Mir Rameez
“Unemployment, economic pressures and everyday struggles demand citizen-centred governance not avoidable privilege.”
Imagine a place already facing challenges I,magine a Union Territory where unemployment remains a major concern, young people spend years preparing for competitive examinations, small businesses struggle to survive, and families hope for better healthcare, education, infrastructure and economic opportunities. Now imagine that, whenever a VIP is scheduled to pass through, ordinary life must pause: roads are restricted, traffic is diverted, commuters are turned back, and people are left to manage the consequences. This raises a simple question: amid the many challenges facing Jammu and Kashmir, why should the convenience of ordinary citizens become secondary whenever an official movement takes place? This is not an argument against security. It is an argument against treating public inconvenience as an unavoidable afterthought.
A Personal Experience| Hyderpora To Shalimar: My concern is based on personal experience. Yesterday, I left Hyderpora for Shalimar to visit a friend whose wedding is approaching and deliver a few things to him. It was an ordinary journey for an ordinary purpose. But traffic restrictions and congestion made the trip exhausting. At five different points, I had to turn back because the police were not allowing traffic to proceed along the routes I needed. After repeated attempts to find a way forward, I eventually returned home without reaching my destination.
I was not asking for an escort or special treatment; I simply wanted to travel across the city. Who accounts for the time lost, the plans disrupted and the frustration caused? For someone else, a similar delay could mean missing an examination, losing wages, arriving late at work or struggling to reach a medical appointment. My experience is one example of why traffic arrangements should be proportionate, clearly communicated and designed to minimise disruption.
Students, Employees and Families Pay the Price
A student may leave home on time yet miss a class because of an unexpected road restriction. A government employee may face questions over late attendance despite having started the journey early. A private-sector employee may face a warning, salary deduction or lost wages. Daily-wage workers can suffer an immediate financial loss. Teachers, shopkeepers, drivers, traders, parents and families travelling to important occasions all have responsibilities that do not disappear when a convoy passes.
These are not merely minutes lost in traffic. They are missed lessons, lost income, disrupted appointments and unnecessary stress. A city should not be considered well managed simply because an official convoy reaches its destination on time. Good administration must also consider whether ordinary residents can reach their schools, workplaces and homes safely and reasonably on time.
Emergency Access Must Remain A Priority… A patient with a serious illness, a pregnant woman needing urgent care or a family rushing someone to hospital may not have the luxury of waiting. Not every VIP movement delays an ambulance, and security arrangements differ, but the risk makes careful planning essential. Traffic plans should include clear emergency procedures, coordination with hospitals and workable access for ambulances. Protecting an official is a legitimate responsibility; protecting the life of a patient is also a fundamental public duty.
The Police Are Under Pressure Too: Police and traffic personnel are often the people enforcing restrictions, managing congestion and facing commuters’ immediate frustration. They may be following instructions rather than making the decision to close a road. Long duty hours, difficult conditions and poor communication can make an already tense situation harder for everyone. This does not excuse unprofessional treatment of citizens, and commuters should avoid directing personal abuse at officers carrying out legitimate duties. The deeper issue is whether planning, staffing and communication are adequate. Clear instructions, reasonable duty arrangements, advance public advisories and better coordination can reduce confrontation and help protect the dignity of both citizens and frontline personnel. We must also understand that police personnel are human beings with families, responsibilities and physical limitations. When traffic management is poorly coordinated, frustration often reaches the person standing at the barricade, even though that individual may have no authority over the decision. A better administrative system would protect the dignity of citizens as well as the personnel responsible for maintaining order.
Security Is Necessary | Unquestioned Privilege Is Not : Constitutional authorities, elected representatives and people facing credible security risks may require protection. Some temporary restrictions can be unavoidable. But accepting the need for security does not mean every disruption should go unquestioned. There is a difference between necessary security measures and a culture in which the public’s time and responsibilities are treated as insignificant. Can restrictions be kept to the shortest necessary period? Can alternative routes be communicated in advance wherever security permits? Can traffic be released as soon as it is safe? Can hospitals, schools and major commuter routes receive appropriate consideration? These are reasonable questions about public administration, not attacks on any individual or institution. Security arrangements should protect those who need protection without unnecessarily paralysing the lives of thousands of others. The public should not be made to feel that its everyday responsibilities have no value whenever an official programme is scheduled.
The Wider Cost For Jammu And Kashmir: Jammu and Kashmir faces important employment, economic and developmental concerns. Young people seek meaningful work; families need reliable services; businesses depend on predictable movement; and citizens expect public institutions to respond to everyday problems. A missed delivery, lost wages, an abandoned appointment or customers unable to reach a shop may seem small in isolation, but repeated disruption can impose a wider cost.Authorities should therefore review the impact of recurring restrictions on education, healthcare, workplaces and commercial activity. When the public is asked to cooperate, it is reasonable to expect that its difficulties have been considered. Public trust grows when authorities plan ahead, communicate clearly and make a genuine effort to minimise inconvenience. At a time when people are already struggling with unemployment, rising expenses and limited opportunities, the loss of productive hours is not a trivial matter. A worker’s time is valuable, a student’s education is valuable, and a business owner’s daily income is valuable. These realities deserve consideration in every major administrative decision.
“While VIP security and police support are essential, governance in a democracy must prioritize minimizing disruptions for ordinary citizens trying to commute, work, and access services.”
Are Citizens Free Only On Election Day? People vote because they hope elected representatives will improve roads, healthcare, education, employment and public services. But what happens when citizens feel their concerns are heard during election campaigns and forgotten in everyday administration? Are people important only when their votes are needed, while the rest of the time they are expected to accept every inconvenience without explanation? This is not an argument against voting. It is a call to make democracy meaningful beyond election day. Democracy is reflected not only in the act of choosing representatives, but also in how public authorities treat people on an ordinary morning: whether a student can reach class, a worker can reach the workplace, a patient can access a hospital and a family can fulfil its responsibilities. Public authority must be matched by accountability and respect.
What is the purpose of democracy if ordinary citizens cannot even raise questions about the difficulties they face? People elect representatives with the expectation that their voices will matter. They do not vote merely to replace one set of privileges with another. They vote for better governance, equal treatment and a system that recognises their everyday struggles. The real meaning of public service is not simply holding an office or enjoying the privileges attached to a designation. It is understanding that public authority exists to serve the people, not to place them permanently at the end of the queue.
Public Roads Must Serve The Public : Roads are public infrastructure, essential for education, employment, commerce and healthcare. When restrictions are necessary, people should receive timely information wherever security allows. Authorities should plan alternative routes, protect emergency access, restore traffic as soon as it is safe and review repeated disruption to schools, hospitals, offices and business areas. Citizens should have a reasonable way to report serious or recurring problems. No system can promise that every journey will be uninterrupted. But a responsible administration can ensure restrictions are proportionate, temporary and properly managed. People should not have to discover one road closure after another by physically reaching each obstruction. A simple public advisory, proper coordination between departments and effective traffic management can prevent considerable inconvenience. Citizens should not be left guessing which road is open, which route is blocked or how long they will have to wait.
A Better, Citizen-Centred Approach: The solution is not to abolish legitimate security arrangements or turn the public against the police. It is to balance security with the public interest. Restrictions should be proportionate to genuine requirements; advisories should be issued wherever possible; emergency routes must be planned; police personnel should receive clear instructions and adequate support; and authorities should periodically assess whether avoidable disruption can be reduced.Public convenience should be part of planning from the beginning, not an afterthought once roads are blocked. A government that respects its citizens should strive to protect both security and the public’s ability to carry on with daily life.The administration must recognise that a successful official visit should not be measured only by the smooth movement of a convoy. It should also be measured by how effectively the authorities manage the impact on the general public.
A Final Question To Those In Power: Yesterday, I left Hyderpora for Shalimar to visit a friend before his wedding. After being turned back at five different points amid traffic restrictions, I eventually returned home without completing my journey. For me, it was a frustrating experience. For someone else, a similar disruption could mean missed wages, a missed examination or difficulty reaching a hospital. Jammu and Kashmir belongs to the people who live, work, study, trade and build their futures here. Public officials deserve appropriate security, and police personnel deserve support for their demanding duties. Ordinary citizens deserve consideration, respect and the ability to fulfil their responsibilities without avoidable disruption. Democracy cannot mean that people are free to cast their votes but powerless to reach their destinations. The true measure of governance is not simply how smoothly a VIP convoy moves through Jammu and Kashmir; it is whether people can continue their lives, reach their workplaces, attend their schools and access essential services while official business takes place. The question is not whether VIPs deserve security. The question is whether ordinary citizens deserve consideration. In a democracy, that consideration should never be optional.
(The author is a Lecturer in Political Science and a Civil Service Tutor. 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”)
