The past two days have witnessed some hectic political developments over Kashmir. The appointment of yet another interlocutor, this time a former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma, has introduced a new element in Kashmir narrative. But as has been the case with Kashmir, more things change more they remain the same. Hurriyat, as was expected, has given the exercise a royal ignore. Its statement on Tuesday which was expected to formulate the separatist groupings reaction to New Delhis move didnt have a word about it. Pakistan, on the other hand, has rejected the exercise saying no interaction or dialogue would carry any weight without the participation of the Hurriyat Conference. This is likely to further undercut the political effort initiated by New Delhi. Hurriyat is unlikely to be a part of a dialogue trashed by Pakistan. Traditionally, both these parties have sought each others participation in the talks.
The centres much hyped political outreach to Kashmir has thus suffered its first major reverses. But going by the way the new outreach has been designed, this was bound to happen. The new dialogue offer is more of a general nature than specifically addressed to the separatists as it should have been. The union government has once again sought to draw in as many actors from the state as possible for an engagement.
This has put off Hurriyat. The engagement with the grouping should have been the primary purpose of a political outreach as only they question the status quo on Kashmir. Not doing so will be the undoing of the entire exercise. For, it is in drawing the separatists into a credible and sustainable dialogue that the resolution of the current crisis lies of course to be followed up by talks with Islamabad for a permanent solution.
But there is nothing in the mandate of the new pointsperson that can realize this desirable outcome. What is clear from the fresh initiative or its forerunners for several years is that the centre finds it difficult to acknowledge the separatist reality in the Valley, let alone take steps to engage it. The very statements that have accompanied Sharmas appointment betray a deep sense of unease with a dialogue with Hurriyat. Home minister Rajnath Singh said that the new interlocutor would hold a sustained interaction and dialogue with all groups in the state to understand legitimate aspirations of the people of all three regions. One can only wonder at what these legitimate aspirations. Similarly, one is also puzzled by the commitment to hold a dialogue with a substantial, amorphous segments of J&K population. More so, when such an exercise has been held time and again to no effect.
The approach towards separatist leadership is more interesting. They are called for dialogue without being called by their name. There is an overpowering implicit urge to lump them together with other political groups, to see them as a part of the state’s diverse political reality rather than as the only reality that challenges the status quo in the state and needs to be engaged. This allergic approach towards separatists, however, has been a hallmark of the three years of NDA dispensation
But in this period, the political ground in Valley has shifted and the militant groups together with Hurriyat factions again call the shots. It is this fact that deserves recognition by New Delhi and a dialogue tailored to the new realities and directed predominantly, if not exclusively, at separatists needs to be resurrected.
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