http://scroll.in/article/815156/the-daily-fix-the-governments-strategy-on-kashmir-has-been-a-bundle-of-contradictions
The government’s strategy on Kashmir has been a bundle of contradictions an hour ago Updated an hour ago Shoaib Daniyal Kashmir churn In the popular perception, coalition governments are seen to be chaotic. So when Narendra Modi came to power with the first Lok Sabha majority in thee decades, many Indians naturally hoped that solutions for core issues such as Kashmir would be executed as per a plan. When the Bharatiya Janata Party took power in an alliance with the People’s Democratic Party in Kashmir in March 2015, it was hailed to be a bold move. But it soon became clear that the BJP's hardline positions were not going to help heal wounds in the state. This has become all the more apparent since early in July, after the killing of Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani. Even the BJP took a rigid position, its own coalition partner, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is said to have asked the police to apologise for killing Wani. Initially, the Union government insisted that talks with separatists were not an option. But a few weeks later, Home Minister Rajnath Singh travelled to Kashmir and asked to talk to anyone who would be willing to talk. At the same time, Chief Minister Mufti asked Hurriyat separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani to help the authorities maintain peace in Kashmir. Geelani, however, rebuffed the request and asked Mufti to refrain from “killing and maiming her own people”. This, even as Prime Minister Modi on Sunday spoke about “sending a strong message to separatists”. As unrest bubbled in the Valley, Modi chose in his Independence Day speech to make a reference to the separatist demands in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. He seemed not to understand that no matter how devious Pakistan’s efforts to stir trouble in the Valley have been, Kashmir’s rage was largely its own. Bringing in Balochistan is not a solution to Kashmir. Seventy people in the Valley are dead in the latest round of unrest. Now more than ever, the Modi government needs to get its act together. The Valley needs wise politics, not cycles of mindless bluster and confused retreats. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
