WhatsApp rejection

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In an interesting development, social media gaint WhatasApp has rejected  Centre’s plea to trace origins of messages spreading rumours, cites privacy policy.The company’s spokesperson said people use the app for all kinds of sensitive conversations, including with their doctors, banks and families.

 

Facebook-owned messaging application WhatsApp on Thursday has indicated that it will not comply with the Indian government’s suggestion to trace the origins of messages that are used to spread false information, PTI reported quoting the company’s spokesperson. The company official cited its policy on end-to-end encryption as a reason for its stance on the matter.

 

The development follows a meeting between Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and WhatsApp Chief Executive Officer Chris Daniels in New Delhi on Tuesday. Prasad had said that they discussed solutions to technological challenges related to the messaging application in India and that he had asked the firm to appoint a grievance officer in India to tackle problems.

 

The company’s official said people use the app for all kinds of sensitive conversations, including with their doctors, banks and families. “Building traceability would undermine end-to-end encryption and the private nature of WhatsApp, creating the potential for serious misuse,” the spokesperson said. “WhatsApp will not weaken the privacy protections we provide. Our focus remains working closer with others in India to educate people about misinformation and help keep people safe.”

This is undoubtedly a far reaching development .

High Hopes With Satya Pal

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News Kashmir Exclusive

In a major development, Veteran politician, Shri Satya Pal Malik was recently sworn-in as the 13th Governor of Jammu and Kashmir .J&K High Court Chief Justice, Justice Gita Mittal administered the oath of office to Shri Malik at a simple but impressive function at bedecked sprawling lawns of Raj Bhavan here.The warrant of appointment of Shri Malik was read out by the Chief Secretary, B V R Subrahmanyam. A poet and author, Shri Malik was previously the Governor of Bihar and Odisha and was appointed J&K Governor by the President of India on 21 August 2018.

 

Born on 24 July 1946 to a family of agriculturists in village, Hisawada, Baghpat (district Meerut) in Uttar Pradesh, Shri Malik after graduating in science, pursued law degree at Meerut University before joining politics. He also holds a diploma in Parliamentary Affairs from the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies run by Parliament of India.

 

He was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly during 1974-77. He was also the member of the 9th Lok Sabha and represented Aligarh Constituency from 1989 to 1991. He was member of Rajya sabha from Uttar Pradesh for two terms of 1980-86 and 1986-1992.

 

Shri Malik served as Union Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism from 21 April 1990 to 10 November 1990.

 

 

 

Former Chief Ministers, Dr Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti; Union Minister of State in PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh, Speaker J&K Legislative Assembly, Dr Nirmal Singh; MPs; Legislators; Heads of Constitutional Bodies; Governor’s Advisors, B B Vyas, K Vijay Kumar and Khurshid Ahmad Ganai; serving and former Judges of the J&K High Court; Director General of Police, Dr S P Vaid; Administrative Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir & Jammu; senior civil, police CRPF, BSF and Army officers, political and civil society representatives were among the modest gathering of 400 dignitaries who attended the oath ceremony.

 

Bilal Bashir Bhat, a young journalist commenting on the development stated “Shri Malik has replaced a heavyweight like NN Vohra . We know he has been member of several Parliamentary Committees including Panel of Chairman, General Purposes Committee, Business Advisory Committee, Chairman, Joint Sub Committee on Telecasting of Proceedings of both Houses of Parliament, Chairman, Committee on Papers Laid on the Table and Parliamentary Consultative Committee.He is also a poet and author and has written two books on poetry and a Political Commentary. We are hopeful that he uses his political acumen to fullest to guide the trouble torn state in right direction especially in these tough times .”

On the otherhand of the spectrum, Having special interest in history and archaeology, Shri Malik is also known for his social activities including establishing day-care centres for the children of poor labourers.

He has also organised several farmers’ and youth movements during his more than six decades long political career.

The pulse is filled with optimism that may his appointment change the fortunes opf state to better times .

 

Missing K in J&K Police!

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News Kashmir

Effective policing helps in making a civilized society and it is only by relentless efforts of police that we see peace in societies and crimes getting thwarted or decreasing. In Jammu and Kashmir state due to burning political conflict the Police Department has had to play multiple roles and have given exemplary sacrifices while rendering their duties.

For some time the feel that Kashmiri based police officers at top positions is dwindling and also the ratio of Kashmiris in JK Police is dwindling is getting much vocal . Worryingly enough the presence of police officers from Kashmir at key district-level positions in the state, especially in the Valley, is witnessing decline with every fresh transfer order.

On the otherhand, The transfers effected by the state Home department on Monday have triggered fears among the local officers that they would be dumped to insignificant positions in coming days. “Are not we competent enough to handle crucial assignments? How can officers with four to five years of experience handle crucial and sensitive districts in Kashmir? It is sheer injustice with us,” a group of police officers told leading English daily of Kashmir Greater Kashmir.

Pertinently, With this latest reshuffle, the number of officers from Kashmir holding the positions of district police chiefs has reduced to five. Of them four are holding such positions in Kashmir and one in Jammu province.In Kashmir Valley’s 13 police districts, only four district police chiefs – Imtiyaz Hussain Mir (SSP Baramulla), Harmeet Singh Mehta (SP Kulgam), Altaf Ahmad Khan (SSP Anantnag), Imtiaz Ismail Parray (SSP Srinagar) – are from the region.

Also on the otherside of the spectrum, several netizens of Kashmir had expressed dissatisfaction over what they claimed less number of Kashmiris featuring in the latest selected Sub Inspector list. A total of 2,181 candidates have been shortlisted for vivo voce and personality assessment test for the post of sub- inspector and of these, 1,525 candidates hail from Jammu province and 656 candidates are from Kashmir province.

 

Although the police on Wednesday refuted the allegation of discrimination, spread through social networking sites, in the selection of shortlisted candidates for the post of sub-inspector (SI).

“Baseless comments and queries are reportedly circulating among the public through social networking sites about the alleged discrimination to the candidates of Kashmir province which is an intentional move to defame the credibility of the entire recruitment process,” a police spokesman said.

The spokesman said the post of sub-inspector was a state cadre post and a common statewide merit was to be drawn for it.

“The written examination for the post was a competitive examination conducted on an OMR-type answer sheet. The J&K Police has completely switched over to the transparent recruitment process. The current recruitment process is a technologically driven one with minimum human intervention,” the spokesman said.

He described the allegations of discrimination as “baseless, fake, concocted and ill-intentioned”.

 

But analysts state that without an iota of doubt the situation calls on looking into these burning facts and ensure remedial measures.

 

Book Review Gender and Education in Jammu & Kashmir: Cross Sectional Trends

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Gender and Education in Jammu & Kashmir: Cross Sectional Trends

Author: Dr Waqar Ul Nisa

Publisher: Jay Kay Books, Srinagar, Kashmir

Year of Publication: 2018

Pages: 192                                                Price: Rs 995

Reviewed By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander

Education and Gender both are relative yet interdependent terms. A lot of ambiguity prevails about the use of these terms because education is confused with literacy and gender with biological differences. Is Gender related to Education or can Education influence the construct of  Gender in a society need deeper understanding and critical engagement both with the institutions of education and those that reinforce the concept of gender in social realms. The present book under review written by a young scholar Dr Waqar tries to engage with the pertinent question of gender and education.

The book is divided into two sections comprising of seven chapters and a conclusion. The first chapter provides a history of women education in Kashmir from ancient to our contemporary times. The chapter is textually rich but the engagement with religion and its attitude towards women education has not been dealt properly. The autobiography of Shamla Mufti, Chilman Sey Chaman would have served as a reference point in this context, because in her story the intersection between caste, religion and gender become evident. But that source has not been consulted so has been the case with other references that are available in vernacular languages like Urdu that includes autobiographies of educationists like Agha Ashraf Ali, Kuch Tou Likyey Ki Log Kehtey Hain! Critical engagements with texts in vernacular languages would have rendered the analysis quite sound.

An important chapter of the book Literacy and Education deliberates with the distinction between the same, but again fails to make a relationship between them. It leaves other important questions like Education and Patriarchy for the reader to brood over. In what aspect the textbooks, pedagogical practices and educational institutions are failing to produce better, productive, socially engaged and gender just human beings is also not discussed. Although the legal and term specific definitions of education versus literacy are provided but the critical question of failure of educational institutions to produce better human beings is avoided. This crisis of our education is one of the grave threats facing humanity where education, research, pedagogy is being used to contain, denigrate, demean and neo-colonize the humans. Those who invest more on knowledge production are more powerful and this soft power is retrograded to realistic power. The realistic power is used subsequently to fuel wars, violence and destroy nations and people. We all are a witness to such a misuse of our education. With the spread of education gender relations have become skewed, asymmetrical and biased. The more literacy levels increase the more epidemic increase is witnessed in gender related crimes all over the world. The patriarchal religious theocracy, cultural norms and misogyny is becoming more aggressive in its manifestations. Education has long been left out to fight these social evils that are prevalent in our societies. Instead misinterpretation of religion, culture and social norms is used to justify these imbalanced gender relations. Our educational institutions particularly the women led are failing to play its social role, as Waqar very well states, “Ironically, women in the valley have not yet found niches in the upper echelons of decision making bodies- political, religious or social. Had it been any western society, a mass women’s movement would have evolved against these atrocities which would have shaken the entire sub continent. And the women’s college, given its role in Kashmir’s social development in the past, would have been a source and inspiration for such a movement. But nothing of that sort has happened. Rising against oppression is its past and producing flocks of students unable to rise for the genuine rights seems to be its present and immediate future”. (P-81).

Armed conflict and its impact on women education is analyzed in another chapter. Despite the raging violence all around it needs to be acknowledged that enrollment ratio did not show a regressive trend in Kashmir. Education continued in the midst of violent conflict. During the initial years of armed insurgency and brutal state response it did have a negative impact on education particularly women education but Kashmir overcame its ill impact quite quickly. But our educational institutions have yet failed to devise a model of education and conflict resolution that can provide an alternative to violence, gender discrimination and politically contested claims.

In the second section of the book Dr Waqar has provided the content analysis of enrollment data about girl education from school to university levels during a decade (2000-2010). She has described her ordeal while analyzing the data because there is unavailability of statistical data and other such issues that created obstacles for the quantitative research. She has critically analyzed the data but has failed to make out the facts about girls opting for more science or humanities subjects? Dr Waqar in the conclusion has summarized her analysis while offering some suggestions about improving the education and literacy among girls in Srinagar district.

Overall the book is a nice attempt at understanding the education trends among females. Some areas that need improvement for the next edition of the book include its shortcomings with use of data of just one university whereas there are various universities operating in the state and confining her research just to one district whose trend certainly cannot be generalized. Overall Dr Waqar and the publisher both need to be applauded for their efforts, as they have made the research available to the masses and future researchers.

 

M.H.A. Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir and can be reached at sikandarmushtaq@gmail.com

 

 

Dalai Lama assertions on Partition

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In what will draw the roadmap for many heated future discussions and researches the Buddhist Spiritual  leader Dalai Lama has claimed that India and Pakistan would have been one country had Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah been made prime minister instead of Jawahar Lal Nehru.

The exiled Tibetan Buddhist religious leader made the remarks during a question and answer session at a student interaction at Goa Institute of Management.

“Mahatma Gandhi wanted to give the prime ministership to Jinnah. But Nehru refused. He was self-centred. He said, ‘I wanted to be prime minister’. India Pakistan would have been united (if Jinnah was made prime minister). Pandit Nehru is very experienced. But mistakes do happen,” Dalai Lama was quoted as having said by The Indian Express.

Dalai Lama chose Nehru’s “decision” to explain that “mistakes do happen” in reply to a student who asked him how can one be sure of the decisions one makes, and if they can avoid making mistakes.

On the otherhand of the spectrum, this will once again open the great Pandora box of debate around who is to be blamed for the partition . The4 politics around it is also expected to grow momentum with these latest controversial comments from Dalai Lama.

 

Unease brewing over Article 35A

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News Kashmir Exclusive

 

Article 35A of the Indian Constitution is an article that empowers the Jammu and Kashmir state’s legislature to define “permanent residents” of the state and provide special rights and privileges to those permanent residents. It was added to the Constitution through a Presidential Order, i.e., The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 – issued by the President of India on 14 May 1954 in accordance with the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, and with the concurrence of the Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a way , Article 35A defines the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir and bars outsiders from settling in the state, and prevents them from buying properties and take part in elections.

The article has been challenged in the apex court by a NGO on the contention that the article has been inserted in the Constitution by a mere Presidential Order and should be struck down.

 

 

Now with clamor growing for its abrogation the unease and resentment especially in the Kashmir valley is growing .

 

Top Separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq  directed his cadre and supporters to get ready for an agitation in case the Article 35A of the Constitution is tinkered with by the Supreme Court.

From Civil society members to profreedom leadership and mainstream politicians alike have come together to offer suggestions on what can be done if there is any tinkering with the law.

 

 

Keeping up the heat over the issue the MLA Javed Rana, a senior National Conference leader, lashed out at the BJP and warned them against the scrapping of Article 370 that will give an autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir. There has been pressure from the BJP in the past as well since it has been in debate for a very long time.

Addressing a huge crowd, the Mendhar MLA is stated to have said that the Indian tricolor will have no presence in the militancy-hit valley if the government tries to do away with Article 35A and Article 370. He further said that these Articles make a bridge between the country and the state. He also warned that any attempt to break this bridge will have ‘disastrous’ consequences, as per a report by Financial Express (FE).

On the otherhand, The CPI(M)’s Jammu and Kashmir unit has also  moved the Supreme Court in support of the Constitution’s Article 35A that empowers the state assembly to define ‘permanent residents’ for bestowing special rights and privileges to them.

The Left party sought an approval to intervene in a pending writ petition through its state committee member and Kulgam MLA Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami.

While on the other hand of the spectrum, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday said Articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution are temporary laws which can be removed without a vote in the Parliament. Swamy’s statement came after National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah stated that any attempts made to thwart Jammu and Kashmir’s special status would not be allowed to succeed.

Nevertheless a heated debate is on over article 35 A in entire state and has given rise to uneasy situation.

Substandard Drugs Rattle Kashmir

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In a worrying development it is learnt ‘81% of total drug samples found substandard across state were lifted from Kashmir’.

 

Reports have indicated that the trade of substandard drugs is growing in Kashmir with each passing year, data compiled by drug and food control organization (DFCO) has shown.

Pertinently, In 2017-18, at least 69 samples of the total drugs and other healthcare consumables lifted for testing by the DFCO were found to be not of standard quality. “Out of these, only 13 samples were from Jammu division, whereas 51 (81 percent) samples were from markets and hospitals of Kashmir division. Four samples were from Leh and one from Kargil.”

 

These figures are part of data sourced from DFCO and points towards the growing menace of substandard drugs in Kashmir. As per the data, over 17 percent of total substandard drugs were part of hospital supplies.

It is a known fact that sub standard drugs have devastating impacts on health.

The list of the “not of standard quality” drugs include antibiotic injections from hospital supplies. Among these are Ceftrioxone injection and Cefoparazone injection. In addition, oral antibiotics such as Amocin CV were also found to have shortcomings vis-à-vis drug description requirements.

Surprisingly, iron and folic acid combination, supplied by JKMSCL in bulk for administering to expecting mothers and adolescent girls primarily have also failed quality tests.

Besides, life saving IV fluids and other injectables from open market are part of the not-of-standard quality list as well.

 

Against the 69 samples found substandard in 2017-18, only 33 had been red flagged in 2016-17. A year earlier in 2015-16, 35 samples had been reported to be substandard.

In the first quarter of 2018-19, 14 drugs have already been reported substandard by DFCO in Kashmir division alone.

In 2017, National Institute of Biologicals published the largest ever survey on the quality of drugs in India.

As per this report, 3.4 percent drugs in J&K were substandard, higher than the national average of 3 percent. The survey put J&K at a dismal 21st rank in terms of availability of quality drugs.

These facts need to considered and evil nipped in the bud.

 

Captain conquers Pakistan

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News Kashmir Exclusive

 

A historic turn  has taken place in the politics of Pakistan after nearly 30 years. Neither the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) nor the Pakistan Muslim League (N) will form the government in Islamabad this time. It will be the new party  the centrist PTI on the block — the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.

After more than two decades of hard work in politics it looks finally hardwork and charisma of Imran khan has paid dividends. In his victory speech  from his house in Bani Gala in the capital Islamabad’s suburbs, Khan shared his ambitious plans for the country and vowed to safeguard the interests of the ordinary people. “I will live humbly because I belong to the masses and come from you,” he said in a televised video message.

As a matter of fact , Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) (Urdu: پاکستان تحريک انصاف‎, “Pakistan Movement for Justice”) is a political party in Pakistan founded in 1996 by former national cricket captain Imran Khan. PTI is the most rapidly growing political party of Pakistan, and has created a tri-party system, in which it opposes both the leftist People’s Party and the conservative PML-N.

The biggest curiously is how the cricketer turned politician will take steps to better the worsen ties with India and also what will be his policy on Kashmir issue .

Mani Shankar Aiyar, prominent Indian politician and writer in his column wrote : “

For us in India, the near-universal rejection of Pakistan’s religion-based parties is perhaps the most significant outcome of this election – for it demonstrates (once again) that far from being partisans of fanatical Islamic terrorists, Pakistanis, by and large, reject religious extremism and terror politics. The mainstream of Pakistan’s public opinion is remarkably like India’s: deeply religious but very wary of basing politics on religion,. and wedded to the ballot rather than the bullet.”

While talking to the News Kashmir Nasir Khuehami,  a young journalist states :” Imran Khan offers a change that many will find at least a new and dynamic change. We are yet not much aware about how he will go in the governance matters or foreign policy issues but I feel that less burden of any horrible past will make him take some good decisions hopefully .One hopes he takes steps in establishing peaceful relations with India and seeking solution to the vexed issue of the Kashmir. On relationship with India or on Kashmir issue I feel something new is offing as the previous government in Pakistan had become too predictable and traditional in approach.”

The coming weeks and months will be very interesting to note as to how the new PTI Government functions.

Feminism, Misandry and Male Helplessness

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Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander

The relations between men and women in most societies is skewed, unequal and favoring a certain sex through gender construction. Women have been mostly on the receiving end because of misogyny and patriarchy. But patriarchy has not only undermined women but men are victim too. The victimhood of men is least talked about and even they too do not dare to speak up about the abuses or restrictions they face regularly because of the patriarchy. The initial bruising happens in childhood when boys are taught to pent up their emotions and not wear them on their sleeves and sobbing is a taboo for boys. As they grow up their parents, teachers and environment teaches men to be strong using the cliché Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (Men don’t feel the pain). They as usual feel pain but are debarred to express it. The teacher in the classroom also reinforces the belief when they segregate boys from girls. If any boy sits close to a girl classmate or shares a bench, he is rebuked for the same. This concept is driven home that boys and girls are different so they should be segregated. So if any child out of sheer innocence tries to cross the line he is strongly condemned and made to adhere to the set norms. This enforced segregation evolves to gender during adolescence when boys and girls enter into a relationship, with these preconceived notions. It is also an unwritten rule that a boy is supposed to bear the expenses of his girlfriend whether be it mobile bills, picnic outings, long drives, expensive gifts and restaurant bills. Further being a male should not be construed synonymous to being a credit card. The reverse can also be true, because many vulnerable girls also incur financial burden while spending on their boyfriends. It is no problem to spend on each other if love exists, but issue starts when one exploits the other or break up happens and there are claims and counters claims.

To add insult to injury the girls are supposed to be pampered. This culture of pampering girls particularly by boys mostly with evil intentions of exploiting them, have resulted in development of false self identity and consciousness among girls in relationship. Further most boys are aware about such vulnerabilities of women so they use it for their own benefit. On the other hand if such girls are not pampered they became irritated, abusive and rude as earlier men have shown them false illusions and green pastures while others who uphold mirrors to them are the male patriarchs who need to be condemned because they do not treat their partners as “Queens” despite the fact they themselves are paupers. Add to it the notion of beauty, that every lady and girl is possessed about. Though beauty is relative but if girls are not praised for their beauty they get offended. “Beauty” has been reduced as a hallmark for judging a girl and lady. The women themselves are responsible in perpetuating this belief and beauty pageants like Miss World have further developed this belief. This retrogradation of womanhood to just beauty is one of the gross injustices rendered by the contemporary age to the agency of being a woman.

On the other hand features like being handsome are rendered as yardsticks for men and if they lack them they are made to feel inferior. The stout tummy, well toned muscles, trimmed beard and well built height are the features that men are supposed to possess. When it comes to domestic chores, men are supposed to stay away from the kitchen. Even if they are involved in providing a helping hand in domestic affairs, they and the women make sure that it does not become public. Even when men do laundry, they are not supposed to put the clothes for drying in sunshine lest the neighbors witness. These men who even are gender just try to veil up this aspect of their lives lest they be known as Joru Ka Ghulam (slave of wife). In most cases wives and mothers too do not let their husbands and sons venture in the kitchen as they consider it a breach of trust. They too are not ready to delegate or share their power that they have over kitchen to their men.

When it comes to relationships men too do suffer from abuse, physical, mental or psychological. The abuse mostly goes unnoticed because men are supposed not to reveal or share it. Men get cheated on, deceived or traumatized in relationships but they pretend to put a strong face because if they display emotions they are tagged as being cheeky, girlish and too effeminate who recount their ordeals just to gain sympathy. If there is fallout in relationship man is without any trail, evidence or justice process declared as guilty. Even if a woman falsely accuses a man of domestic violence or misconduct, he is being held guilty by most people. They are ready to virtually lynch and do him to death without even listening to his version of story. By default in patriarchal societies it is being held that women are victims, but in many cases opposite is the truth. Women too particularly pseudo feminists are ready to jump the bandwagon when some lady declares herself a victim. Feminism does not give few people right to hound males and indulge in travesty of justice.

These factual realties are yet to be analyzed properly. Misandry and patriarchy together make it possible that women of the household of an accused male be portrayed as bad, because they too are painted in a similar color. I remember case of a person who was accused of domestic abuse by his wife who later on carried a vilification campaign against him that it becomes next to impossible to marry off his younger sister. So domestic violence, accusing males unjustly do create a demonic image of males who in reality may not be really guilty. A real checks and balances system should be incorporated that do not let foul play while one spouse accuses the other of violence or unjust treatment.

Men and women now have belated egos that are not able to co-exist but clash with each other and it is resulting in the break down of family system. The antagonistic spousal relations have diverse ramifications particularly on children. To conclude, marriage should be based on egalitarian values but those values first need to be inculcated among men and women only then they can be invoked and implemented in a marriage. The skewed gender relations make one of the partners a victim in any marriage. To avoid such flaws a lot of mental and psychological preparation should be undertaken while entering into any serious relationship particularly the one which forms the building units and blocks of any society.

 

M.H.A. Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir and can be reached at sikandarmushtaq@gmail.com

 

Thriving for better Public Sector

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Public sector is very vital  to economic progress of any nation, but in Kashmir the public sector has been hit badly due to varied reasons .  In our region , even the very important public health care and public education system are  in shambles. The Public Health Sector of the Jammu & Kashmir State, especially that of the Kashmir Valley is in mess. Most of the government owned hospitals are failing to meet the expectations and the needs of patients and rural health care is failing to impress . The desperate scenario pertaining to public health sector calls for the implementation of reformative measures.

Pertinently, poor performance of government schools despite being staffed with sufficient manpower  describes the status of our Education System. Just as the seven deadly sins correspond to weaknesses in human nature, the sins of public education are inherent in the nature of the existing system — that it is controlled, operated and funded by government.

Several studies  have suggested that   the state’s PSUs are doing so badly they have to depend on the government to pay employee salaries.

In order to encourage the development of small scale and medium-sized industries in the country, the Government of India had launched a national programme. Public sector has contributed to this programme by fostering the growth of ancillary industries and satellite planets. Such plants have been established around the major public sector undertakings. The need of having such industries and plants is direly felt in the state so as to tackle the grave problem of un-employment in the state. But what we have seen in the state of J&K is utter inefficiency while managing the public sector units.

We need to improve by leaps and bounds our public healthcare.