Contextualising Development and Security of Jammu and Kashmir through the Whole of Government Perspective

Abstract

The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been a concern for India’s territorial sovereignty. Since independence, J&K’s accession to India marked the conflict between India and Pakistan. Countering militancy, development, and assimilation of J&K to the rest of India have been prominent issues throughout various parties’ governments in India. The militancy poses a security threat and a developmental threat to the residents of this region. The initial strict military approach to the security and development of J&K has proved vividly inadequate. The J&K region requires a Whole-of-Government (WoG) approach toward the recurring threats of militancy. The study examined the WoG perspective on security and developmental challenges of the Union territory of J&K. The paper assesses the policy shift in the three broader categories, namely administrative reforms, welfare schemes, and environmental stewardship that marks the apparent departure from the traditional approach towards the security threat.