What Ails Jammu and Kashmir Economy Do We Lack Resources, Big Investments or Sound Policies?

The state of Jammu and Kashmir is experiencing turmoil and unrest for more than two decades. There are divided opinions underlying these crises situations. Some attribute this phenomenon entirely to the state of backwardness, while others relate it to the inability of the governments to resolve the political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Whether peace emerges from development or vice versa is a hot debate. Whatever the cause and effect relationship, in this paper author assumes development initiatives, to a large extent, can help stabilize the volatile situation- provided the development process is inclusive. There is no denying the fact that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is bestowed with substantial human and natural resources, but at the same time it is suffering from huge educated unemployment and under development. This peculiar situation according to the author is due to mismatch between the quality of human resource and resource potentialities of the region To kick-start the process of development what we require is not the big investments but simply a sound policy to address this problem. The policy correction must come through appropriate education that can remove this mismatch. The author is not of the opinion that huge investments from big business tycoons and multinational corporations is a feasible proposition to initiate the broad based process of development as it can lead to exclusive growth. The potential sectors of our economy like horticulture, handicrafts, tourism, and water resources are like ‘sleeping giants’ and need a vibration by the hands of professionally trained local youth with entrepreneurial spirit, manageable amounts of capital, and a minimum government concern.