... The autonomy proposals do not represent the will of all the sections of the State's population. Moreover, little effort had been made to evolve some kind of a consensus on the subject before presenting the document for a discussion with the Centre ...

Many in Ladakh and Jammu do not see the question of autonomy and related issues the same way as the ruling National Conference does. In fact, the people of Ladakh had for many years been pressing for a closer integration with the Centre. These two regions - apart from the State's other smaller ethnic and cultural entities – have harboured a grouse that too much power has remained concentrated in the hands of the State's ruling elite, and too little has flowed down to the regional and sub-regional levels. They have aired apprehensions that any further devolution in the name of autonomy could only strengthen the existing hegemonic structures in the State. And though the State government had put out a. separate report on internal autonomy which is supposed to have addressed  issues concerning local power-sharing, there again has been little effort to open these issues to a wider debate before arriving at any conclusions ...

... Before one gets down to discussing the content of an autonomy package, it is important to underline what its modalities should be:

First, it is not a deal to be worked out with just one party, even if that be the ruling party ...

Second, the majoritarian principle shall not apply. In other. words, if even the smallest ethnic, linguistic or cultural group in the State harbours any reservations on a proposal, it cannot be enforced because the majority party wants it so.

Third, the re-arrangement of the power-sharing apparatus should start from the bottom ... and not be super-imposed as a deal between ... New Delhi and Srinagar ...

.. The proposals would (also) need to be viewed in the overall framework of the Indian Constitution ..:

.. Any amount of autonomy is no substitute for good governance. And good governance is what has been eluding the people over the past half a century. For one thing, the failure to evolve a reasonably articulate and democratic opposition in the State has been responsible to a large extent for the failure of good governance. .The Centre ... has found it easier to deal with one party or leader in Srinagar rather than having to deal with several ...

There is a need to pull the autonomy debate out of historical syndromes ...

(Source: The Hindustan Times, 14 February, 2000)