A second batch of foreign envoys of 25 countries including Germany, Canada, France and Afghanistan is presently on a tour of Jammu and Kashmir to ‘see for themselves’ and ‘assess the ground situation’ in the aftermath of the abrogation of the Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two union territories. Russia has declined New Delhi’s invitation this time around, brightening the chances of third delegation coming to enjoy free Shikara rides on Dal Lake next time. An ordinary Kashmiri will tell you that this is not the right time for Shikara rides on Dal, given that we are still in winter which has been long and dark, and has also brought with itself a set of uncertainties and delegations of central government’s bureaucrats, political parties and foreign envoys. But then we are used to hearing about, seeing and meeting delegations. They have been coming and going out of Kashmir from the last thirty years, even since the rattle of guns in early nineties tore apart the social harmony in Kashmir. However, other than the protagonists and the script, nothing has changed. The plot almost always remains the same. The storm blown by the centre’s August 5 move will come to settle gradually. Many other similar and more deadly storms have come and passed. They left behind a trial of death and destruction but Kashmiris didn’t stop living. After all how long will people keep themselves confined to their homes! But to confuse the prevailing calm in Kashmir with normalcy will be tantamount to dishonesty. Kashmiris may not have come out of their homes to protest the central government’s unilateral decision on changing the political nomenclature and demotion of a state into a petty union territory. But even the government knows that the situation is far from normal. Rather than parroting the remarks made by the members of the first delegation on what is and what is not “India’s internal matter”, the envoys must use this opportunity to push New Delhi into taking some major economic initiatives which is the only way to make a turnaround in Jammu and Kashmir, in absence of the political mainstream whose top leadership continues to remain under detention and some of them have been charged under the draconian Public Safety Act. As a visiting diplomat pointed out, if India doesn’t make investment in Jammu and Kashmir, how can it expect the same courtesy from foreign governments!
A second batch of foreign envoys of 25 countries including Germany, Canada, France and Afghanistan is presently on a tour of Jammu and Kashmir to ‘see for themselves’ and ‘assess the ground situation’ in the aftermath of the abrogation of the Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two union territories. Russia has declined New Delhi’s invitation this time around, brightening the chances of third delegation coming to enjoy free Shikara rides on Dal Lake next time. An ordinary Kashmiri will tell you that this is not the right time for Shikara rides on Dal, given that we are still in winter which has been long and dark, and has also brought with itself a set of uncertainties and delegations of central government’s bureaucrats, political parties and foreign envoys. But then we are used to hearing about, seeing and meeting delegations. They have been coming and going out of Kashmir from the last thirty years, even since the rattle of guns in early nineties tore apart the social harmony in Kashmir. However, other than the protagonists and the script, nothing has changed. The plot almost always remains the same. The storm blown by the centre’s August 5 move will come to settle gradually. Many other similar and more deadly storms have come and passed. They left behind a trial of death and destruction but Kashmiris didn’t stop living. After all how long will people keep themselves confined to their homes! But to confuse the prevailing calm in Kashmir with normalcy will be tantamount to dishonesty. Kashmiris may not have come out of their homes to protest the central government’s unilateral decision on changing the political nomenclature and demotion of a state into a petty union territory. But even the government knows that the situation is far from normal. Rather than parroting the remarks made by the members of the first delegation on what is and what is not “India’s internal matter”, the envoys must use this opportunity to push New Delhi into taking some major economic initiatives which is the only way to make a turnaround in Jammu and Kashmir, in absence of the political mainstream whose top leadership continues to remain under detention and some of them have been charged under the draconian Public Safety Act. As a visiting diplomat pointed out, if India doesn’t make investment in Jammu and Kashmir, how can it expect the same courtesy from foreign governments!
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