The traditional practice of Darbar move continues in Kashmir even after 140 years when the then Dogra Maharaja of princely state started it to evade the extreme weather conditions of both the regions. Maharaja begun the biannual practice to stay at Srinagar in summers to evade the scorching heat of Jammu and in winters the biting cold of Kashmir; he would switch over to Jammu. Going by the logic the decision of Maharaja may not be questioned since staying at one place to run the administration in hostile weather conditions would have witnessed the potential administrative breakdown owing to limited resources and abysmal communication and connectivity in pace. But today when the same archaic culture is in vogue, one fails to understand its logic. For the democratically elected successive regimes, it still remains the part of their functioning. The world has seen phenomenal progress in communication sector and the road infrastructure built across the state is also better then it was in Maharaja’s kingdom. Then why this patriarchal practice? It has become illogical when the governments across the world are more focusing on using the information technology not only to minimize the expenses in making physical tours and trips, however, also to ensure speedy delivery of works. However, in Kashmir, the practice is privilege for bureaucrats and politicians. The reports suggest that after every six months state government is bearing Rs 100 crore to shift the Darbar which in other ways encourages the bureaucratic capitalism where they budge with their families to the warm shores of Jammu and return Kashmir to rule the commoners in good times of summer. The superfluous culture has also given a steep rise in corruption where the Babus from the valley have preferred to build the palaces in posh colonies of Jammu and set enterprises after swindling huge money from the public exchequer. This unabated curse goes unnoticed since it all happens away from the shadows of these babus acquaintances. If these bureaucrats are stopped from moving away from the chilly winters of Kashmir, it will not only make them to realize the people’s sufferings, however, will also reduce the chances of corruption and ensure the speedy development. No bureaucrat gets stuck in just two feet snow and faces the harsh power cuts in winters the way common person faces here.
Shunning this archaic practice can ensure positive changes in the system, the government must consider.
It can take a leap from the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) after state government set it a separate economic zone in 2003 and reduced its socio-economic dependence on civil secretariat. Today when the region remains cut-off from the rest of world for over six months, it doesn’t show its impact on its economy and development. Alone the tourism sector of the region is ample to cater its economic needs and the social sectors also show the positive sings.
In case of both Kashmir and Jammu region there must be separate administrative zones. The burden needs to be lessened on the civil secretariat for which there is a need to decentralize powers to the district and block administrative offices. The functioning of civil secretariat must be restricted to the policy and planning part in an order to improve the efficiency of governance and minimum delay in execution of works. The daring and positive step is waiting for the strong political will.
