Kashmir: talk to all stakeholders

The Narendra Modi government is pursuing a flawed app­roach in Kashmir. Its method of handling the prolonged unrest in the Valley is inexplicable. The government’s highest law officer, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, surprised many when he articulated a categorical position in the Supreme Court last week that the Centre will not engage separatist political leaders in dialogue. In the highly volatile circumstances which currently prevail in the Valley, the assertion of the Modi government was wrong and eminently avoidable. It certainly doesn’t even help the security forces deployed there to maintain public order. Besides, by now it should have been clear to everyone in the political establishment in New Delhi that the security forces alone cannot accomplish the task of maintaining peace and normalcy. It will also require initiatives to engage the Kashmiri people politically and at the civil society level.

It reflects very poorly on the Modi government and the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir that less than 10% of the voters cared to exercise their franchise in the recent Lok Sabha byelection in the Srinagar parliamentary constituency. Almost 50% of the voters had cast their votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in the state. Voters in the Srinagar constituency chose to ignore one of the better-known candidates, Farooq Abdullah, who is arguably the tallest mainstream political leader in J&K today. The voters were either scared of the consequences they might have to face at the hands of militants and separatist political leaders who opposed the election or they simply saw no stakes in electoral participation. Either way, it does not reflect positively on the governments in the state and at the Centre. More worrying should be the fact that the Election Commission cancelled the byelection in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency in the state, citing deteriorating law and order situation.

The situation warrants that the Modi government work with the state government headed by Mehbooba Mufti — who too rightly called for talks — to address the situation politically. Together, they must reach out to all mainstream political parties as well. The Modi government may not like it, but it has become imperative to reach out to separatist political groups in the Hurriyat Conference to eventually engage the civil society in the Valley.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi must go beyond paying lip service to the Vajpayee line on Kashmir. Time has come to follow the former prime minister’s three principles of Insaaniyat (humanism), Jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (Kashmir’s age-old legacy of harmony) to deal with the grim situation. New Delhi has hardly any option available except to revive dialogue, involving all stakeholders.