When South Delhi becomes critical of the UPA, then things must be very wrong. When cartoonists start lampooning the PM, he must sit up
Problems of great magnitude surround us. The most intractable is the Kashmir problem. At the moment, we seem to be sitting on a political/security time bomb. Anger, alienation, despair, discontent, distrust, fear, frustration, passion make it almost impossible to return to normalcy.
There exist inherent limitations to state power. This is particularly so in democratic countries. The UPA is an ensemble of disparate political parties. It follows an agenda called “Common Minimum Programme”. On Kashmir, there is no common minimum programme. This became clear at the all-party meeting called by the prime minister the other day. The best and the most relevant, and imaginative, speech was made by Sonia Gandhi. Healing, she said, is the answer. It is. Only she can provide it by visiting Srinagar and spending some time in the Valley, now engulfed by fire and fury.
The problem is devilishly complicated. Do all-party meetings help? Sometimes they do. I have been a member of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). It is headed by the prime minister. Its members are the ministers of finance, home, defence and external affairs. Invariably, all are men of experience, sagacity and prudence. The CCS might consider holding an in camera meeting or meetings in Srinagar. We all are aware that there are no easy-fixes. Confidence-building measures should be spearheaded by the CCS in consultation with all concerned. This, inevitably, will be a long-drawn process. Attempted it must be. An integrated, coherent and creative policy is the need of the hour. Not name-calling or blaming A, B or C. We are, in Kashmir, on the edge of an abyss. Are there no valid intermediaries?
There must be. The vicious circular should be replaced by virtue circle. Hot air? Maybe. Do you have a better suggestion? Kashmiris are traumatised. Action tempered by wisdom is needed. Kashmir must not be allowed to become a chronic nervous disease.
A word about the media. It is perhaps the most powerful instrumentality available. It can alter perception, provide hope, remove hopelessness. On February 27, 1950 (long before TV arrived), Jawaharlal Nehru, in a letter to the chief ministers, wrote: “I would suggest to you especially to keep in touch with editors of newspapers in your state. It is always a good thing to send for them and have informal off-the-record talks with them. Give them such real news as you possess.”
This media involvement exercise should be undertaken soon. It can only do good. Often the media gets it right and the government gets it wrong. Some in the media do sensationalise serious matters and give prominence to trivia. These are exceptions.
Also Read
Peace and tranquility are of the utmost importance in Jammu and Kashmir. Its strategic location is unique, bordering China and Pakistan, with Afghanistan and Russia very near. US President Bill Clinton called Kashmir the most dangerous place in the world. Tony Blair, in his recently published autobiography, has lumped Kashmir with Chechnya, Yemen, Palestine, etc. Not elevating company.
A sinister dimension was added to the travail of Kashmir in 1991. Terrorism. Pakistan is wholly responsible for this. British Prime Minister David Cameron, in forthright language, made it clear that Pakistan was harbouring and exporting terrorism. With the arrival of the Taliban in Afghanistan for the second time, the situation in Kashmir has become both fragile and dangerous. The US is reluctant to call a spade a spade. Our American friends (friends they certainly are) in this case are all chatter and ignoring matter. I, for one, do not imagine that Mr Obama will provide us much comfort on this score. India is a strategic partner (not an equal one, if I may say so) but Pakistan is a dependable and trusted ally. That is the adamantine reality.
When South Delhi becomes critical of the UPA, then things must be very wrong. When cartoonists start lampooning the PM, he must sit up. The rise in prices is now affecting even the middle class. The burden on our poorer brethren must be, and is, horrendous. Two articles by two well-informed and public-spirited individuals have highlighted the widening rich-poor divide. Arundhati Roy in Outlook and P Sainath in The Hindu have made blistering attacks on the ruling establishment. No response has come from the establishment. Neither the magazine nor the newspaper can be accused of being either ill-informed or irresponsible.
Tailpiece
A word about Article 370 of our Constitution. The BJP, when out of office, invokes this Article in connection with Jammu and Kashmir. It does not do so while in government. How did Article 370 find a place in the Constitution? On page 55 of Volume 3 of Letters to Chief Ministers, Pandit Nehru wrote, “This matter came up before us when the Constitution of India was being finalised about November 1949. Sardar Patel dealt with it then and he gave a special, though transitional, place to the Jammu and Kashmir state in our Constitution.”
The transitional bit was jettisoned soon thereafter. Now, it is unlikely to be dropped or even modified. Life was much less complicated in 1949.