Rhetoric won't calm Kashmir unrest

The all-party meeting on Kashmir held in New Delhi on Friday, the debates in Parliament and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement earlier last week may be seen as an evidence of growing national concern over the deteriorating situation in the state. But the outcomes and indications given by the government do not show that there is full appreciation of the situation. They also don’t show that there is an effective plan to deal with it. The debates showed up many inadequacies and failures of the policies of present and past governments. They called for a political approach, including an all-party initiative to reach out to the people of the state. But the government’s response was less than positive. Home Minister Rajnath Singh did not agree to the demand to stop the use of pellet guns. He also did not make it clear with whom the government was ready to hold talks.

If the home minister said there would not be any talks with Pakistan except on the return of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), the prime minister further toughened the position at the all-party meet. He blamed Pakistan for the present situation in Kashmir and mentioned the atrocities in PoK and Baluchistan, perhaps as a cautionary message to Islamabad. There was also an effort to show that the unrest in Kashmir is not special but part of a global phenomenon. All this shows that there is a failure or refusal to see the situation in its entirety, to look for its reasons and find ways to deal with it. It is seen as a security and law and order problem, created and aggravated by external interference. Therefore, the means and methods employed by the government are also security-based. But the problem in Kashmir is basically political, and a security-based approach has only worsened it. The people of the Valley, importantly the youth, are politically and psychologically alienated from the Indian state. There cannot be any solution to the problem without reaching out to them with care and understanding.

The prime minister tried to invoke Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s words – “Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat” – which had once inspired the people of the state. But they don’t appeal to them now because Modi does not have the credibility that Vajpayee had. Modi also dwelt on the theme of development, little realising that it is not the issue in the state now. What is needed in Kashmir is a political and humane outreach, actions that create trust, and confidence-building measures like the withdrawal or toning down of draconian laws. Rhetoric, tough talk, blaming others and the wielding of a stronger stick
will not help, but may worsen the situation.