What was being described as a `historic' accomplishment; holding of genuine panchayat elections  in 2011  is becoming a liability  in 2012, as those who contested and got elected, ignoring  the boycott call of separatists, have started putting in their papers. Apparently the resignation of the elected  panches and sarpanches from their elected positions are  under the threat of militants.
Something has gone wrong somewhere. That wrong needs to be  identified and fixed. It is not a simple security related issue that security agencies can  resolve. The whole problem is being looked at through security prism, which would only strengthen the argument of those who feel that the heavy military presence should be  continued  in the Valley and nothing can be achieved without their  footprints on the ground. A larger picture is being  missed. 
First, why those who  were aware of the presence of militants and their gun power  at the time of elections,  did  not flinch.  There were threats that time too.  The year 2011 was a period of more  uncertainty than 2012 is.  Over this one year, something has  gone wrong, which  is not being acknowledged by anyone, and no particular individual  or party is  to be blamed. It is a collective failure.
 This year has got  a foundation of  relative certainty because of the 2011, which  stands out  because of the panchayat elections more than the footfalls of  tourists and Amarnath pilgrims. There were threats that time too.   But those threats were neutralized  by 76 per cent participation of the people  in  the polls. 
The    2011  will go down in the history of Kashmir as the first  most peaceful and fearless year since 1990   for the residents  of the  Valley.  The militancy had erupted that year A fair amount of demonstration of will to fight atmosphere   of fear  was seen in the long queues of  voters.There is lurking fear of that atmosphere staging a come back. That doesn’t need knowledge of rocket science to predict that. It can be adduced by the  sheer number of resignations that have   made it to the headlines in newspapers and T V channels.
Second part is more horrifying. Those who voted  and elected their representatives during the panchayat elections  are bound to feel demoralized, not just by the  resignations of their panches and sarpanches, but also by their  fading faith in the  democratic institutions. That spells a greater threat, even if the militants don’t fire even a single shot. This should not have happened, because the people have invested in the panchayats so much that  even  a single  misstep can  prove disastrous.  At  this point, the problem can be resolved, tomorrow would be too late.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah  had started an exercise of visiting each of  the  87 Assembly constituencies, which is yet to be completed, and interacting  with the elected panches and sarpanches. That  had given a sense of  empowerment to them, much before the official  claim that  the powers  of 14 departments had been transferred to their institutions. His message was clear : “ You have  been elected, and now it is your responsibility  to deliver. Your success is mine success and your failure would also reflect on  me.” It is not known what have they delivered on the ground, but what  they have delivered is, their resignations.
A firm indication  of this thing coming  was  in the air. That   was not checked  in time,  and the results are there  for all to see. Still  things can be  checked, the security  cover is only one part of the answer to   the problem that is  staring  at the moment. But larger issue needs to be addressed. That is how the  democratic institutions  should be saved. Simply  holding of elections  is not  an end in itself. The road ahead is rough and tough because the basic structure of the grassroots democracy is yet to  reach its final stage and the things have started showing cracks  at the qualifying level.
Thirdly, it is easy to engage in the political blame game.  The political parties  have overqualified in this  art.  What is needed is a long-term strategy. While it is true that the Assembly or panchayat elections  are not an  end solution to Kashmir problem, it is also true that  these polls and participation of the people in large numbers represents aspirations – have those aspirations been addressed. That’s  the moot question.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 11 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST