Jammu and Kashmir on the Path of Empowering Grassroots Democracy
| Published date | 01 June 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561231221813 |
| Author | Farooq Ahmad Waza,Jos Chathukulam |
| Date | 01 June 2024 |
Jammu and Kashmir on
the Path of Empowering
Grassroots Democracy
Farooq Ahmad Waza1 and Jos Chathukulam2,3
Abstract
The de-operationalisation of Article 370 has given a new lease of life to grass-
roots democracy in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Union gov-
ernment has made it clear that the main priority is to strengthen grassroots
democracy there. At present, the erstwhile State which was once battered by
militancy, insurgency as well economic and political instability has embarked on
the path of democracy. Though there have been criticisms that the eagerness and
interest taken by the Union government to foster local democracy in Kashmir
is an attempt to whitewash the absence of democratically elected State govern-
ment, the recent developments in the erstwhile State including the completion
of delimitation exercise at a quick pace to form democratically elected govern-
ments in the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir implies that there is some
hope at end of the tunnel.
Keywords
Jammu and Kashmir, grassroots democracy, local governance, decentralisation,
devolution
Introduction
In the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, a three-tier local government struc-
ture consisting of Halqa Panchayat (HP), Block Development Council (BDC) and
District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) (now changed to District
Development Council (DDC)) existed under the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati
Raj Act, 1989. However, the decentralisation programmes were operated within a
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
70(2) 386–397, 2024
© 2024 IIPA
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/00195561231221813
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1 Department of Political Science, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
2 Centre for Rural Management (CRM), Perumbaikkad, Kottayam, Kerala, India
3 Former Chair Professor, Sri Ramakrishna Hegde Chair on Decentralization & Development,
Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, Nagarghavi Bangalore, India
Corresponding author:
Farooq Ahmad Waza, Department of Political Science, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu &
Kashmir 190 006, India.
E-mail: farooq.plsc@gmail.com
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