At a time when Kashmir is going through relative calm and the headlines have shifted to the mayhem in Pakistan and red threat in the mainland, there is nevertheless a worrying trend taking shape, one bound to lead to division of the state as an administrative unit along communal lines. And, again the reason is not separatist politics but the actions of a vote-obsessed mainstream — especially the government.   

The decision by the Centre to allot two central universities — one each for Jammu and Kashmir — is in fact the latest in a series of faulty policy decisions that provide a temporary solution to the problem of growing polarisation. Instead of standing up to a bizarre competition and choosing a place based on suitability, the government played a balancing act. And a central university that could have provided a rare opportunity for students from across the state to study together is now strengthening the process of polarisation. Already, in the two state universities — Kashmir University and Jammu University — the student community and faculty come largely from the Valley and Jammu respectively; their politics and academic orientation are poles part. 

The government is giving in to the demands of communal forces masquerading as regional politics, only to temporarily avoid another Amarnath land row-type flash point. But in the attempt to prevent a crisis, government’s actions are sowing the seeds of a larger disunity, and an eventual violent break up of J&K. 

This dangerous trend began decades ago but remained at the fringe of the discourse. The shift, however, began to turn into an accepted political norm during the previous Congress-PDP coalition government. When then-Governor S.K. Sinha planned to extend the Amarnath yatra and set up an Amarnath development authority under the Raj Bhavan and then-CM Mufti Sayeed turned down his plan, four Jammu-based ministers from Congress resigned in protest but their colleagues from Muslim-majority districts silently supported Mufti.

... contd.