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INTERVIEW MANOJ SINHA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, JAMMU AND KASHMIR

MANOJ SINHA'S JOURNEY from the political hotbed of Uttar Pradesh to the political vacuum of Jammu and Kashmir was significant, as it came with the onerous task of winning the hearts and minds of people who had lost faith in the political class. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Sinha says there has been visible change. Excerpts:

Q/ What have been the major changes in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370?

A/ While there have been many achievements post abrogation of Article 370, the noticeable fact is that J&K, once infamous for street violence, has not had a single instance of stone-pelting [after that]. I don’t wish to elaborate on why it used to happen and who was getting it done, but it has become clear that it was part of an organised strategy. 

Not more than 150 days would pass before there was a bandh call by terrorist groups or other Pakistan-sponsored elements, forcing schools, universities, colleges, trade and industry to shut down. The impact is unimaginable as the future of children got affected. Naturally, if a child does not go to school, it becomes easy to divert him into a wrong direction. The economy suffered heavily, which gave birth to a new kind of economy—parallel or conflict economy—where a certain kind of people hand in glove with the disrupters sitting across the border in Pakistan benefited and the poor suffered.

Now schools, colleges and trade are functioning and shops are open till late at night. The state has got a record 1.8 crore tourists so far [in 2023]. Naturally, the medium and small hotels, taxis, autorickshaws, houseboats and street vendors have got business, which is a big relief.