NEW DELHI: “No regrets except that I had to leave the job unfinished.” That is how Girish Chandra Saxena feels about his removal as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
The two years and nine months that he spent in the state ravaged by separatist violence, were “taxing. But then one has the satisfaction of achieving something for the country,”
Top on his list of successes is the fact that the militants have now realized that they would not succeed in their designs. “Over 1100 have surrendered and hundreds fled the valley as they know that they would not be allowed to dis integrate the country, They also fell letdown by the neighboring country.” Second, common people are fed up with the militancy. They have not only stopped giving shelter to the militants but, on the contrary, are the most effective source of information for the security forces. Also, most of those who are still in the valley holding gun, do not have their heart into it. Occasionally they do strike but that is to maintain the facade of a fight.
What remains to be achieved, says Saxena, is the task of winning over of people’s heart and mind. “The sense of alienation that people have has also something to do with their lack of trust in the government for various reasons, including historical, Restoration of normalcy and democratic institutions should be the major goals before the new dispensation in the state.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 19, 1993
