A day after taking charge of perhaps the most important ministry when it comes to determining which way the wind blows in Kashmir, the country’s new home minister Amit Shah was busy more with getting inputs about the situation in the Valley than any other place in the country. According to reports, Governor Satya Pal Malik on May 1 briefed Shah about the security situation in the state where the past three years have brought grief and miseries in immeasurable quantity for the people of Kashmir. Although the media persons asked him the question, Governor Malik remained evasive about any possibility of holding the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir in near future. Shah’s elevation comes at a time when Kashmir is perhaps going through the worst period in its history since an armed insurgency erupted in early nineties. The past three years since the killing of the charismatic Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani have been traumatizing. More than 500 militants have been killed, yet the phenomenon of new age insurgency isn’t showing any sign of dying very soon. More than 250 civilians have been killed in retaliatory action against protesters by security forces, yet the streets are showing no sign of normalcy as protests often break out whenever any encounter breaks out in any part of the Valley. A sweeping crackdown has been launched against the ‘secessionist’ elements in the Hurriyat as well as other separatist groups, yet the cries are growing louder and louder, that Kashmir needs a political resolution. Money alone will not solve the problem. Elections are not the recipe for political emancipation. No matter how much development is carried out in J&K, sentiments are hard to be corrupted. Baskhi Ghulam Mohammad learnt it the hard way. The challenge for the home minister is humungous. It is not going to be an easy task to deal with the simmering situation. Kashmir has been a graveyard of reputations. But one factor that will work in Shah’s favour is the fact that people have no expectations from him. As they say, he doesn’t carry any burden of the past. In fact, whatever baggage he may have been carrying in his capacity of the home minister of the world’s largest democracy, is no longer valid in his case as the ghosts of past continue to haunt him and he is seen as a radical face of Hindutva. But in adversary lies opportunity. As political parties cutting across the political spectrum as well as civil society in Kashmir have been demanding, it is time for the home minister to let the Kashmir breathe freely.