Report for empowerment of people: Padgaonkar

“Our meetings revealed the desire of people to lead a life of dignity”

May 25, 2012 01:24 am | Updated July 12, 2016 02:24 am IST - NEW DELHI

Eminent journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, who headed the group of three interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir, on Thursday said the thrust of their report was to empower the people of the State, so that they could exercise their civil and political rights in full measure.

The 176-page report was uploaded on the Home Ministry's website on Thursday, seven months after it was submitted to Home Minister P. Chidambaram in October last. Their interactions with people and perusal of voluminous documents revealed the people's desire to lead a life of dignity and honour. The interlocutors, while upholding Article 370(special status to Jammu & Kashmir), favoured further strengthening it.

Talking to The Hindu on the phone from Pune, he said the interlocutors made attempts to find out if the people benefited from Central laws and Articles. “The opinion has been divided and even the Supreme Court's view was divided on it. So, we recommended that a constitutional committee be set up to review all these laws since the clock cannot be turned back.”

In view of the changed security, economic and global environment, it was felt that the State and the administrative machinery should have enough powers to focus on the welfare of the people. The report recommended devolution of power — political and administrative — down to the district and panchayat levels.

The report sought to give voice to the demands made, notably by Kashmiri Pandits, for full rehabilitation in the Valley and also noted the concerns expressed by Sikhs.

“There is a crucial economic component as well. We have found a rich diversity in the State; in fact, it is a mini-India. We favoured free movement of goods and people, opening of all roads leading to other parts of the State and making the Line of Control a mere line on the map,” he said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.