Kashmir: Back to the future

Govt must work for lasting political peace

The Union government had hoped that reading down Article 370 of the Constitution would bring peace, good business investment, and an influx of tourists into Jammu & Kashmir. However, instead of investment and tourists, Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed in recent months a wave of targeted killings of Hindus and other workers (including Muslims), which revive uncomfortable memories of the 1990s. These incidents prove that the government’s efforts to alter the narrative by scrapping its special status and bifurcating it into two Union Territories have not worked. This wave of violence suggests that the change of status, done without reference