Development policies for reducing regional imbalance in j and k: a study of Jammu and Srinagar district1

The state of Jammu and Kashmir is India’s northernmost state. According to the census of 2011, the state has a population of 1.25 crores with 66, 65,561 males and 58, 83,365 females. The state has three geographical cum administrative regions namely, Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The three regions of the state differ widely with regard to physical, socio-economic and cultural characteristics and are roughly divided on religious lines. However, the state has a majority of Muslim population. The three regions have a sense of alienation and deprivation in respect to each other in terms of developmental polices implemented by the state. It is worthwhile to mention here that the imbalance in term of development may be natural due to unequal natural endowments or man-made in the sense of neglect of some regions and preferences of others for investment and development. One cannot deny the fact that various factors play their part while preferring one region over the other. This phenomenon directly or indirectly creates a sense of alienation and deprivation among the population, without considering the possible reasons for this. This paper will look into various reasons for regional imbalance in the state and will analyze the role of development policies for reducing regional imbalance. It shall also make an attempt to present a set of workable recommendations to reduce regional imbalance in the state.