The current spell of political turmoil once again reminds us that in Kashmir  peace process is elusive. Peacemaking has always remained a dangerous enterprise in this world’s most dangerous conflict zone. This is because of the fact that a good section of those who matter in Kashmir conflict have vested interests in continued bloodshed here. There are scores of incidents on record when positive developments here have easily been countered by renewed waves of violence and peace sabotaged.

It is nothing new that a state of confusion prevails here. In fact it is in every cadre, be it mainstream cadres or separatist cadres, which has taken the toll of civil population. Confusion looms large within NC-Congress coalition government, where element of mistrust refuses to die. If reports are to be believed, then nothing is fine even within National Conference and resentment among its cadres has left many (those who matter) disillusioned.

The infighting within local Congress leadership is not new and has even put the Delhi high command in dilemma. These infightings within local mainstream cadres and that too when they are in power have taken toll of the government functioning.

As far as central government is concerned, their approach to deal with the realities in Kashmir reflects nothing but lack of wisdom. Dubbing stone pelting youth as associates of Lashkar-i-Toiba is surprising for the kind of poor thinking which the Delhi Darbar think tank is capable of.

Take the case of separatist cadres. State of confusion is not even new among their cadres. They have time and again shown lack of consensus while seeking resolution to the Kashmir issue.

When Omar Abdullah led coalition government with a brigade of young minds took over the reigns in the state, the time was projected as the beginning of an era of realism in the context of core Kashmir issue and development on core fronts to explore the economic potential of the state.

  But the current spell of turmoil has belied the claims that this young brigade was capable of bringing peace and prosperity to the state by addressing the core political issue confronting the state. In fact, the government, so far, has been reactive and never showed any inclination to act proactively. Simply, these months of governance have proved the political mismanagement of this brigade.

The current situation has exposed the myth that all is well now in Kashmir. It is simply an act of organized madness where confusion looms large within coalition government, within National Conference Congress and within the separatist cadres.

It is pertinent to mention here that the response of the people to the election-2008 call was for good governance as well as to seek an everlasting solution to Kashmir imbroglio. While taking ongoing civil unrest into account, it can be easily said that the biggest failure of the state  government has not only been on governance front but also on political front where it was supposed to seek an organized political resolution of the issue. This regime has failed to accord acceptability and respectability of the feelings of the people. The genuine aspirations of the people have not been respected and not to talk of accommodating them with dignity.

Precisely, Omar Abdullah has not only failed to capitalize on the opportunity to resurrect his party’s reputation, but has also failed to bring in change for betterment. A slight rewind of the events reminds of some important statements, which Omar Abdullah dished out in the context of Kashmir issue.

Before assuming the power, he opposed the suggestions that the Kashmir issue should be 'deep frozen'. While at the helm of affair, he himself allowed the issue to be deep frozen and never evinced any interest in working with other forces in finding a solution to the Kashmir issue.

Meanwhile, powers at New Delhi too have not changed their approach towards the Kashmir issue, despite change of regime in the state. They wrongly took the legislative assembly elections 2008 as peoples’ verdict in favour of India. Even as they took certain initiatives in the past to work out a solution to the Kashmir problem, at the end of the day such initiatives proved hoax. At a time when five working groups were appointed in 2006 by New Delhi to develop an agreed vision of Jammu and Kashmir's future, a ray of hope was visible to seek an end to the Kashmir mess. The five working groups submitted their recommendations, which never saw light.

For example, Muhammad Hamid Ansari's working group on confidence-building measures had asserted that "certain laws made operational during the period of militancy (the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the Disturbed Areas Act) impinge on [the] fundamental rights of citizens and adversely affect the public." It demanded that the laws "should be reviewed and revoked." In addition, the working group suggested that the "cases of all persons in jail should be reviewed, and a general amnesty given to those under trial for minor offenses or who are innocent." 

Similarly, working group on strengthening cross-Line of Control relations suggested that "a joint consultative group or committee of 10 members each of the legislatures of both sides may be constituted to exchange views periodically on social, economic, cultural and trade-related matters of mutual interest." In addition, "joint consultative groups of professionals may be set up for horticulture, tourism promotion and environment protection." Even working group on good governance did not confine itself only to administrative issues. It noted that "the State Human Rights Commission requires strengthening" and calls for the creation of "a high-powered committee (including political representatives and civil society members) for enforcing human rights."
All of us know the fate of such recommendations and initiatives which have only proved a time buying activity.

In today’s situation, separatist conglomerates cannot escape criticism. With a common goal, they have surprisingly always shown lack of consensus. The election 2008 has already shown them the power of peoples’ leadership. They need to base their approach on realism and a strategy to carry forward the struggle where ground situation is taken into account. They should not aspire for things, which are impractical. So far they have failed to pursue their goal (resolution of dispute) with wisdom, reasonableness and farsightedness.

The honest and frank assertion of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq during a conference in Srinagar a few years back during a seminar that ‘you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate’ should be basis of a renewed approach in modern times. They have to move from traditional stand of bashing pro-India politicians and at least seek a constructive engagement with regional parties.

At the same time, New Delhi has to come out of the cocooned politics, as it breeds miseries for Kashmiris. At least they have to listen to their own people, particularly a section of the think tank, who have time and again favoured resolution of the dispute. They have to realise that the bad governance is not the cause of the dispute, but it is the basic nature of the dispute which has not allowed good governance. If all the parties involved in the conflict want to come out of the mess, then they should explore the huge scope for compromises. Otherwise it is nothing but an organized madness.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 17 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST