In Medical Parlance when a patient is facing life threatening situation, he is put on life support system involving a ventilator, oxygen, and other life saving equipments. The aim is to stabilise a person and maintain his vital signs. It is the most critical situation of extreme emergency. Sometimes a patient goes into a coma and has to be maintained on a life support system for years on end till he either wakes up and recovers or faces the ultimate end. The present set up in Kashmir in almost every sphere of life makes one wonder whether the entire valley has been put on a life support system by the Indian Government? In a normal situation a healthy person has a natural growth and he develops into a perfect human being after receiving proper nourishment both physical as well as psychological. Similarly, other developmental activities take place in an orderly and standard fashion. This ensures that a proper infrastructure is developed to improve the quality of life for the citizens. In Kashmir the reverse is happening. The quality of life of ordinary citizens has not only deteriorated but has become very sedentary and mechanical, totally devoid of finer social and human values. People have become zombies maintained by some sort of an external life support system. Government keeps on issuing “Medical Bulletins” that the situation is “Normal” and the Kashmiri patient is being maintained in a “Stable Condition”. People are just surviving. The last two decades have completely transformed the life in Kashmir. Even though apparently the situation seems normal, yet there is tension in the air. An abundance of security forces every where with their pill boxes, bunkers, and rolls upon rolls of barbed wire are now a part of landscape in Kashmir. Local people have stopped taking notice of these. For them it is a normal routine. Only the first time visitors are stunned by such a large presence of armed soldiers every where. The days of visiting friends and roaming around till mid-night are gone. People try to get back to their homes as early as possible unless they are compelled by unforeseen circumstances to stay out longer in the night. There was a time when bride-grooms would return with their brides following a wedding sometime after mid-night and often in early morning but not now! Most of the social activities have been adversely affected and have almost ceased altogether especially in rural areas and more disturbed and sensitive urban areas. There are only two social events where people have an occasion to meet each other, the weddings, and the funerals. Members of the elite are better off and do still go to Golf Clubs and Restaurants but the poor cannot afford it. The atmosphere of underlying continuous tension has weighed heavily on the general health of the people. The feeling of a total siege has given rise to many psychological disorders. The number of patients suffering from psychosomatic illnesses runs into hundreds of thousands. The extent of palpable tension can be judged only when a person comes to the valley after spending some time outside. As soon as one crosses the tunnel to enter the valley, a totally new atmosphere is experienced and a strange feeling of depression sets in. After spending some time in Jammu and then comparing the experience with the daily life in Srinagar one is struck by the stark difference. In Jammu one can move around through out the night without any problem. All shopping centres do a brisk business and everything functions normally. The growth of the City during last two decades has been phenomenal. The over head roads with flyovers, the wide main city roads with good drainage, the shopping malls, and the new well planned housing colonies, and the flourishing industrial estates are turning Jammu into an important metro. Above everything else, the tension free calm atmosphere with the hustle and bustle makes one feel envious. The most tragic thing about daily life in Kashmir is a feeling that the Central Government has mentally given up Kashmir. This is evident from the lack of interest and enthusiasm manifested by different Central Authorities in implementing various projects and schemes in Kashmir. In mid seventies, Indra Gandhi had made it a point that all projects are taken up on priority and continuous monitoring is done. Sheikh Abdullah had been brought around after a long spell of disenchantment with India. So it was essential to give a big boost to development activities. Almost all important dignitaries that would visit Delhi would invariably land in Srinagar. People from both the State Government as well as Central Government worked with zeal and enthusiasm. Some of the landmark projects of that time are the Medical Institute, International Convention Centre, Air India Hotel, New Airport Terminal, Trout Fisheries farm in Kokarnag, HMT watch factory, and so on. These important projects and some others were started with even International Assistance. But the situation is quite opposite now. Most of the projects have deteriorated beyond redemption or have become defunct. For the new projects one does not find the same enthusiasm. A wide gulf has been created between the Central Authorities and the local people. There is a general feeling of dithering and indifference. A continuous drift seems to be going on in all developmental activities. The implementation takes place at a snails pace. The attitude is, “Kam Chalao”. Firstly, there is a belief in Delhi that a sizeable chunk of the developmental funds is finding its way to militants. It is often quoted that Centre has pumped in Rs.24,000 crores in last few years but on ground one does not see the result of such huge investment. It is not clearly stated that the bulk of these funds is on Central Projects and security related expenses. Secondly, the extreme alienation probably makes Central Authorities think whether it is worthwhile to invest here? Just take various consumer related services. There is a marked difference in the functioning of these in Jammu and Srinagar, be it telephone, internet, mobile service, postal services, and some other similar services. As far as local civic services are concerned, these are totally missing or exist only in namesake. Dal Lake is classic example of dithering. The Central Government very well knows that the problem is beyond the scope of the local or even national agencies. It needs a global initiative both in expertise, equipments, as well as in funding for rehabilitation of the population required to be displaced to save the lake. If the Central Government could take an initiative in the worst period of militancy to complete the prestigious power project in Uri through a Swedish Consortium, why not take a similar initiative to save Dal when things are much more normal? Merely pumping in money regardless of monitoring its end use will not solve the problem. It clearly shows that people are interested in just carrying on activities on the pattern of a life support system. Doctors are selling clothes on Srinagar streets and polishing shoes. There are over four hundred thousand educated unemployed in Kashmir. They have no openings and are getting frustrated with each passing day. There has been no positive initiative to tackle this problem. Again there are fantastic suggestions of creating more and more battalions of Armed Police as if the existing forces are not enough. One would have thought that to give relief to the people from the harassment they have faced through armed personnel both in uniform or out of it, the Government would be thinking of peaceful civilian avenues. Unfortunately they continue to be in a security related phobia. There is one sphere of activity in which both India and Pakistan have agreement to continue Kashmiris on a life support system and that is the pace of implementation of CBMs (Confidence Building Measures). Not more than 900 people have crossed the LOC in Srinagar-Muzaffarabad sector after the start of the bus service with great fanfare. One would have expected by now more than few thousand people crossing daily. Same is the situation with Cross LOC Trade. It has yet to start. Again the attitude is to announce dramatic measures and then forget these conveniently and continue to dither. Easiest excuse to avoid any positive action is “Militancy”. The simplest whipping boy! If the people at the helm in both countries are really interested in taking the “Patient” off from the life support system, they have to do something before it is too late. Relief has to be provided on the ground level to ordinary Kashmiri in all aspects of his day to day life. Delhi has committed umpteen blunders in Kashmir and brought the Kashmiri to a level where he is put on a life support system. Pakistanis have now started acting in the same fashion. Something has to be done urgently to save Kashmiris from this untold suffering. They must act fast. If they don’t act now, it may be the last blunder for the both!