“THE flood of 1893 was a great calamity, but it has had the good effect of warning the state that valuable house property in Srinagar was inadequately protected, and works are now in progress which may eventually render Srinagar immune from inundation.

“But the security of the city unfortunately means loss to cultivation on the banks of the river above Srinagar, for all the floodwaters of the south must pass the city in their course to be outlet at Baramula. … The founders of Srinagar have bequeathed a serious engineering problem to their successors. …the Wullar Lake, which is the natural delta of the river [Jhelum], is gradually filling up from silt.”

Events have belied the hopes of the assistant settlement commissioner, Walter R. Lawrence ICS, in his classic entitled The Valley of Kashmir. A lot has changed since he wrote those lines in 1895; but the indifference of Kashmir’s rulers to “the engineering problem” remained constant. A tragedy was waiting to happen and happen it did for a fortnight from Sept 6 with a fury too terrible for words.

The tragedy has not deflected the BJP government at the centre from pursuing its policy. Last month, Home Minister Rajnath Singh wrote to Omar Abdullah seeking allocation of “suitable’ land for creating dwelling units to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits who had left the area during the militancy. “Land may be identified near the native places they migrated from.”

Floods in Kashmir have not kept BJP from pursuing bad policies.

While it is true that there were a few localities in which the Pandits predominated, at no place in the entire Valley did they live exclusively. After migration, some Pandits jumped into the lap of the Sangh Parivar and set up an extremist body, Panun Kashmir, which spewed venom against the Kashmiris rendering themselves unpopular to their former neighbours. A significant number has begun returning.

The enclaves they demand will be like Israeli settlements on the West Bank. Here is an area in which Kashmiris should join hands to offer them a return to their former homes with self-respect. Feverish moves are being made to register their names on the electoral rolls so that the BJP, which has no presence in Kashmir, acquires their votes in its drive to secure 44-plus seats in the 87-member Srinagar assembly.

In this context, Rajnath Singh’s recent statement is ominous. “We are preparing a comprehensive policy on Kashmir. We will announce it soon.” This was preceded by a disclosure that the National Investigation Agency wants its remit to be extended to the assembly whose term expires on Jan 19.

In the normal course, elections would have been held before the bitter Kashmiri winter sets in. Reportedly, Indian Kashmir’s chief electoral officer’s opinion is not ‘favourable’ to the holding of elections in November-December. The matter is for the Election Commission of India to decide. Electoral rolls require periodic revision. It is impossible to accomplish this before January.

The people are preoccupied with rebuilding their lives. Omar Abdullah is reportedly in favour of postponing the polls — but with himself as head of a caretaker government. It is unlikely that the rage which the very mention of his name arouses will subside if he gains a few more months in office.

Quite apart from the fact that he is inherently incapable of healing the wounds his continuance in office will only trigger a wave of protest by separatists as well as the unionists. It will be a constitutional obscenity. When the term of the assembly expires with it expires also the chief minister’s right to continue in office.

In N.N. Vohra, Kashmir has a governor of great experience, sensitivity and proven ability. He has served as home as well as defence secretary.

The constitution of Jammu & Kashmir contains an explicit provision for governor’s rule. Section 92(1) says: “If at any time the governor is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the [Kashmir] government … cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this constitution, the governor may by proclamation (a) assume to himself all or any of the functions of the government … and all or any of the powers vested in or exercisable by anybody or authority” in Kashmir.

This is akin to Article 356 of the Indian constitution; except that it does not spell direct central rule, but governor’s rule with the aid of civil servant advisers instead of ministers.

N.N. Vohra can requisition the services of Kashmir’s civil servants of known probity and ability, instead of bureaucrats from elsewhere; clean up the mess which Omar Abdullah has created; help in rebuilding the region and proceed to hold a free and fair poll next summer.

The writer is an author and a lawyer based in Mumbai.

Published in Dawn, October 4th , 2014