to exist in both theory and practice, citizens must be empowered to participate in meaningful ways in decision-making processes. They have a right to information and to access. Although widespread accessibility remains a barrier for many countries, one of those ways is through Information and Communication Technology applications such as the Internet e-governance has emerged as a viable means to address development issues and challenges because citizens find empowerment through access to information in the developed world today but in Kashmir it implies something else.
Kashmir and Good Governance:- One of the basic cause of Kashmir conflict is mis-governance, utterly corrupt,impotent and non-performing governments of the State for the last several decades. It is responsible for the persisting tragedy. It is the total failure of all parameters of governance in the State, primarily basic policing to prevent crimes. Instead of effective policing to prevent violent crimes and nipping `extremism' in the bud, these were given sophisticated titles like 'cross-border terrorism' and the blame conveniently shifted to Pakistan and the ISI. The most blatant instance is the statement of the former Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah, within minutes of the murder of the Hurriyat leader, Abdul Gani Lone: "This assassination has been committed by Pakistan. We cannot protect people like Lone since terrorists can choose their targets."
The Central Problem:- The crises of governance in the region largely arises from the inability of its states to govern, in contrast to rule, which enfeebles their ability to ensure human security but strengths inhumane governance in the region. Many States have serious governance issues; crime, violence and terror are increasingly showing their ugly heads; the nexus between 'mafia' and politicians, low-level government staff and even the general public, coupled makes 'mafia' powerful. The 'mafia' are having a field day. Naturally, governance is at a record low level. In our state, despite above mentioned problems we have some other problems also like be-fooling our educated youth in the name of employment or some other government facilities, like bank loans, self employment schemes, class fourth jobs, and degrading educational system, ailing health services, nepotism and favoritism etc.
Tahir Ibn Manzoor is a Student of B.A 2nd Year At Degree College Baramulla. [email protected]
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