Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s televised “from-the-heart” speech to a delegation of leaders from Jammu and Kashmir should be seen both by the government and its intended audience as only the first and necessary, if delayed, step in a long march to normalcy that should now be resumed. The prime minister was right to state, and many Kashmiri leaders have also acknowledged, that between 2003, when former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee spoke of seeking a solution to the problem of Kashmir “within the framework of insaniyat”, and 2009, when the state went peacefully through transparently conducted elections, several major milestones had been crossed in the journey towards a final solution of the problem. Dr Singh took many risks and ventured forth when he started a bus service across the line of control (LoC), between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. He was right to take credit for facilitating trade across the LoC, putting in place arrangements for divided families to meet, changing policy on allowing people representing different shades of opinion to visit Pakistan, easing travel, setting up a number of roundtable conferences and working groups that enabled a wide cross-section of opinion to find free expression on the way forward. On top of all this came several rounds of free and fair elections, both for local bodies and the state legislature. The tragedy is that despite all this good work done, the state was allowed to slide into chaos and a state of despair so very rapidly.
It is not enough to blame New Delhi for all this, even if the Centre ought to take the blame for sitting on its haunches these past few months as the situation deteriorated. What role have all the local politicians played? Many of them are playing with fire, using innocent children and youth as cannon fodder, knowing fully well that neither India nor indeed Pakistan is going to change the ground reality as it exists. Innocent youth shouting azadi is understandable. But mature politicians must realise that it is in Kashmir’s own interests that a negotiated settlement is arrived at. Negotiations cannot proceed when the streets are empty or full of anger and mayhem. Normalcy is first required so that sane counsel can prevail and a way forward is consensually defined.
While the prime minister has asked a group led by Dr C Rangarajan, chairman of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council, to come forward with proposals for employment generation in the state, this is not the real problem today. It would be wrong to assume that the youth on the street are there because they are unemployed and that employment alone would make them less restive. There is a problem of governance and a deeply felt desire for a life of peace and dignity. The in-your-face presence of armed forces is a provocation and needs to be addressed. It is also necessary for more of the state’s political leaders to get a grip of the ground reality and trim their sails in accordance with what is feasible. Generating expectations on something they cannot deliver is not a sign of mature leadership. Jammu and Kashmir is in desperate need of mature leadership, not bravado and histrionics.
