Kashmir isn’t party issue but a national concern
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for an immediate dialogue for restoring peace in the State of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) must be viewed positively by all political parties. The affairs related to J&K must be resolved within the ambit of the Constitution of India as Modi emphasises is true for any political regime in New Delhi. By stressing for a permanent and lasting solution, within the parameters of the Constitution, he has once again reminded all political parties and other stakeholders in the State that it is an internal problem which can be solved with the help of a dialogue between people of the State and the Government. Holding an urgent meeting with the opposition parties of J&K and bringing out the issues of common concern to the discussion table, will substantially provide a healing touch to the protesters on the road. Taking all the political parties into confidence will be really helpful for bringing an end to the current impasse in the State. Moreover, the numerous political shades that had a full-fledged talk with the Prime Minister must address their own constituencies and supporters for conveying them what transpired between them and the Union Government. If all political parties in the State start speaking to their supporters about the futility of raging anti-India rallies, then it will gradually lessen the number of protesters, particularly the young ones who are fast falling into pellet guns.
The most heartening part of the present saga of violence in J&K is that the political parties like the Congress is simply targeting the Prime Minister and his Government, without offering a helping hand to bring back normalcy in the State. Even in 2010, the situation in the State was pathetic and thousands of protesters were on the road, however the scale and depth of the anger this time is registering an all-time high. The Congress’s devisive party-specific solutions and populist blame game may prolong the crisis in J&K. It will obviously not support the grand old party's future agenda in the State nor boost its image as the savior of the people of J&K. Keeping in mind the ground realities and rising anger of the youth, the Prime Minister's call to the State's opposition parties, not to make it a political issue only to be handled by the NDA Government at the centre will make all of them realize the gravity of the situation. Meanwhile, the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's ardent attempt to open a track-II channel involving eminent citizens, mostly non-Kashmiri Muslims, to draw up a plan of action and seek their help in initiating a dialogue with the Kashmiris will probably equally contribute to the cessation of hostilities in J&K. Singh's endeavour to find a peaceful solution through a three-stage plan will soon help re-looking at bundles of recommendations made on J&K by various working groups. Also implementing some of the key suggestions put forwarded by these groups will help the Modi Government in assuaging the people of J&K. Sadly, the key findings or suggestions of the expert groups were either not taken seriously or simply viewed as ad hoc solutions to this decades old issue. Singh's assurance to minimize the use of pellet guns will have a direct positive impact on the protesters. Besides, his indication of involving the civil society organisations with the protesting youth, sending an all-party delegation to the State and finally, the potential role of the clergy to spread the message of peace and tranquility will be a great respite for J&K and for the entire nation as well.