“Jammu & Kashmir governance structure needs a habit of asking Why? five times to reach to the root cause of a problem.”
Dr. Ashraf Zainabi
A few days ago, I stood near a damaged bridge and watched people cross it cautiously. Children, elderly men and women, office-goers, labourers, everyone had no option but to use it. The bridge itself was being held together by temporary wooden supports. It was a reminder of something larger than a piece of infrastructure. It was a reminder of how governance often works.
When a bridge reaches such a condition, the public usually asks who will repair it. Governments ask how much money will be required. Engineers prepare estimates. Departments exchange files. Eventually, repairs may happen.But one question is rarely asked.Why did the bridge reach that stage in the first place?Not why it is damaged, but why it was allowed to remain damaged for a long time?There is a difference.
The first question leads to repairs. The second question leads to reform.Across Jammu & Kashmir, we are surrounded by examples where problems return long after they were supposedly solved. Roads are resurfaced and soon require another round of repairs. Drainage projects are undertaken, yet the same localities continue to face waterlogging. Public buildings deteriorate much earlier than expected. Delayed projects remain delayed despite repeated reviews.Each time, the focus remains on fixing what is visible.Much less attention is paid to understanding why the problem appeared and why it was not prevented.This is where a simple 5-w idea can make a difference.W denotes why?
Whenever a governance failure occurs, the administration should keep asking “why”continously till it reaches the real source of the problem.A damaged bridge offers a useful example how 5-w will eventually lead us to the root cause of the problem. Why is the bridge unsafe?Because parts of it have deteriorated, or damaged by floods let us say. Why did it deteriorate?Because maintenance was not carried out in time.Why was maintenance delayed?Because inspections were delayed.Why were inspections delayed?Because responsibility was spread across different offices.Why was responsibility spread across different offices?Because no rule clearly fixed accountability on a single authority.Now we are no longer talking about a bridge.We are talking about governance.The bridge merely exposed a weakness that already existed within the system. Unfortunately, governments often stop before reaching this point. Once repairs begin, attention shifts elsewhere. The immediate crisis is managed, but the underlying conditions remain unchanged. Years later, a similar problem emerges somewhere else. The cycle repeats.
For citizens, this pattern is frustrating. They see public money being spent again and again on the same kinds of problems. They see activity, but they do not always see lasting solutions. To be fair, many officials work under difficult conditions. Jammu & Kashmir presents challenges that few regions face simultaneously. Mountain terrain, harsh winters, floods, landslides, rapid urban growth and environmental pressures create a complicated governance landscape. Yet these very challenges make it even more important to understand causes rather than merely consequences.
“Every public institution and governance center—from the local block level up to the state level—should create a “5-Whies” (5-W) governance sheet for every administrative problem in order to identify and fix its absolute root cause.”
Take flooding an example. Whenever heavy rain causes inundation, immediate relief becomes the priority. Pumps are deployed, roads are cleared and assistance reaches affected families. All of this is necessary. But once the water recedes, another conversation should begin. Why did flooding occur? Was it because drains were blocked? If so, why were they blocked? Were natural channels encroached upon? If yes, why were encroachments permitted? Were regulations weak, enforcement weak, or institutional responsibilities unclear?The answers may reveal that the flood was not simply a weather event. It may also have been a governance event.
The same thinking applies to education.When student outcomes remain poor, the easiest response is to discuss examinations and results. Yet the deeper questions often lie elsewhere. Teacher deployment, monitoring systems, training quality, absenteeism, infrastructure gaps, policy design and accountability structures may all be part of the story.
Healthcare, tourism, urban planning and public works tell similar stories.What appears on the surface is often only one chapter of a much longer process.Finding the root cause, however, is only half the job.
Suppose officials discover that a recurring problem exists because regulations are outdated. Or because responsibilities overlap. Or because a law drafted decades ago no longer suits present realities.Then what?Too often, nothing changes.The immediate issue is addressed while the framework that produced it remains untouched.This is one reason many public problems keep returning.
A bridge can be repaired without changing the system that neglected it.A road can be rebuilt without improving the process that allowed poor construction.A drain can be cleaned without addressing the policies that permitted encroachment.In each case, the symptom disappears for a while. The cause survives.
Real governance begins where repairs end.Once the root cause is identified, there should be a second exercise.Does the problem arise from a weak law?Does it arise from a missing rule?Does it arise from fragmented responsibility?Does it arise from an outdated policy?If the answer is yes, then reform should become part of the solution.Otherwise, the government is merely purchasing time until the next failure.
Jammu & Kashmir today is witnessing unprecedented investment in roads, tunnels, bridges, schools, hospitals and tourism infrastructure. These assets are important. But institutions are even more important.Infrastructure can be built in a few years.Strong systems take longer.The real measure of governance is not how quickly a bridge is repaired after it becomes unsafe. The real measure is whether the system learns enough to prevent the next bridge from reaching the same condition.
That lesson applies far beyond bridges.Every recurring problem carries a message.The message is simple, somewhere along the line, a question was not asked.Perhaps the most valuable reform Jammu & Kashmir can adopt is also the simplest.When a problem appears, do not stop at what happened.Keep asking why.And keep asking until the answer becomes uncomfortable.Because that is usually where the real solution is hiding.
Final word: Let all public institutions and governance centres from block, tehsil district and state level develop 5-W governance sheet for all the problems of governance and fix each problem at their root cause.
(The author is a teacher and a researcher based in Gowhar Pora Chadoora of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
