FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2018 DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU daily Excelsior First Political Governor End of an era Established 1965 Founder Editor S.D. Rohmetra Another BJP initiative Prof Sudhanshu Tripathi ormer PM left to his heavenly abode in Rajan Gandhi but the centre's policy to trust Farooq only as tion of only Governor in whole country not utter dismay and anguish of all; not only Indians but all of their best bet in the valley totally back fired to be changed by NDA government as his Road accidents on rise ith the appointment of Satya Pal Fhis well-wishers in all over the world. Why is this so? Was and the resultant mayhem and chaos had sig- experience and in-depth knowledge of state he to remain here in this mortal world forever? It is here the mean- Malik as first Political Governor very year several lives are lost in nificant ramifications for coming decades. administration came handy for Central ing or substance of being AtalBihari Vajpayee unfolds the phenom- Wof Jammu and Kashmir once Resultant onset of Pakistan sponsored mili- Government time and again in the troubled enon of his unparalleled and unmatched personality and also his Kishtwar, Doda, Batote route and else- again BJP under the leadership of PM Modi tancy, total breakdown of law and order caus- scenario. But with the withdrawal of support unique contribution towards uplift and welfare of the downtrodden and Party President Amit Shah has shown the where in Jammu division and accepting ing exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from valley to PDP by BJP political equations have and hapless humanity in the whole world which well characterizes E out of box thinking and determination to and commencement of circle of radicaliza- changed fast and drastically. BJP has broken his persona as well as psyche in the true sense of progress, pros- making headlines in the papers for a day, solve the so called Kashmir riddle . Till now, tion, Jammu and Kashmir saw unprecedent- the 'JINX' that it cannot come to power in perity and well-being irrespective of national boundaries. each and every Governor, ever since the nothing concrete is being done to prevent ed violence. Jammu and Kashmir and right now they are And his relentless endeavour throughout his life was marked Sadar E Riyasat and Wazir E Azam terminol- such loss of precious lives in future. Those In between all these rumblings BJP under the 'KING MAKERS'. With the confidence by this predominant spirit of self-less service of all in a most devot- ogy had been shunned, has been either a ed manner and with sincerest commitment so as to alleviate the Vajpayee lost his second vote of confidence of defeating combined opposition in Rajya who die become just statistics for official career bureaucrat, an Army General , a RAW trauma and agony of millions of suffering human populace in a by one vote as Kashmir's Sabha during no confidence motion, it is no man or an Intelligence Chief and all these peaceful, rational and progressive way.Though he had been the records without undertaking any efforts for chose to vote against his then-party National mood of sitting by fence in our state with 25 appointment have raised time and again prime minister of but his vision did not confine him to his high end road safety measures. The question Conference's diktat to favour Vajpayee and MLAs as still more than two years of tenure question marks on flip flop Kashmir policies country alone; rather his poetic heart always came out for the res- more noticeable thing is that is as to whether any road safety assessment adopted time to time by different Central of present assembly is there and it is contem- cue of the entire humanity from ignorance, backwardness and was MoS in the Ministry of External Affairs Governments. Not only with every such plating forming government with the help of poverty in the whole world.It was this approach with which he policy especially with regard to hilly terrains is in subsequent Vajpayee government at one appointment Kashmiris get susceptible what rebels and others in the state. Giving another began his career of social point of time and resigned to fight 2002 state in vogue in the State? Who should share the is going on but also on international forum term to present Governor was not going well service or service to the elections . After coming to power again in responsibility of road safety and whether the the message goes that India is using iron within the political circles as it only meant nation in his prime youth 1999, Vajpayee's initiative of Lahore bus and became a full time hand policy in Kashmir. Recent UN as well that BJP has not any capable person to same was equitably realized by the concerned service and post Kargil Agra summit with cadre of Rashtriya as OIC reports on Kashmir point out this and replace him. As per media reports present Parvez Musharraf had a major impact on Swayamsevak Sangh Government departments, the legislature, the it also depicts there is only one possible way Governor is not in favour of installing anoth- mindset of Kashmiri public .Vajpayee ,keep- er BJP government as well as stand taken (RSS) and publicly decided police, various NGOs and the public itself or it of dealing with Kashmir impasse and that to remain bachelor possible solution can only be achieved ing in view the democratic spirit of the voters during last Article 35 A hearing in the SC for is nobody's baby which results in such fatal and country, understood the importance of deferment has not gone well with the BJP's throughout his life. He through these ex government officials but joined the Quit India Move- accidents on the roads intermittently. There is time and again when we think Centre's multi party system in democracy and thus in approach on the issue as Governor's rule 2002 J and K saw so called first fair elections ment in 1942 launched by Kashmir policy is paying rich dividends, means de facto Central rule. Moreover recent Mahatma Gandhi and was no monitoring mechanism in operation in of the valley and despite winning only six- with Kashmir limping back to normalcy, decisions by Governor to stall CDF of MLAs imprisoned by the British those areas which are prone to landslides or some undesired happenings take place which teen seats PDP was given freedom to cement as well as dictate on the issue of inauguration Government for his politi- have shooting stone areas especially when it are fully exploited by Pakistan with the an alliance with Congress and thus first non of new projects by MLAs also played its role cal activities. rains. No warning signals or regulation of traf- active support of valley separatist. NC government of the state was formed . in deciding his fate. But that did not discour- From October 1947, the day Instrument This had significant consequences as With 2019 approaching fast, issues of age his firm resolve and fic to prevent mishaps like arrangements, are of Accession was signed ,till 1975 there had Abdullahs were cut to size once for all and Article 35A, 370, Rohingyas are not only deep penchant to render his whole life for welfare of others, instead ever seen employed by the Government in the been single party rule of NC ( National valley people had for the first time a choice state centric issues but it has Pan India effect of enjoying all material or worldly pleasures like any young man to vote in a multi party system of their of his age.That is why he always considered India - the country as areas under reference. Conference) , be it Bakshi Gulam on voters. With defeats in all by-elections of Mohammad or GM Sadiq or Mir Qasim or choice. Vajpayee gave full cooperation to , more so noticeable losses of CM a nation - the highest society of virtuous life, perhaps like the great Accidents after accidents leave no lessons Sheikh Abdullah , either it was NC or Mufti to implement its policy of healing and Deputy CM seats in UP, narrow victory Greek philosopher Aristotle, above and uppermost to any individ- ual, howsoever rich or mighty he or she may be. Obviously the Congress-NC merged so much so that even touch, opening of transport and business cor- margins in Gujrat elections , its inability to for the administration to act and plan accord- nation is always supreme and also an end in itself but neither in a after NC and Congress became separate enti- ridors across two sides of Kashmir and all manage 8 MLAs in Karnataka to form the ingly. If some "inquiries" are instituted, their this had a soothing effect and good gover- narrow sense of the term nor in the fascist fashion to arouse jingo- ties still GM Shah became CM with government , prominent pin pricking by its ism or extreme and pernicious nationalism, being popular during findings are never made public, let alone fix- Congress support first and subsequently nance till the eruption of 2008 Shri Amarnath allies namely Shiv Sena on the issues of row. Both his followers as well as detractors inter-war years and afterwards too. Yet despite being a hardcore ing responsibility. People very often, as such, became CM with the sup- Article 370 , 35A it seems BJP has decided nationalist his vision always extended beyond national boundaries still vouch by his famous quote of 'Insaniyat, port of Congress only after Rajiv - Farooq enough is enough and it's time to say good- to reach every individual upon earth in the true spirit of an ever- do not take announcements about ordering Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriat' and people of accord. Earlier also Sheikh Abdullah became bye to contagious issues ,at least few of them cherished ancient Indian ideal of vasudhaivekutumbakam- the Kashmir trusted him like a mentor and still inquiries seriously because they know that CM after almost two decades of isolation but for that they want to have complete con- entire world is a family on the mother earth. And that, only after Indira -Sheikh accord .All this consider his initiatives as best and nearest to obviously,transforms him from an undisputed national leader to a such exercises were just to pass the time and resolving Kashmir issue once for all. trol of state administration in their hands. show that at any point of time since inde- The message is clear , BJP will not hesitate to statesman like Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln or George to let dust settle over the entire matter result- Coming back to present scenario, NN Washington- one who cares for the welfare of the entire humanity. pendence it was NC only which was calling take tough calls on the issues of national the shots in Kashmir and no other political Vohra took over as Governor succeeding SK Though there are several aspects or numerous dimensions of ing in virtually hoodwinking the public. importance , be it controversial Articles or party was there to fulfill the political aspira- Sinha who was considered pro Hindu and his personality to narrate and to be described but all these humane August 20 proved Kuligarh area on Batote- Rohingyas or exploring the possibility of tions of the public to vent their ire against immediately after taking the oath faced the traits associated with his personality converge to single him out as Doda- Kishtwar highway a deathtrap for as successive state governments. This political music of Shri Amarnath agitation and in forming of state government again , be it a perfect gentle-man and humble and sober person, a moderate many as seven persons, mostly pilgrims of vacuum accumulated for almost five decades between the agitation many voices were with the help of rebels or NC as patriotism politician yet always with a sense of humour, a versatile leader and of frustration of public as they had no other raised over his competence to resolve the shown by Farooq in front of PM and BJP obviously a noble spirit. Today he remains as a revered patriarch Chandi Mata yatra, as a massive landslide hit alternate option to vote for, and as, time and row but once it got sorted out he was man in President on the occasion of Vajpayee's con- of most of his political party cadres and also of the entire country- men who mourn at this tragic moment of his demise, cutting across the vehicles, a Maruti car and a mini- bus, they again, alleged rigging of elections under the charge of the state for more than ten years, a dolence meeting is an enough indication of record in itself. During his tenure four times behind the scene realignment of political party-lines, caste, creed, religion or region or such other worldly were travelling in. They were on their way from shadow of boycott calls took place until 1986 divisions. Governor's rule was imposed and state saw equations in the state politics and as they say elections which for the first time saw differ- Evidently the gap that has emerged after his departure from the Thathri to Kishtwar when the mishap took no one is permanent friend or foe in politics. ent small groups of valley centric political or most turbulent period in its history with 2008 world cannot be fulfilled but his noble deeds and untiring service place as massive boulders and debris sudden- religious persons trying to fight elections agitation, 2010 , 2012 Kashmir unrest , 2014 With the opposition still clueless and Maha of the nation as well as the entire humanity will always lighten the ly came rolling down from a hillock. Five died under a common political umbrella of MUF Valley floods, 2016 death of CM Mufti, 2016 Gathbandhan a distant possibility one thing path to safe and secure journey like a light house in a huge ocean ( Muslim United Front) though on communal NIT Tiranga agitation, 2016 Burhan Wani is for sure, with the appointment of Satya Pal of ignorance and utter helplessness. That also gives a noble mes- on the spot while the other two succumbed to lines . Jammat e Islami of Syed Ali Shah row, and tooth to nail opposition to PDP-BJP Malik as Governor BJP has stumped many sage to all of us to imitate and incorporate in ourselves to put into injuries on their way to hospital. Geelani, Qazi Nissar, Syed Salahudin , Yasin government to name a few . All these post and it seems they are going to have the last practice in our daily and routine course of lives. This is possible as Governor, and some political leaders, ex- Malik , Shabbir Shah and many more partic- 2014 incidents made sure he remained indis- laugh as well. nothing is beyond human endeavour. ipated in the elections directly or indirectly pensable in state politics and had the distinc- [email protected] [email protected] Ministers and others have expressed grief over the loss of precious lives in the accident Sapna K Sangra tually rose up to every challenge while on the other hand, people of the area of that this State posed and sailed "I found him to be one of diligently with his vast experi- those bureaucrats who keep their Farewell Dear Chancellor the accident have maintained that Kuligarh ences in different fields. area has turned out to be the most vulnerable integrity in whatever circum- However, like every great stances they work in" Haksar, P N Dhar and P C finger at him as he always stood sonalities. The report was sub- Ors Vs Union of India) in Alexander who served as by his principles." mitted by the Vohra committee December 1997 referred to the man, Vohra too had his pitfalls. I accident spot on Batote - Doda - Kishtwar - often wonder why this gentle- bsolute decorum and the Principal Secretaries to former Having served as the Union in October 1993 in which Vohra Committee report and said highway and has claimed large number of Prime Ministers. Besides this, Defence Production Secretary, scathing comments were made that the document "discloses a man was soft in taking on those sheen that Rajbhawan who abused their official posi- lives due to landslides but the Governments exhibited in the last ten Vohra Committee Report, Union Defence Secretary, Vohra and dismal picture of the exist- powerful nexus between the A Chairman National Task Force, was appointed as Union Home ing scene was painted. The bureaucracy and politicians with tion in Higher Education from time to time in the State have miserably years is a legacy! This class a report says that the network of the mafia gangs, smugglers and Department and kept his part conduct of the Highest Home Secretary, Defence Secretary by the Narasimha Rao failed to take preventive and remedial steps. government in April 1993 imme- the mafia is virtually running a the underworld". esteemed office in dark. Office of the State is a reflection Secretary and above all, leading diately after the serial bomb parallel government pushing the Having His Excellency, Sh. There were many cases of While crores of Rupees are spent on the main- of the persona that N. N. Vohra is a fragile State from June 2008 to blasts in Mumbai in March 1993. State apparatus into irrelevance. N. N. Vohra as the Chancellor of concealment of material facts in and this past decade of Vohra era, August 2018 speaks volume of tenance of the highway every year, on the Following July, the Narasimha Shockingly, it talked of criminal- the University of which I am part the items prepared and placed is therefore, going to be a golden his versatility. other hand, at this "Khooni" spot, landslides as an alumna and a faculty mem- before him in the University History, his predecessors couldn't Career bureaucrat and former ber has been a matter of pride. Council meetings which were problem has not been addressed. That is pre- create and successors might find 1959 batch IAS officer of Punjab His entire career with humble brought to his notice with evi- it too difficult to fathom. The cadre, Vohra was the 12th cisely the most unfortunate side of how priori- beginning as a lecturer of English dence and virtually years were path-breaking and the tough Governor of Jammu and ties are addressed by State Governments in Kashmir and first civilian before entering the prestigious wasted in ascertaining the facts decisions that Vohra took in the civil services and then touching facilitating the graceful retire- Jammu and Kashmir. challenging times speaks of his Governor in 18 years since Jagmohan. Before assuming the the pinnacle of success taking ment of some tinted ones. As if it was less of any precious human loss, administrative acumen and that's over as the Governor of J&K, Though his office was open to what makes this gentleman an office in 2008, Vohra held a dia- twelve more people were killed on Aug 21 , in logue with all stakeholders in the speaks of his commitment and one and all, my several requests icon for the civil servants. He integrity. No controversies, no seeking time for a formal meet- Kishtwar after a vehicle, on its way back from was awarded India's second- State as the Centre's interlocutor for five years. An astute adminis- showbiz, this private person ing in the last three years weren't Machail yatra fell into Chenab River. So in two highest civilian honour, the meant business and always laid conceded to though I had series Padma Vibhushan for civil serv- trator and people-friendly days, one after the other, two accidents have Governor, his term has been emphasis on transparency and of formal conversations with his ice, in 2007. accountability. Biometric atten- esteemed secretariat on his taken place claiming 20 precious lives besides Hundreds join prestigious appreciated across the political spectrum. Mehbooba Mufti, the dance, filing of annual property behalf. Well, as they say, all is causing grievous injuries to scores of people. Lal Bahadur Shastri National Rao government constituted a isation of politics and of the returns by all the public servants well, that ends well! The state of Academy Mussoorie every year Former Chief Minister and PDP Generally, the Government is found wanting President aptly observed, five member Committee headed nexus among criminals, politi- and eviction of encroachment on J&K is and shall forever remain but only a few, rather one or two by Vohra to take stock of all the cians, bureaucrats and members waterbodies/State land remained indebted for the exemplary serv- in being seriously responsive to the causes of make it to the level of his "Vohraji was very well versed with the affairs of J&K, first as a available information about the of judicial system in India. The his top priorities every time the ices rendered by this gentleman. such heart rending accidents and takes little or Excellency. Fantastic career activities of crime Syndicates/ pronouncements of the Vohra Governor's rule got imposed. Gracias Dear Chancellor! record with an opportunity to bureaucrat at the Centre, an inter- no steps to reverse such causes. At least, locutor and then the Governor for Mafia organizations which had Committee report were such that Working sixteen hours a day and (The author teaches Sociology at the work with the former Prime developed links with and were the Supreme Court while deliv- going through each and every file University of Jammu and is the State Minister I.K Gujral in 1997-98 more than 10 years. He is a man flashing warning signals and strict regulation of integrity. No one can raise a being protected by Government ering the judgment in Vineet personally in his eighties, Vohra Chairperson of SPIC MACAY) of traffic especially during yatra days like took him to the category of P N functionaries and political per- Narain case (Vineet Narain and is no ordinary individual. He vir- [email protected] measures are nowhere seen in the areas under reference. During Yatra days, sufficient- Discrimination with PSC lecturers ly adequate Governmental arrangements cou- pled with mobile medical facilities, communi- Sir, Plight of SSA teachers cation etc can as a matter of right be claimed I would like to request Advisor to Governor I/C School Education Department to review SAC decision No 24-3- Sir, 2018 Dated 11-7-2018 and implement Cabinet decision No 184-11-2017 dated 3-10-2017 to revoke SRO-202 of 2015 and expected. The Government, however, has to restore confidence in 10+2 school lecturers selected through Public Service Commission. It is pertinent to mention As observed, there prevails an atmosphere of maladministration and mismanage- failed to come up to the expectation of the that these lecturers were recruited through advertisement of PSC alongwith doctors and engineers etc. In a surprising ment in the entire system of education department. Consequently, the standard of people. move the SRO-202 was applied only to teaching community school lecturers in a discriminatory manner and no other education is falling day by day for which only teachers are often held responsible. Gazetted Services were brought under SRO-202. These highly qualified lecturers having Ph.D/NET/SLET qualifica- Let me take up the issue of implementation of SSA Programme by the con- At best, condolence messages and ex- gra- tions were selected by PSC through regular selection procedure applicable to all gazetted services. cerned authorities of education department. In fact, it is a project launched by the tia payments alone are considered sufficient After selection these lecturers were adjusted in far flung area schools but they never objected. They peacefully pro- ministry of HRD, with the main objective to provide education- within the Governmental kitty of duties. We jected their case before State Government many times. The case was considered favourably by the Government as it al facilities to the left out and remote areas of the different states including the state urge the concerned authorities in the was a regular selection and SRO-202 of 2015 was issued in favour of non-gazetted services only. Thereafter due to of Jammu and Kashmir. unknown reasons only one gazetted service was brought under SRO-202 and all other gazetted services were left out It is quite surprising and shocking that the concerned authorities either could not Government to either find a lasting solution to of this SRO. The State Cabinet was kind enough to take cabinet decision No. 184/11/2017 dated 3-10-2017 to give full understand the basics of SSA or have deliberately distorted the basic concept and pur- recurring problem of detaching and rolling salary to 10+2 School lecturers. Now the SAC has passed decision No. 24-3-2018 dated 11-7-2018 not to implement pose of this project. The teachers who were working as masters in general schools were down of boulders and malba from Kuligarh Cabinet decision. This has sent shock waves of injustice among PSC selected 10+2 school lecturers as they are no less transferred to and posted in the schools covered under SSAproject. Consequently, there than any other gazetted service in any way. It is again requested to the Governor to do justice with 10+2 school lectur- arose a financial crunch due to the fact that the salary to be paid to the masters is many hillock or divert the route to preempt any fur- ers and revoke SRO-202 applied to them. times higher than that of the salary fixed by central Government for the head teachers. ther mishaps taking place. In the meantime, R.C. Anthal It led to the starvation of teachers due to non payment of salary. we would like to know which arrangements on Trikuta Nagar, Jammu It also acted as a hurdle in implementation of the 7th pay commission recommen- dations. the highway associated with remedial meas- Discussion on power scenario A teacher working as a master in a school covered under SSA project told me that ures were in operation, and if accountability Sir, he was appointed as teacher about thirty years back and was also promoted as Mas- could be established for these two mishaps ter about thirteen years back and then unfortunately transferred to and posted in a It was very pleasant to attend the discussions held by IIPA about the uninterrupted electric supply in Jammu held on school covered under SSA project and that he was going to retire from the service taking place, in quick succession. The matter 19th August. The panelists consisting of superintending engineers from PDD educated the audience about the targeted after a few months, but is not being given the benefits of,7th pay commission rec- should be treated seriously by employing all parameters fixed in the overall ARADRP Scheme and the General Manager from IRCON, detailed about the works ommendations due to the reason that he was posted in a school covered under SSA. technical, professional and administrative being taken up by the agency. The problems faced by people were highlighted by the public quoting examples/particu- Is there any logic behind this case ? lar incidents in important localities of Jammu like Gandhi Nagar and Channi Himmat colonies where the public suffer Hence,it is suggested that necessary corrections should be made in the adminis- monitoring and remedial follow up. We shall frequently due to mismanagement and lack of co-ordination between the PDD and IRCON. No further solution was pre- trative system and the general line teachers working in the schools covered under be keenly watching what the Government sented either by IRCON or the PDD so that such incidents occurring in the future could be avoided in order to have SSA project should be transferred to the other schools and they should be given the does next and that also immediately, in the uninterrupted supply in Jammu and around. Such discussion could have been more fruitful in case the advisor con- benefits of 7th pay commission recommendations and their pay arrears should also cerned would have also been invited so as to give his thoughts on this important subject. matter. be be released and disbursed so that the government schools may not suffer. B M Kohli O P Sharma Jammu Bagnoti Nowshera.