Nearly eight months ago, when 18-year-old Rajinder Singh returned to his native village of Roun from Pune, he found it in a state of flux. While the shops had downed their shutters, angry crowds thronged the streets. He soon discovered that they were agitating over the fact that the transfer of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) had been revoked ahead of the annual pilgrimage to the revered Hindu shrine. Rajinder didn’t have to think very hard before he joined the protesters. “It was a religious issue, so I also forced shops to shut down and blocked the highway,” he said.

On April 23, as the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat went to polls, he admitted that the Amarnath issue no longer had any relevance and the protests did not achieve much. As he prepared to cast his vote for the first time, he said, “I will vote for a candidate who could help fight militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. I think the UPA Government lacks the capability to fight militancy and the problem has increased because of politicians.”

Rajinder is enthused about voting. “It is for the first time, I am casting my vote. I am excited and feel empowered that I can also work for the change,” he said. He has already identified problem areas where such change is needed, starting with the “discrimination” the Jammu region is subjected to. “The discrimination with Jammu region continues. We have a larger population than Kashmir, but we still have a lower number of Assembly constituencies here is less,” he said.

... contd.