Kashmir: Love and Inclusion needed

The need of the hour is something I have personally stood for throughout my life – love and inclusion! Let us quell the voices of those who would say it’s about time we stopped giving special treatment to a few million people and rush to buy land and set up businesses there. For people used to small local businesses and interactions, inclusion will happen not by aggressive outreach but by creating an environment where “safe spaces” are created for the youth of Srinagar

Students from University of
Kashmir, Srinagar in Pune for
Skills Development

Ten years ago, a new Chief Minister was sworn in, in J&K. He had youth and charisma and the good wishes of many folks in the valley that has oft been called “paradise on earth”. I was just finishing my stint as Chairman of IT Industry association NASSCOM then and met Omar at an Award function in Mumbai where he exhorted us not to invest in the industry in the valley saying “we are not ready yet” but in the people. Kashmiris, he said needed and wanted to be part of the aspiring and globally minded community that were beginning to transform the country and the world. Two weeks later I accepted his invite to lead a delegation to the valley and we spent a week discovering for ourselves the beauty of the land and the warmth of its people. And our project “Talent Valley” was born.

Talent Valley was a partner programme between our newly minted company Global Talent Track and the University of Kashmir in Srinagar. NASSCOM’s new President Som Mittal, GTT CEO, Uma Ganesh, the University Vice Chancellor and the CM himself kicked it off under the famous Chinar trees of the valley and over the next year, five hundred youth from the University were given an opportunity to get trained for success in their chosen field.

The training was delivered in Srinagar and Pune and it was a great joy for us when many of the young folk found suitable employment offers from some of the top companies of our industry. But then came the reality check – not one of them were ready to accept an offer to live and work outside the valley. Having been born and raised in a valley which stood proudly and somewhat sadly apart from the rest of the country, it was too much of a change for them to even think of living outside it.

Our year of frequent visits to Srinagar and our interactions with excellent students and the faculty members of the University made us realize how differently the Kashmiri mind works in the valley. There was completely no interest or support for Pakistan from intelligent people we met and they also knew that Kashmiri independence was not really a viable option. Sadly, they did not feel close to India either. Article 370 had worked as a double-edged sword, giving them an exclusive status but denying them the opportunity to be part of mainstream development. This had also created a feeling of alienation and a constant sense of mistrust about all the overtures that were being made to them! The last ten years would have seen nothing much change and it is surprising that the move to abrogate Article 370 and somewhat suddenly start a process of integration with the rest of the India should be met by a rather sullen response, at least in the initial watchful weeks.

Frequent visits to Srinagar and interactions with students and the faculty members of the University made us realize how differently the Kashmiri mind works

The need of the hour is something I have personally stood for throughout my life – love and inclusion! Let us quell the voices of those who would say it’s about time we stopped giving special treatment to a few million people and rush to buy land and set up businesses there. For people used to small local businesses and interactions mainly with people of similar backgrounds to themselves, inclusion will happen not by aggressive outreach but by creating an environment where “safe spaces” are created for the youth of Srinagar to feel included in their thoughts and aspirations and opportunities emerge slowly but surely, initially to work with a Tata or ICICI or IBM in the valley and then spread their wings and move to jobs in other parts of India and the world. We need to show them love not condescension and seek a response which is truly that of collaboration not of gratitude. Let us give a proud community a hand of partnership and take his opportunity to welcome seven million and more of our countrymen truly into our midst.

One such role model of love and inclusion is thriving right here in the city of Pune – the Skills Lighthouses in six wards of the city. Here, youth who have been deprived of the love and comfort that many of us have benefited from in our families and households are given a safe space to develop agency and sense of responsibility for their own future, counseled for possible careers and vocations, assisted in finding jobs or entrepreneurship opportunities and made part of a family of young people which started small and will soon cross ten thousand, as the movement spreads across all the fifteen municipal wards of the Pune Municipal Corporation. The goal that PMC and our entity Pune City Connect Development Foundation (PCC) have is to build sustainable communities working towards a “Sampoorna Pune.” The initiative has been recognized as an exemplar in the social sector by the Smart Cities Conference, the Aspen Global Opportunity Youth Initiative and many other national and international bodies.

I am truly confident that a customized intervention that models the success of both the Lighthouses and Talent Valley can truly lead to a Srinagar City Connect and eventually a Sampoorna Kashmir. Let us march forward and strengthen the nation….together!