The Kashmir mandate

December 27, 2014 03:05 am | Updated September 23, 2017 12:51 pm IST

The article, “Understanding the Kashmir mandate” (Dec.26), was interesting but undermined the legitimate aspirations of the two other regions of Jammu and Ladakh. There was no answer to how nearly half-a-million internally displaced Kashmiri Pandits (who are about to complete half a century in forced exile) can be encouraged to return. The ground realities and the nature of the mandate not only reflect the diverse aspirations of the people of the three distinct regions but also reflect the self-contradicting objectives of the political parties claiming to represent the aspirations of the entire State. Ideally, the State should be renamed as “Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh”. The task should not be that daunting for a formation that may be forged in the interest of further integration of the strife-torn valley into the Indian mainstream.

Ramesh Manvati,Noida

The recently concluded election could become a remarkable starting point in our fight against insurgency if the parties concerned drop their narrow-minded political agendas. It must be borne in mind that unlike previous occasions, this time the Kashmiris have very clearly demonstrated their implicit faith in Indian democracy. It is this spirit that deserves to be celebrated. The way forward now is to bring light into the lives of young Kashmiris and provide them quality education, health services, electricity and transport. If this chance is lost, history will not forgive us.

S.A. Thameemul Ansari,

Kayalpatnam, Tamil Nadu

Every possible care has to be taken by all political players in the State not to play the divisive card. The BJP could have made inroads in the Valley, but the development agenda of Narendra Modi remained subservient due to the party’s hidden agenda, and which did not strike a chord. Any downslide will only bring the situation back to square one.

Parthasarathy Sen,New Delhi

The results show that issues like Article 370, a uniform civil code and other sensitive issues have been rejected by Kashmiris. The BJP has clearly set its sights on Ministry- formation. This would amount to foisting the BJP on the people when they have clearly expressed their choice. Parties must desist from playing political games and instead look to ushering in peace and development in the State.

M.M. Gurbaxani,Bengaluru

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.