In a statement that explains the existing state of affairs in Kashmir, veteran BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has said that India has lost Kashmir emotionally. In an interview to an online publication, Sinha said the alienation of the masses in Valley is something that bothers him the most and that one only had to visit the Valley to understand this reality. In recent past, Sinha has emerged as the prominent voice on Kashmir in the country and his statements and the reports prepared by his Kashmir team have helped spotlight the troubled situation in the state. His latest statement has come in the wake of his public criticism of the union government over the dismal state of affairs of the economy.
Sinha has been closely associated with Kashmir over the past year. As head of the Concerned Group of the Citizens of India, Sinha has conducted an informal Track-11 process in Kashmir. On the groups first arrival in Kashmir last year, it held meetings with Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Shah and Prof Abdul Gani Bhat. If anything, the teams successful visit underlined the credibility that the non-government outreaches still enjoyed in Kashmir. That is, despite the fact, that like the government initiatives, informal Track-11 outreaches to Kashmir in the past have amounted to little.
True, informal initiatives can’t be expected to have a mandate to do things on behalf of the government or recommend steps to the government more forcefully and with some authority. But this hardly takes away from the potential and the possibility of an independent Track-II. More so, when it is headed by the country’s former foreign minister who was once a participant and a driver of the settlement efforts for Kashmir during Vajpayees time.
To be fair to Sinha, the team under him has tried to contribute productively to the cause of peace in Kashmir. Their efforts have not been of a cosmetic and adhocist nature. However, the team has hardly been able to make any redeeming difference. The reason for this, in part, is that New Delhi has so far refused to cooperate in the effort. The union government has adopted a can’t-care-less approach towards the prevailing situation in the state. After a feeble attempt at an outreach by sending an all party delegation to the state during the unrest last year, New Delhi has relied exclusively on the security means to address the ongoing turmoil. Sinha-led initiative has been an attempt to fill in the consequent vacuum and pursue a political way out through a long range engagement. But as things stand, the union government is not in the mood to take heed. Sinhas attempts to get the audience of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been rebuffed. But this hardly detracts from the value of Sinhas work in Kashmir. As strongly advocated by him, the need is for New Delhi to start a dialogue with the pro-freedom groups geared to resolve the longstanding political problem in the state. That is the only viable path to peace, even with Pakistan, as Sinha has rightly put it in a statement last year.
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