Kashmir’s 2016 uprising that has left nearly hundred dead, thousands injured and scores blinded has failed to move the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Delhi to even acknowledge that political discontent exists on the ground. Its policy on Kashmir is exemplified by the contempt with which the outpouring has been dismissed as “psychological captivation” and the handiwork of five percent of the population supported by Pakistan. The political leadership in Delhi has not departed from the script on Kashmir for many decades.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been giving the impression that he is a master of policy and nothing will change without his approval. But in the case of Kashmir, either he has failed to comprehend the ground reality or he chooses to ignore it or he simply goes by the advice of the security and bureaucratic grid. But if the political grapevine is to be taken seriously, there is a division of opinion on handling Kashmir, with the home minister thinking of an out-of-the-box approach and the Prime Minister’s Office just relying on what it sees as protest fatigue.
Notwithstanding the fact that the level of protests has declined, the reality is that the anger and frustration has not diminished. The unending shutdowns were creating problems which forced the joint Hurriyat to call them off. People’s lives might have started going back to some semblance of normalcy but the simmering discontent is alive and could be triggered by anything. The government’s decision to ignore Kashmir in 2016 is unlikely to help lead to a calmer Kashmir in 2017. This continued absence of political engagement is vindicating those who believe in a hard-line approach. This just pushes us ten steps back. Bridges and hospitals may have come up, development is certainly not lacking and tourism has flourished in the last decade but political instability has affected the prospects of prosperity and has made a huge dent in the “democratically elected governments” that have been running under the cover of veiled support to separatists. If it is the National Conference today, it was the Peoples Democratic Party yesterday.
Even as the tide of public opinion in India seems to be flowing against Kashmiris, there are initiatives in civil society that have recognized not only the people’s political debate on the matter but also their pain and suffering. With the Modi government sending a strong message that Kashmir can only be dealt with by force, former foreign minister Yashwant Sinha led a group of people to talk to Kashmir and understand this pain.
A co-architect of the peace process that began between India, Pakistan and Kashmir from 2003 onwards, Sinha chose to call himself a private citizen though he has not severed ties with the BJP. He is leading the initiative with credible personalities such as Wajahat Habibullah, Air Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, Bharat Bhushan and Sushobha Barve and they have succeeded in breaking the ice. If the joint Hurriyat leadership of Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Farooq refused to speak to or engage with the parliamentarians who knocked on their doors in September, they said yes to meeting the Sinha delegation.
Sinha and his group repeatedly maintained that they were not representing the government nor could they offer anything but they wanted sustained engagement that would help them understand Kashmir’s renewed struggle so that they could inform larger public opinion. So far they have made two visits and have expanded their area of discussion by visiting south and north Kashmir and have talked to people from all walks of life. They are non-committal but they have made their intention of continuing with this public engagement clear. Besides them, former minister Kamal Morarka and journalist Santosh Bhartiya, whose open letter to Modi on Kashmir created a stir in public circles, also met the leaders and the public. Bhartiya’s account that narrated the painful story of Kashmir would move even a stone but it failed to have this effect on the BJP government.
In some sections of civil society there is cynicism about the Sinha delegation and other initiatives. That feeling is genuine given the background of engagements in the past. In the current climate in which the governments are not ready to listen, suspicion about such meetings is bound to increase. But it is important to note that despite a history of betrayals and deceit, people in Kashmir still believe in talking. The joint Hurriyat, civil society, the bar association, media or any other section of society have scored a point by responding to the initiatives taken by someone in Delhi. In one meeting with Sinha, people even told him to become their ambassador to speak with the rest of India. This makes it clear that Kashmiris have not lost faith in the institution of dialogue, whether official or unofficial.
It is important to strengthen the transition from violence to nonviolence and aim for a moral victory against those who do not respect dialogue as a way to find solutions. Sinha & Co. may not deliver but those who engaged with them expressed faith in talking which is the only tool left to help the people out of this morass.
The Sinha-led group should not fail the people the way governments have done in the past. Both governments in Delhi and Srinagar should see this changing situation as an opportunity to reach out to the people and start a meaningful engagement if they want to see 2016 as history—even though the wounds will take long time to heal. Indeed, the onus lies with Delhi.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Srinagar (Kashmir) and can be reached at shujaat7867@gmail.com
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been giving the impression that he is a master of policy and nothing will change without his approval. But in the case of Kashmir, either he has failed to comprehend the ground reality or he chooses to ignore it or he simply goes by the advice of the security and bureaucratic grid. But if the political grapevine is to be taken seriously, there is a division of opinion on handling Kashmir, with the home minister thinking of an out-of-the-box approach and the Prime Minister’s Office just relying on what it sees as protest fatigue.
Notwithstanding the fact that the level of protests has declined, the reality is that the anger and frustration has not diminished. The unending shutdowns were creating problems which forced the joint Hurriyat to call them off. People’s lives might have started going back to some semblance of normalcy but the simmering discontent is alive and could be triggered by anything. The government’s decision to ignore Kashmir in 2016 is unlikely to help lead to a calmer Kashmir in 2017. This continued absence of political engagement is vindicating those who believe in a hard-line approach. This just pushes us ten steps back. Bridges and hospitals may have come up, development is certainly not lacking and tourism has flourished in the last decade but political instability has affected the prospects of prosperity and has made a huge dent in the “democratically elected governments” that have been running under the cover of veiled support to separatists. If it is the National Conference today, it was the Peoples Democratic Party yesterday.
The BJP's Yashwant Sinha and his group say that they are not representing the government nor can they offer anything but they wanted sustained engagement that will help them understand Kashmir's renewed struggle so that they can inform larger public opinion. So far they have made two visits. In one meeting with Sinha, people even told him to become their ambassador to speak with the rest of India. This makes it clear that Kashmiris have not lost faith in the institution of dialogue, whether official or unofficial
Even as the tide of public opinion in India seems to be flowing against Kashmiris, there are initiatives in civil society that have recognized not only the people’s political debate on the matter but also their pain and suffering. With the Modi government sending a strong message that Kashmir can only be dealt with by force, former foreign minister Yashwant Sinha led a group of people to talk to Kashmir and understand this pain.
A co-architect of the peace process that began between India, Pakistan and Kashmir from 2003 onwards, Sinha chose to call himself a private citizen though he has not severed ties with the BJP. He is leading the initiative with credible personalities such as Wajahat Habibullah, Air Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, Bharat Bhushan and Sushobha Barve and they have succeeded in breaking the ice. If the joint Hurriyat leadership of Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Farooq refused to speak to or engage with the parliamentarians who knocked on their doors in September, they said yes to meeting the Sinha delegation.
Sinha and his group repeatedly maintained that they were not representing the government nor could they offer anything but they wanted sustained engagement that would help them understand Kashmir’s renewed struggle so that they could inform larger public opinion. So far they have made two visits and have expanded their area of discussion by visiting south and north Kashmir and have talked to people from all walks of life. They are non-committal but they have made their intention of continuing with this public engagement clear. Besides them, former minister Kamal Morarka and journalist Santosh Bhartiya, whose open letter to Modi on Kashmir created a stir in public circles, also met the leaders and the public. Bhartiya’s account that narrated the painful story of Kashmir would move even a stone but it failed to have this effect on the BJP government.
In some sections of civil society there is cynicism about the Sinha delegation and other initiatives. That feeling is genuine given the background of engagements in the past. In the current climate in which the governments are not ready to listen, suspicion about such meetings is bound to increase. But it is important to note that despite a history of betrayals and deceit, people in Kashmir still believe in talking. The joint Hurriyat, civil society, the bar association, media or any other section of society have scored a point by responding to the initiatives taken by someone in Delhi. In one meeting with Sinha, people even told him to become their ambassador to speak with the rest of India. This makes it clear that Kashmiris have not lost faith in the institution of dialogue, whether official or unofficial.
It is important to strengthen the transition from violence to nonviolence and aim for a moral victory against those who do not respect dialogue as a way to find solutions. Sinha & Co. may not deliver but those who engaged with them expressed faith in talking which is the only tool left to help the people out of this morass.
The Sinha-led group should not fail the people the way governments have done in the past. Both governments in Delhi and Srinagar should see this changing situation as an opportunity to reach out to the people and start a meaningful engagement if they want to see 2016 as history—even though the wounds will take long time to heal. Indeed, the onus lies with Delhi.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Srinagar (Kashmir) and can be reached at shujaat7867@gmail.com