People’s Democratic Party (PDP) youth president Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra introduced the bill titled “Jammu and Kashmir Reconciliation, Trauma Healing and Dignity Bill, 2026”. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Opposition Peoples Democratic Party legislator Waheed Ur Rehman Parra has introduced a private member’s Bill and sought dignity, reconciliation and trauma healing for people affected by decades of violence and instability in the Union Territory.
The Bill, titled the “Jammu and Kashmir Reconciliation, Trauma Healing and Dignity Bill, 2026,” has been moved for the upcoming Budget Session of the J&K Assembly, which will start from February 2.
“The proposed legislation aims to establish a statutory framework for trauma healing, psychosocial rehabilitation, dignity restoration and restorative dialogue through existing public health institutions, in harmony with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017,” it said.
According to the Bill, J&K has witnessed prolonged violence, armed conflict, terrorism and political instability, resulting in widespread psychological trauma, displacement, grief, loss of dignity and erosion of social trust.
“While incidents of violence have declined since 2019, it stresses the need for humane and forward-looking measures to consolidate peace and restore human dignity,” it said.
The Bill emphasised that peace was not merely the absence of violence but the ability of individuals, communities and institutions to live with dignity and address grievances through peaceful and restorative means.
“The proposed legislation highlights that prolonged exposure to violence has imposed differentiated human costs on various sections of society, including Kashmiri Muslims, Kashmiri Pandits and members of the security forces, and that unaddressed psychological trauma undermines dignity and perpetuates cycles of fear, mistrust and inter-generational harm,” it added.
The Bill proposes humane, rights-based, evidence-driven, non-partisan and non-coercive legal framework for trauma healing, reconciliation, dignity and psychosocial well-being, and the consolidation of stability and sustainable peace in J&K.
The Bill calls for counselling, grief and trauma recovery programmes, family and community-based interventions, and professionally facilitated restorative dialogue to promote healing, dignity and social cohesion.
“All measures will be humanitarian, non-political and non-punitive, with safeguards to protect beneficiaries from stigma, discrimination or adverse consequences for seeking support,” it said.
Published – January 31, 2026 05:23 am IST
