The Anganwadi and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers of Jammu and Kashmir represent the invisible strength of our welfare system. They are the tireless women who walk from home to home, lane to lane, village to village, ensuring that the government’s most crucial programmes reach the people who need them the most. Their contributions in the fields of health, nutrition, and education have been monumental, yet their struggle for fair remuneration remains unresolved.
Anganwadi workers under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme have played a transformative role in the Valley’s rural landscape. By running centres that serve as a safe space for early childhood care and education, they have been instrumental in improving literacy rates and nurturing a generation with better health awareness. Their role in tackling malnutrition is undeniable—countless children in far-off hamlets today enjoy better nutrition and developmental support because of these women who work with scarce resources but infinite dedication.
The ASHA workers, on the other hand, are the lifeline of our rural healthcare system. From counselling expectant mothers to facilitating institutional deliveries, from spreading awareness on hygiene to ensuring access to immunisation, their impact is visible in the dramatic decline in infant and maternal mortality rates across the country. In Jammu and Kashmir, where terrain, weather, and conflict pose additional challenges, their work is doubly difficult yet immensely effective. Every safe delivery and every reduced foetal death in the villages is testimony to their efforts.
Despite these invaluable services, both Anganwadi and ASHA workers remain underpaid, with their honorarium often delayed and far below the value of their work. They are treated as volunteers rather than the full-fledged professionals they are. This injustice has led to repeated protests and strikes, yet their voices continue to be ignored. The irony is stark: those responsible for building the foundation of public health and education are themselves struggling to make ends meet.
It is high time the government of Jammu and Kashmir took this matter with utmost seriousness. These workers are not demanding luxuries; they are asking for a dignified wage that recognises their role in nation-building. A fair salary hike, timely disbursal of wages, and social security benefits such as pension and healthcare are the minimum they deserve.
Failing to respond risks eroding the morale of this grassroots workforce, which could in turn weaken the very schemes that have brought about visible social progress in rural areas. On the other hand, recognising and rewarding their service will not only do justice to their labour but also strengthen the trust between government and citizens.
Anganwadi and ASHA workers are not mere implementers of schemes—they are the face of governance in rural India. To continue ignoring their plight is to undervalue the very backbone of our welfare state. The government must act decisively and extend to them the dignity, respect, and fair wages they have so long been denied.
