Abraham Karammel
Mainz, Germany
(A retired NRI with over 35 years overseas life experience)
Email: karammela@yahoo.com

As an overseas Indian from Kerala, I realised that Kerala’s and India’s development have been slow, erratic and imbalanced. During the last years of my working life, I tried to find an efficient governance model for the fast socio-economic development of my native state Kerala and my motherland India. My first discovery was Singapore, the most successful city of the 20th century. Its system of ‘Meritocracy’ is very efficient and highly productive; it made a city of superlatives. Singapore’s institutionalisation is worth emulating. But, the small city-state’s authoritarian and restrictive rule is not practical in Kerala and India.

On further search, I discovered ‘Porto Alegre Innovation’. The Brazilian city of Porto Alegre was bankrupt in 1988, spending 96 percent of its revenue for salaries and routine expenses – no funds for development projects! On pressure from local NGOs, the new Workers Party Mayor Mr. Olivio Dutra, together with the NGOs, devised and introduced a yearly cyclic Participatory Budgeting (PB) Process in 1989. This PB process evolved into world’s most systematic, very flexible and highly efficient proceess for fast, comprehensive, equitable and sustainable socio-economic development. Thru this process, Porto Alegre became Brazil’s city with the best quality of life in 12 years! Thus, the process became world famous as ‘Porto Alegre Innovation’!

It is simple and decentralised at the bottom level. Its flexibleility, people centred process etc make it suitable and acceptable to any village, town or city in any country. The well defined, self-improving and adapting process spread in Brazil and outside. In addition to about 300 communities in Brazil, more than 1200 communities in over 40 countries like Argentina, Chile, China, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, USA etc are adapting the PB process! But, most are doing simple versions of PB! The innovative PB is a real panasea for socio-economic ills. Only a close study will reveal the ‘Angels in Details’ and provide the specifics, which if adapted can transform Kerala and India very fast.

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Dr Geoge Mathew
Chairman,
Institute of Social Sciences
New Delhi 110070

The 33 km. drive from Srinagar to Nagam block, Badgam district in the summer goes through beautiful landscapes. The apple groves welcome you, but the village roads are pathetic, no maintenance. My mission was to meet the villagers of Karkpura ward, Shakarpura Halqa Panchayat where Hassina was killed on 15 April during the second phase of the 2011 Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Hassina’s eldest daughter, son, sisters and neighbours welcomed us with tears in their eyes. The elections were scheduled to be held on 17th April. On 15th night about 10 o’clock, Hassina (45) was preparing to sleep. Her dream was to win the seat. But seven men knocked at her door, pulled her out and shouted at her: how dare you contest the elections? Withdraw from the poll. Hassina agreed. But they wanted Hassina to make statement to that effect before the Numberdar. She refused, but they forced her to walk in the dark to the village headman’s residence with her son. Midway through, the seven men disappeared and she was shot dead by a person who was hiding nearby. Why did she contest the panchayat elections? Hassina was suffering from extreme poverty; her husband had deserted her. Her friends and neighbours convinced her that if she contested the panchayat election and won, that would be the best way to overcome her miseries. Hassina is no more. Her dream also died with her. She had dared to fight the panchayat elections, a legitimate democratic aspiration. I was eager to meet her rival candidate Taja. This 65 year old woman was very disturbed. The same night Hassina was killed, five men went to her house as well and physically abused her, they swore vengeance if she defied their diktat.

Taja, a widow, was alone and, was shaken beyond words. She agreed to withdraw from the elections. Why did she decide to contest in the first place? Her adopted son and other family members prevailed upon her to plunge into the panchayat elections. As and when the elections take place in Karkpura, will she contest again? It was an emphatic no. The author with Taja at her residence The villagers are extremely shaken by this tragic development. What happened in their village was most puzzling because there are no militants in that area. Today, Karkpura ward is an island of grief and sorrow in an ocean of extraordinary enthusiasm and happiness over the panchayat elections in the state. The average voters turn out has been above 80 per cent. This dance of grass roots democracy in Kashmir has caught everyone’s eyes. The state lost five precious years when it slept over panchayat elections and it had to pay a price for it.

Dhara Hariwan village is in Srinagar Block I, not too far from the municipal area. The village has four polling booths in the same school. Twelve police (four women) and nine CRPF manage the polling station. On the day of the poll, within two hours more than 50 per cent people cast their votes. Men, women, youth and children are on the road; everybody is in a festive mood. I asked a candidate, how much money did he spend for the election campaign? He said Rs. 2500, and that was mainly for printing the pamphlets etc. The local government elections create a bond between the communities. The best example was Wussan Bangal Halqa Panchayat. On the express way to Gulmarg, Tangmarg Tehsil is about 30 km. from Srinagar. Asha Jee the Pandit woman, who won the panch election defeating Suriya, the Muslim candidate, was only underlining the harmony existing in Kashmir between communities. Asha’s husband Radakrishnan Bhat runs a small shop from their own house; the two sons are employed. What is Asha’s top concern? Look after the physically challenged in the village and work for the development of the area. There were 12 Pandit families in the village before 1990 but now there are only five. Others have migrated to Jammu. What prompted her to contest the elections? According to her younger son Ashok Kumar, who earns Rs. 3500 per month working for a telecom company, the residents of the mohallah came and persuaded Asha Jee to fight the elections. What about the campaign? It was door to door. About 100 posters were printed.

While reaching Tantraypora Halqa panchayat in Baramulla district which is a Shia majority area when the polling was about to close, we saw a big crowd of men and women arguing with the District Commissioner. The problem came up because the administration wanted to shift the counting from Ahmedpora to Kungamdora – a Sunni majority area. The villagers suspected a foul play in shifting the counting venue at the last minute. Young and old argued with anger and emotion. But the most striking aspect was — this ward saw 100 per cent voting! Nobody there wanted to resort to violence, but I saw the real argumentative Kashmiris fighting for what they think is right. Finally the order to shift the counting was cancelled and the people were joyous. One of the women panch candidates I met in the village – Perveena Bano – has travelled extensively in the country for pashmina shawl exhibitions.

Today, as far as the people of Kashmir are concerned, everyone wants peace and development. They are convinced that to achieve this goal, democracy and democratic institutions are the only means available. This explains why there is such a high turnout for the panchayat elections of 2011. The Assembly elections of 2008 had already set the trend for high voter turnouts in Jammu and Kashmir. All the villages I visited have no panchayat office or any infrastructure. Most of the candidates have no educational qualifications worth the name. Many are illiterate. Many candidates with whom this writer discussed the panchayat work, have no idea as to what the panchayat is. So what will happen to this extraordinary enthusiasm of the people of Kashmir in local government? Will the election become a mere episode in the political history of the state? Not holding panchayat elections on party lines in Jammu and Kashmir is, in this writer’s opinion, a big mistake. Now there are many dummy candidates. There will be many claims about victories. Moreover, the poor candidates from the villagers have no back up of a political party and if only they had it, Hassina would have been alive today. Mature democratic practice is to contest elections on a party basis; after victory, transcend the party divisions for the good of the people as a whole. Many states in India do not have official party candidates at the village panchayat elections; but Jammu and Kashmir should have shown the way. The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has a huge task on hand. Nearly 34,000 sarpanches and panches will be elected by the end of June. Of which more than 10,000 will be women. They are all dressed up but have no where to go.

It is for the State Government to provide them with adequate training and create an environment for vibrant local governance. The government nearer to the people is the best government. But the big question is: will the state government show the political will to invest in democratically elected representatives to the people and thus create the best social capital for the future of Kashmir? Investing in the people is the best way to keep the nation going, not investing in arms and ammunitions. Will the government move out of the blame game and take the empowerment of its local governance institutions forward? People of Kashmir are impatiently waiting to see what happens in the coming few months.
Our leaders will do well to remember: democracy may be winding and may be like a river taking many curves, but eventually the river will reach the ocean.

Dr. P.P. Balan
Director
Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA)
Mulagunnathukavu P O, Thrissur – 680581
Moblie: 09915535656
E-mail : balanpp25@gmail.com

Fifteen voters from each Community Development Blocks of Kupwara,  Budgam, Kangan, Qoimoh Samba and Udhampur in the Jammu and Kashmir regions were interviewed on the day of first phase of Election. In addition to this, government officials who were involved in the election process were interviewed. Discussions were also conducted with the Chief Electoral Officer, representatives of the media and political parties.

Introduction

After a decade of gap, election to Panchayat Raj Institutions has been  held in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Unlike in the 2001 elections polling  percentage turned out to be relatively good. Vote percentage of 2001 election  was very low leaving nearly half of the seats vacant. In spite of 1/3 of  reservation for women, the state was able to fill only 6% of reserved seats. It  is important to say that in case of many seats, there was not even one  contestant. The militant and separatist groups called for boycotting the election and disturbed the election process in many places in Jammu and  Kashmir.

Polls to the local governments were not held in 2006 in Jammu and  Kashmir due to security concerns. However, elections this year gives an  entirely different picture. Panchayats Election was conducted in sixteen phases  starting from13^th of April. This process ended on the 8^th  of June. Over 50 lakh eligible voters participated in the electoral process to  elect 4130 Sarpanches[i]  (2164 in Kashmir and 1966 in Jammu) and 29,719 Panches[ii]  (15,959 in Kashmir and 13,760 in Jammu). There are 143 Block Panchayats (77 in  Kashmir and 66 in Jammu) and 22 District Panchayats in state went for polls.

The Panchayat election was held in the backdrop of a boycott call by  some of the separatists groups who burned down some Panchayat Ghars[iii]  and attacks on some political party  activists which even went up to the murder of a woman candidate. The murder of Moulana  Showkat Ahmad, president Jamiat-e-Ahliadees (JeA) in an improvised explosive device  near Maisuma mosque in Srinagar created chaos in the valley just before the  first phase of election

Polling Trend

Amid tight security arrangements, the first phase of Panchayat elections  was held in Kupwara, Budgam, Kangan and Qoimoh blocks on the 13^th of  April, 2011. The turnout of voters stood high from place to place. The polling percentages  of some of the blocks are given below:

Table1 : Voting  Percentages

Source: Primary Survey Data and Secondary information from election
officers in Development Blocks

In some halqas polling  remained low due to bad weather but in most of the villages people were voted  with enthusiasm. Since morning, people started thronging the polling booths in  many halqas. Some of them have to wait  until afternoon to vote. Similarly, the villages located across Indo-Pak border  in Bishnah block were also enthusiastic toward the election. It was interesting  to notice that 100-year-old Mansa Ram of Dhanu village the oldest voter also  voted with much interest. The highest polling percentage was in Jib-A Panchayat  86.19% of all eligible voters exercised their right to vote (1379 out of total  1600 voters).

It was interesting to note that Kupwara district the popular problematic  district was calm on the polling day. In 2001 election, the polling was as low  as 15% in this district. The following table suggest the constituencies,  Sarpanch and Panches in different constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.

Table 2 : Constituency  positions and voting percentages.

Source: Secondary data from election commission office  Jammu and Kashmir

The entire voting process in Samba district remained peaceful except  some rumours about fake voting. The Chief Electoral Officer Jammu also said  that the entire voting process in the first phase of Panchayat election  remained peaceful. Most of the voters were first timers and their enthusiasm  did work well.

Vote for the cause of Development

In a polling booth at the boy’s primary school Warpora Budgam, out of  226 votes a number of 130 were franchised till 10:30 AM.  According to Bishnah, a voter whom I
interviewed says, “Majority of us have not turned out for vote in the assembly  elections because of lack of interest and threat from the separatists. However,  we voted with interest in the Panchayat election since we feel that development  would happen in the region through active local governments’. He continues to  say, “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has
proved this”. Mr Abdul Qayoom, a voter says “Our village is underdeveloped, and we are voting to  elect a capable person who could bring development to our village. We do not  have even electricity in our village and lack many of the basic living  facilities”.

Many of the voters believe that for better implementation of Mahatma  Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) the presence of vibrant
Panchayat is must. They voted with the hope that Panchayat will work toward  improving their Panchayat through constructing good sadak (road), bijili (electricity), and  pani (water). A majority is of the opinion that they did  not vote for Kashmir issue.  We as  a family voted with the hope that elected representatives would help us to get  enrolled in to the BPL family list”, says Hariya from Deoli Grama Panchayat.

It has been unanimously stated in a group discussion that this time the  vote is for Development as many village perceive is  provision of basic necessities such as roads,
hospitals, schools, drinking water and electricity. Along with vowing to  participate in the developmental policies, residents of Bishnah, Samba and  Udhampur blocks said they voted for empowerment of the local level democracy.

In Bishnah, people in colourful attires made  beelines in front of the polling booths to choose their representatives at the  local level. “We want power to be exercised by us. We do not want governance  from Civil Secretariat. We know what is good for us,” Chowdary Naseeb Din, a  voter, said. Din, whose Gujjar Basti in Bishnah area is still devoid of the  basic facilities, said “It is vote for getting and deciding for ourselves our
basic needs.” “What we need will be decided by us at the Panchayat and not by  officers and Ministers. We will decide fate of our village”, Says Ranjni Devi  (47 Yrs), a candidate.

Both the elderly as well as young jostle with each other in an effort to  outwit others while casting their votes. Women did not lag behind in this  exercise and they too actively participated in the whole process. Some of the  elderly people were even ferried to the polling booths. Polling booths at  Kangan and Gujjar dominated Chattergul area, wore a festival look as people  lined up outside the polling booths to cast their votes. Happiness and hope were  brimming on their face and they said that they have come to cast their votes so  that their respective villages tread on path of progress and development.

Not a Verdict against  ‘Azadi[iv]’

The voters in Kupwara C.D. block were of the opinion that they voted  mainly for getting the basic amenities in their villages and their  participation in electoral process is not a move against the separatists and  the ‘freedom’ movement. They also categorically stated that they are with the Azadi movement and their sentiments are
strong and deep-rooted. They say that their village was excluded from the mainstream development services and the state government’s justification for  this was the absence of a strong Panchayat. Therefore, the citizens want to see  what government would do after the Panchayat election and formation of Panchayat.  Most of the people voted believe that the panchayats can make the development  of their villages happen. Azadi sentiment  though exists in the minds of most of the people the present priority of many  is development. Huge funds come for the development of the villages but all  goes into the kitty of the leaders and more over there is no accountability. Many  who voted believe that panchayats can make the government accountable. Bilal Ahmad of Wuranhall after casting his vote suggest that Panchayat Governance  could make the leaders accountable to public / citizens.

May of those voted had over a decade of suffering and denial from all governments. This made them loose their interest / confidence in governments, politicians and leaders. However many are of the opinion that they are involving in MRGREGA activities which they said are bringing development in the villages. But there must be panchayats to make the system more effective and  responsive to the needs of all citizens.  Imtiyaz Ahmad a resident said “I vote because we were ignored by government for the past 22 years”.

MGNREGA – IMPACT 

What has been done differently through MGNREGA in Jammu and Kashmir is  worth studying. It visualises a programme where the local people are actively involved  at all stage from planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation (Through social audit). The role MGNREGA played in motivating people to participate in polls in
Jammu and Kashmir is some thing worth looking at and documenting. It is  imperative that the self-targeting inherent in MGNREGA has a better and  foolproof scope in targeting the poor. Its self-selection nature persuaded  people to come forwarded and engage in development work of their village.

The  scheme in fact inspired the poor to take part in the Dehi-Majlis (Gram Sabhas). At the execution stage of the scheme, they participated and even shared their  grievances in various platforms. The ordinary people therefore became vocal in  meetings like Grama Sabha and were confident in sharing their experiences and hardships  openly. The present village level committees constituted for MGNREGA implementation  seemed less effective as it lack governance powers. It has been shared by some  that the present accountability and transparency mechanisms are inadequate and  need improvement. The only officer whom they could approach directly is either  the panchayat Secretary or the Block Development Officer who were often  reluctant to listen to the popular needs/demands. There is a general feeling  that this gap could be filled only through an elected body. So the election  many considered as an opportunity and participated in large numbers in voting.

Conclusion

Jammu and Kashmir has a significant number of unemployed youth. A majority  of them being unskilled which suggest the importance of MGNREGS. Despite various
efforts, the state as well as centre government could not provide sustainable  employment for this unskilled army of youth. More over the governments failed also in converting  them into skilled workers. It has been noticed that this forces some to get in  to directly supporting terrorist outfits while others support the terrorist  activities indirectly. This situation in fact created an environment of  uncertainty.

The implementation of MGNREGS in the state in this background is  successful in bringing a ray of hope for the unemployed youth. Even at a low  wage rate of Rs.70/- a day which they were entitled in the first phase, people were  enthusiastic to get enrolled in the scheme (later the amount was raised to  Rs.110/-). The implementation process generated confidence among the unskilled  youth in local institutions like panchayats and Dehi-Majlis, which play a leadership  role. The other positive impact of the scheme is restating of confidence of  people in elected local institutions, which could create common assets for the  development of rural areas through MGNREGS. These common assets created like  rural connectivity, water conversation, forestation, convergence with other  developmental schemes etc. could improve the quality of life of people living  in rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

Resultantly, the common people, especially  the unskilled youth (who got employment under MGNREGA) are coming forward to  set up vibrant Panchayat bodies through participating in the election process.  Now they feel that active people’s institution can generate sustainable employment  for rural people. Besides, the MGNREGA works, they believe that the Panchayats could play a central role in implementing livelihood programmes and  infrastructure development activities that are essential for local economic  development. There is also a general feel among the people in Jammu and Kashmir  that the Panchayat Raj systems in other parts of the country are able to bring
development. This also motivated people to participate in election process and  they are serious in setting up an active local self-government.

End Notes