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Journalism of Courage
The Election Commission is expected to take a decision this week on holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Ordinarily, the six-year term of the state assembly would have run out on November 20. But once the PDP withdrew from the ruling Congress-led coalition this summer, governor8217;s rule was declared. It can be argued that, even then, governor8217;s rule could have been avoided. In any case, it is important that Central rule not be extended beyond January 10. There is reported to be division within the EC on the advisability of notifying elections in the state, one view being that the security conditions need careful scrutiny. However, with the Centre committing enough forces to allay such concerns, that argument stands nullified. Elections must be held on time, for the political consequences of postponement can be disastrous.
Of course, elections would come to the state in the aftermath of a season of restiveness in the Valley and in Jammu. But this point bears emphasis. Elections, in themselves, serve a useful purpose: they present, continually, a constructive alternative to agitation. They also present a lure for more popular, pragmatic members of disaffected coalitions, straining the cohesion that8217;s possible for those coalitions to maintain. Maintaining the electoral process as a sign of 8220;normality8221; served to bring Jammu and Kashmir out of a long decade of militancy in the mid-1990s.
