As Kashmir remains on the edge, a Delhi-based concerned citizens’ group on Friday called for a political outreach, including dialogue, with the separatist leadership.
The group, headed by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister and former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, said in a joint statement: “Nobody in his right mind should want a repetition of the events of 2016 — not the government and certainly not the Kashmiri civilians.”
The statement was also signed by retired Justice A.P.Shah, former chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities Wajahat Habibullah, former diplomats Salman Haidar and Nirupama Rao, social reformer Aruna Roy, mediapersons Shekhar Gupta, Prem Shankar Jha and Bharat Bhushan, historians Ramchandra Guha and S. Irfan Habib, retired Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, author Badri Raina, and activists John Dayal and Sushobha Barve.
The group expressed concern over the “recurrence of violence, student protests and the video war on social media in Kashmir”. “Peace in disturbed areas has never been achieved through more violence or by retributive measures,” said the statement.
Referring to the voter turn-out of a meagre 7% in the Srinagar bye-poll, it added, “An erosion of faith in democratic processes may eventually threaten the legitimacy of the State itself. This process needs to be stemmed and corrective measures taken.”
Calling for dialogue, the group said, “India’s heart is large enough and its Constitution flexible enough to accommodate the aspirations of all its citizens, the people of Jammu and Kashmir included. For this, the government of J&K and the Central government need to show exemplary restraint in either deploying force or adopting ‘innovative’ measures.”
The group asked the Government of India, “To carefully fashion a strategy of outreach for the people of Kashmir. Such an outreach should include not only leaders of Kashmiri civil society, opinion makers, public intellectuals and other stakeholders in the State but also the separatist leadership as promised in the agenda of alliance between the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party).”
The group visited the restive Valley in the last week of October and met senior separatist leaders and civil society groups.
