J&K Witnessing Democratic Erosion Under Unelected Rule, Says Former Interlocutor Radha Kumar

Srinagar, August 8, KNT: Former Government of India interlocutor Prof. Radha Kumar on Friday said that Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a steady erosion of democratic accountability since the abrogation of its special constitutional status in 2019, asserting that an unelected administration now exercises powers that should ordinarily vest with an elected government.

Talking to reporters after presenting the latest report of the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir, Kumar said the Forum was constituted in 2019 immediately after the abrogation of Article 370 and the downgrading of the erstwhile state into a Union Territory, to document violations of political, civil and human rights independently.

She said the latest report, covering the period from August 2025 to July 2026, paints what she described as a “deeply disturbing” picture of governance in Jammu and Kashmir after nearly seven years of direct Central rule.

“The powers of the elected government continue to shrink every year while more authority is being transferred to the Lieutenant Governor. When power rests with nominated officials rather than elected representatives, there can be no real democratic accountability because the people have no mechanism to hold an unelected administration answerable,” Kumar said.

She also expressed disappointment over what she described as restrictions surrounding the release of the report, saying the Forum had planned a larger public event but was informed that police permission was required even for an indoor programme.

Questioning the continued delay in restoring statehood, Kumar noted that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had repeatedly assured the country, including before the Supreme Court nearly three years ago, that Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood would be restored.

“Those assurances have been repeated more than two dozen times, yet the promise remains unfulfilled,” she said.

Asked whether the BJP might restore statehood only after forming its own government in Jammu and Kashmir, Kumar rejected the suggestion, remarking that such a possibility was politically unrealistic.

“If the intention is to restore statehood only after the BJP has its own Chief Minister in Jammu and Kashmir, that could take a hundred years,” she said.

Kumar also expressed concern over the absence of any structured peace process since 2019, both within Jammu and Kashmir and at the regional level, saying dialogue had been abandoned despite its earlier successes.

“There has been no serious attempt to initiate a peace process either with the people of Jammu and Kashmir or across the borders in South Asia. We know how much previous peace initiatives had achieved, but unfortunately that process has come to a complete halt,” she said.

She maintained that the Forum for Human Rights would continue documenting developments in Jammu and Kashmir and place its findings in the public domain. [KNT]