J&K must retain its talent, not export ambition: Amitabh Mattoo
Amitabh Mattoo urges J&K to focus on retaining youth talent, restoring statehood, and building democratic normalcy beyond the absence of violence.
Jammu and Kashmir must transform into a land where young talent can flourish, rather than a place from which ambition is forced to migrate, according to Amitabh Mattoo, Dean of the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Speaking on Sunday, he made the case for restoring statehood to the region.
Delivering the third V. N. Bahadur Memorial Lecture on 'Jammu and Kashmir today: opportunities and challenges', Mattoo said the coming decade should be dedicated to retaining local talent. He advocated for building universities, supporting entrepreneurs, promoting technology, and investing in horticulture, tourism, and creative industries. He warned that prolonged hopelessness in a conflict-scarred society could become dangerous.
Mattoo argued that the challenge in J&K is no longer just about integrating territory but about consolidating a sense of belonging. He noted that nowhere in India has the state-citizen relationship been more intense or consequential than in Jammu and Kashmir. While terrorism has been confronted, institutions built, and elections held, he said the harder question now is whether every citizen feels they fully belong.
Seven years after the abrogation of Article 370, Mattoo acknowledged substantial gains, including a considerably better security environment and greater predictability in ordinary life. He described the 2024 Assembly election as a watershed moment, fought over jobs, hospitals, schools, and roads rather than as a referendum on sovereignty.
'True normalcy is therefore not merely the absence of violence. It is the presence of democratic life,' Mattoo said.