Fed on promises

It is extremely distressing to learn of thousands of starving migrants from the border villages in the Jammu area. Many assurances have been given in the last month by the prime minister and the chief minister about everything possible being done to ensure the civilian population in Jammu and Kashmir did not suffer needlessly. These are empty words judging by the experiences of the migrants. Leave alone the fact that the government has made little provision for shelter, migrants say they are running out of food and there is no sign of the rations they were promised. All they have been given is false propaganda on All India Radio. Frightened people huddled 20 to a room with no hope of going home soon are being fed on lies about a government that cares. Where is the food, where is the accommodation, where are the caring ministers ostensibly going round the border regions comforting and providing for the migrants? Ask the migrants and they will say they do not exist as far as the government is concerned. Do theCentre and State have any real idea as yet of the size of the exodus from the border?

The hardships of migrants could have been anticipated from the start and proper provision made for their basic needs. However, politicians who are busy cranking up the propaganda machine and running around with jingoistic slogans have little inclination to concentrate on the humdrum of relief work. One Jamp;K minister who toured the Jammu region three weeks ago thought it his business to pronounce on courage and fortitude instead of making practical plans. When villagers were forced to flee their homes, it was left to an insensitive bureaucracy to deal with the problem. Politicians prefer grandstanding. It is just not credible that a public distribution system with all its notorious inefficiencies even in peacetime can deliver foodgrain in the present conflict situation. It simply does not work. Naturally, there are not enough rations. How does the government expect people without the means to buy foodgrains? It is grotesquefor starving people to be told that free rations come with a real war not a war-like situation.

Will the government wake up? People in the border areas who can no longer graze their herds, sow their crops and run their shops have good reason to feel badly let down by the failure to keep armed intruders at bay. Is the government going to fail them again by ignoring their desperate condition today? The conflict in Kargil is not only about securing strategic territory. It is also about securing a peaceful life for the people of the state. Common sense, if nothing else, demands that special care be taken of people who live their lives on the frontline. From their contentment comes security. They must feel confident that the government works for them in good and bad times. None of this is going to come about if the people are left to fend for themselves and starve. Brave speeches are useless. The situation calls for emergency relief operations on a large scale and the sooner the state and Centre get on with itthe better.