Cracks appear in Kashmiri political class as govt seeks middle ground

The first anniversary of the abrupt revocation of the region's special status is barely making headlines but Kashmiris have not forgotten the trauma

On August 5, the first anniversary of the abrupt revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, media attention will be focused on the foundation-laying ceremony of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya on the site where the Babri Mosque once stood. The Kashmiri people may be forgiven for assuming that the date was deliberately chosen to underline yet again that the juggernaut of ‘Hindu cultural nationalism’ rolls on; that reasonable voices, unable to counter the religious nationalism of the ruling dispensation, have fallen silent; and there is no one to share their pain.

Within J&K, cracks in the ranks of the