Now that the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Uttarakhand state’s formation are officially over, it is time for the people to introspect over what the future holds. The fact that the celebrations involved numerous events with an amazing variety of content indicates that in many ways the state is a ‘happening’ place. If there was not a buoyant economic and social environment in place, there would not have been such a large presence at each of the venues for over a week. This is indicative of the fact that the general public identifies strongly with the manifestation of present day Uttarakhandi culture.
Even as the people are engaged with this transformative picture, the debate in intellectual circles revolves around the ‘objectives’ of the statehood movement and how these have been achieved in the present. One section remains hardcore in its demands for a ‘hill’ identity, which is articulated in the desire for Gairsain to be made the state’s permanent capital. There is nothing that the people of the actual capital, Dehradun, would want more, but it remains an impractical dream. Dehradun can barely accommodate the government, one can only imagine what a ‘one main road’ town like Gairsain could endure. This romanticised idea of the statehood movement extends also to other spheres of activity but has rarely ever received any political support. It must not be forgotten that, while the concept of a separate hill state existed from the fifties, the movement was a panicked reaction to the Mandal Report, which would have imposed extremely discriminatory reservations in the hills, further worsening the employment prospects of the local people. During the period of the agitation itself, there were attempts made to define a vision for the future state, but these did not go very far. This was mostly because the more extreme elements were unwilling to be realistic, as they are even now.
The speeches made in the State Assembly during its special Silver Jubilee themed session reflected this reality. However, everybody agreed on the fact that much of the groundwork was done by Chief Minister ND Tiwari in establishing a functional economic and industrial model, drawing from his long and extraordinary experience as a Union Minister and Chief Minister of UP. The cultural and spiritual element has been added by the BJP, particularly under the inspiration of PM Modi. Soft power emerging from sustainable use of its varied resources is the shape of things to come. Uttarakhand should prepare for the future keeping this reality in mind.
