DDC polls in J&K recall an unsuccessful experiment in Sri Lanka four decades ago
Sri Lanka offered DDCs as a solution at a time when the Tamil polity was already radicalised. The DDCs became a reality but they did nothing for Sri Lanka’s relations with its Tamil citizens.
Updated: December 12, 2020 9:05:10 am
A security personnel keeps vigil as voters stand in queue to cast their votes for the District Development Council elections, at the polling station in Pahalgam. (Express Photo: Shuaib Masoodi)
The ongoing District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu & Kashmir call to mind a similar exercise in Sri Lanka four decades ago, when that country’s political leadership tried to stanch Tamil demands for regional political autonomy with almost exactly the same kind of local government for which J&K is voting now.