Jammu & Kashmir - Chestnuts in the Fire

The conditions in the State of Jammu & Kashmir seem to be going out of hand, with the Union Govt. not showing any purpose in its motions. For all intents and purposes, the only plan it seems to have is to let the situation cool down and hope that eventually, it can resolve the problem by talking.





That may well happen but given the passions inflamed by the Government’s actions and inaction in the last several weeks, unless the Government has the political will and the required firmness, there is a grave danger of things taking a turn for the worse. Instead of resolving a small matter related to the facilitation of pilgrims to Amarnath, the Government may find its hands full dealing with separatist elements.





Although this may not be the time to place blame, it is necessary to have a perspective on the events. The origin of the Amarnath Shrine issue is to be found largely in the political miscalculations on the part of Congress and the apparently mindless misadventure on the part of PDP. Both the parties behaved in a very myopic way on an issue which could have been resolved by discussions in the first place without the need to turn the State into a battlefield.





As far as the Central Government is concerned, although a large part of the responsibility rests with the Home Ministry, the Amarnath issue was essentially handled as a political matter and whatever was done either by the Central Government or by the Governor on directions of the Central Government was based on political decisions. These actions badly backfired and gave an opportunity not only to other political parties but also separatist elements to jump into the fray. It also made it possible for those in Jammu to give vent to their pent-up sense of frustration and turned a relatively small matter into a larger issue.

It is only hoped that the Government would not continue to act in its blundering ways but come out with some concrete solutions on its own rather than going through the motions of obtaining ideas from political parties and other organizations. It has been suggested by many that the discussions should take place amongst the members of the civil society in Jammu as well as the Valley to work out a solution. But first, the Amarnath issue needs to be resolved peacefully. For that to happen, at least one of the parties needs to be convinced to show restraint and strive for a solution rather than strife. The larger issues which have, unfortunately, come to the fore must also be handled with extreme caution and far-sightedness.

Given the record of the Government in handling difficult situations, does it appear that it has the will and the ability to do what needs to be done? Though doubtful, in the interest of the integrity of the country, it is absolutely essential that it does act to pull the chestnuts out of the fire ignited by shortsighted actions scripted or prompted by it.