Sinha-led group calls for dialogue with separatists

Amid the precarious situation in Kashmir, a team of “influential citizens” led by former external affairs minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has called for a dialogue with all shades of opinion, including the separatists.

“India’s heart is large enough and its Constitution flexible enough to accommodate the aspirations of all its citizens, the people of Jammu and Kashmir included,” the group said in an emailed statement.

They said the recurrent violence, student protests and the video war on social media was disturbing for every right-thinking Indian, and called for calm, saying that peace cannot be achieved by violence.