Lieutenant Governor Manoj Singha has started changing the land laws and teams have been formed to give the temples possession of their lands and rebuild the temples. He understands the plight of the Pandits as well as the anger of the Sunnis. And his way of dealing with both is the same – Keep enough distance. His priority, as he said, is the communities that have become a minority in the true sense – Kashmiri Hindus, Bakarwal, hill, Gujjars and Shias.
Kashmir Diary: Shruti Vyas after returning from Srinagar
Let me begin my report with the meeting that took place during the recent visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Srinagar. There were many politicians and bureaucrats in that meeting to meet and communicate with him. In the same Jammu and Kashmir, a big leader of his party told Amit Shah that the children of many extremists who have joined the mainstream of the society are deprived of opportunities to progress in life. Because the past of their fathers is not leaving them behind. Before Amit Shah could give any reply, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha told the leader in a humble but firm voice, “When you came to me with this issue, I told you to provide a list of such names so that every case is individually Work to be done It’s been sixty days, I’m waiting for the list.”
There was silence in the whole room. Surely the Home Minister must have been happy with the stand of the Lieutenant Governor. The great leaders of ‘Apni Party’ started peeping from side to side. As far as Manoj Sinha is concerned, he kept his seriousness according to his nature and moved on to the next agenda and meeting.
Due to such methodology and nature of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, when I went to Kashmir recently, I also heard some things which I had not heard at least since the abrogation of Article 370. There was anger in the atmosphere then there was also an atmosphere of uncertainty.
But now the mood has changed. Bridges were being built to praise Manoj Sinha’s rule. People from top to bottom praised Sinha fiercely. Manoj Sinha is running the rule of Jammu and Kashmir for two years today. When I went to Kashmir last year, people were starting to understand him and his intentions. Sinha was also trying to peep into a completely new area for himself and the hearts of its people.
This year I found that both have understood each other. There is no doubt that an ‘outsider’ has been accepted in Kashmir as both a politician and a good administrator. Sinha took over the governance of Kashmir on August 6, 2020, after Girishchandra Murmu’s 9-month nirudyam tenure. At that time the people of Kashmir were in the grip of a strange silence. People were angry, stunned, they felt that they had been cheated.
Murmu, a former bureaucrat, only deepened the sense of uncertainty in the new Jammu and Kashmir. After this failure, Modi and Shah did not want to make a mistake for the second time. He knew he needed a strong politician in Srinagar who could deal with the many challenges posed by his decision. He found the man he wanted in Manoj Sinha.
Manoj Sinha Khanty is a politician and has been a clever player of politics in the Hindi field. Initially it seemed that maybe Manoj Sinha is not the right person for the job. Kashmir needed a person who could get the government machinery to work, implement its decisions, be able to mediate and act as a strong bridge between Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. A politician was needed to fill the political vacuum created in Jammu and Kashmir. Whereas local journalists and those in the internet world felt that the appointment of a prominent BJP politician as the Lieutenant Governor meant that elections would be held soon in Kashmir. Many said that Sinha’s tenure would be shorter and more bitter than that of Satya Pal Malik. But today, two years later, elections are nowhere to be seen and Sinha is ruling the state without any restraints. Under his rule, Kashmiris have become somewhat relaxed and calm.
Earlier, even after achieving a lot of success in politics, Manoj Sinha was not recognized at the all India level. In the year 2017, there were discussions about him becoming the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. But destiny had prepared a different plan for them. After losing the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, he almost disappeared from the political scene. This is the reason why the announcement of his appointment as the Lieutenant Governor was surprising in Jammu and Kashmir and especially in Srinagar and the Valley, which gave rise to many whispers. Especially because N.N. His predecessor governors, including Vohra and Jagmohan (at that time the state of Jammu and Kashmir), though originally administrators, were aware of the ground situation in Kashmir and, with their impeccable conduct and grasp on administrative matters, they were instrumental in creating the atmosphere for elections and the political process. played an important role in its restoration. However, even then it was believed that no outsider could understand the people of the state, especially Kashmiris. Therefore neither can rule the state nor the hearts of the people there.
Manoj Sinha was airdropped directly into Kashmir from eastern Uttar Pradesh. He was neither aware of the serious problems there nor of their various aspects. But still they have destroyed all the old myths. And this is understandable from the knowledgeable discussions of Srinagar and the Valley.
In the last two years, he has caught the pulse of Kashmir. His understanding of Kashmir is perhaps even better than that of Kashmiri Abdullahs and Muftis. Being an outsider, he has a clean slate and the burden of his past is not going with him. They do what they say, and they say what they do. They have acceptance among the common people and they keep the state running.
Manoj Sinha, a calm and serious personality, acts with perseverance and courage. Whether it is a matter of development or rehabilitation, to bring the system back on track or to coordinate between the police and the army and the opinion of the local people and the bureaucrats – their grip and efficiency can be clearly seen. People admire his demeanor, admire his political ingenuity and are pleased with his administrative acumen.
It can be said that work speaks and Manoj Sinha’s work speaks.
Development is taking place and political stability – even if it does not look very strong – can be felt. Roads are being built, Medi-city plans are ready, one cinema hall has opened and others are about to open, tourists are coming and there is talk of outside investment coming into the valley. Manoj Sinha is in the headlines of the newspapers and this has angered the supporters of National Conference and PDP active on the net.
Recently, when I went to meet the Lieutenant Governor, a gentleman sitting there seemed very sad at the uncertainty prevailing in the Valley. Sinha consoled them, saying, “It takes time to change mindset.” He is confident that the policies of the central government will bring a change in both the thinking and the state. Sinha knows that he has a central role in bringing about this change and therefore does not hesitate to make decisions. He knows what is expected of him as a BJP leader and Lt Governor and he is doing exactly that.
In two years he has learned enough about Kashmir. They greet people in Kashmir with ‘Adaab’ and in Jammu with ‘Namaste’. People who know and like him personally are spread from Gurez Valley to Rajouri. They have started changing the land laws and teams have been formed to give the temples possession of their lands and rebuild the temples. He understands the plight of the Pandits as well as the anger of the Sunnis. And their way of dealing with both is the same – keep enough distance. His priority, as he said, is the communities that have become a minority in the true sense – Kashmiri Hindus, Bakarwals, Paharis, Gujjars and Shias. Jammu, which has always been marginalized, is also his focus. There will hardly be a Chief Minister who has taken Prime Minister Modi’s slogan of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ as seriously as Manoj Sinha has.
There is no doubt that he has proved his worth. He always wears brightly colored kurta-pyjama or kurta-dhoti and always has a tilak on his forehead. As the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, he has created a legacy that goes far beyond just a Khanty politician and which he may not even be aware of. They work and know how to get it done. In his tenure of two years, he has established complete control over Jammu and Kashmir and in this his charismatic personality has contributed no less.
This is the reason that neither Manoj Sinha nor anyone has any displeasure with his secret. None of the people I spoke to called them bad or wrong. People love his personality and also that childlike sweet smile that he uses every now and then. He is a good politician and circumstances have made him a deserving task master. What Manoj Sinha is doing in Kashmir is certainly commendable. Everyone should remember this point in the next test. What will be their political future, how the BJP will perform in the elections in Kashmir and how satisfied they will be when they leave Kashmir and how normal Kashmir will be, only time will tell. But for now we can say that this politician from Ghazipur is getting a place in the hearts of Kashmiris.
