Kashmir : Unsettled issues

The incessant outbreak of political unrest in Jammu and Kashmir in October last year prompted the Indian government to appoint interlocutors in the state to hold dialogues with all strata of the society. But it seems to be yielding no results as the recently submitted report ‘Interlocutors' Report’ has stirred up controversies. The report has been submitted to the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on October 12 this year but has neither been able to suggest any concrete solutions nor been able to convince the Kashmiris.

The government had appointed a three member committee including prominent journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, former civil servant MM Ansari and academician Radha Kumar as the interlocutors. In the course of one year study, the interlocutors have met more than 700 delegations across all the 22 districts. They have come out with all the possible solutions of ‘meaningful autonomy’ for political settlement, substantial economic packages to tackle issues related to unemployment and adequate infrastructural development to boost tourism. The report has also recommended the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Disturbed Areas Act from the state. Chidambaram has shown keen interest in carrying forward the process but commonKashmiris, mainstream parties and separatists have given thumbs down to the report. There are several reasons why common Kashmiris are not fascinated with the report.

The report has advocated for ‘meaningful autonomy’ but it has neither spoken of the ruling alliance partner National Conference's (NC) autonomy proposal nor of the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) self-rule document as a building block for the permanent settlement of political disputes.

Even many people believe that the report is much concerned about economic packages and infrastructural developments which can bring economical changes in the state but cannot solve the political disputes and violence and gunfights between militants and the security forces.

Even these are mere attempts to divert attention from some of the real political problems that the state is facing.

Another important thing severely under the scanner about the report is the common man’s feeling of mistrust and skepticism for the central government's intentions. They think that the interlocutors have only worked as central government employees and the government too has no serious approach to solve the issue. In fact, the findings have come out from time to time and it's also a reason why people are enthusiastic about the report. One of the NC MPs has completely vindicated the stand of the separatists to boycott interlocutors and termed the whole activity as ‘exercise to buy time’. Even then, the report has neither been able to bring any solution nor been able to create any hype or sensation in the social, civil or political arena. So we will have to wait for more time to see a peaceful and more stable state of Jammu and Kashmir.