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| Worrisome Valley makes Omar to ask Centre for a political solution to Kashmir | | | ABID SHAH
EARLY TIMES REPORT
NEW DELHI, Aug 2: Once again Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has tried together with the Centre to bring peace back home and rein in rampaging youth who have been defying curfew and confronting police often at the cost of their lives since June 11. To pacify tempers Omar met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his top Cabinet colleagues here today for the second time in two weeks and demanded a "political package" for his troubled State for the sake of stable order.
And, thus, today's talks here at the 7, Race Course Road residence of Manmohan Singh inevitably point to external dimensions of the current trouble in the border State. Significantly, as per reports External Affairs Minister SM Krishna too was present during today's meeting of Omar Abdullah with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Krishna has earlier been to Pakistan for talks with the leaders of the neighbouring country where the two sides could not reach on any agreement except to keep the doors open for talks in future.
All through this Kashmir has been posing a grave security challenge where police and Central paramilitary forces have been fighting pitched battles with angry mobs. And since last Friday (July 30) the mob violence has again picked up creating a serious law and order situation. This can now only be brought to normal by either bringing in more reinforcements with Central help or through taking sobering political steps. The scope for the last has the "prerequisite" of obeying authorities first by respecting curfew. This is what the Chief Minister had to say after his meeting with the Prime Minister today.
This is by no means a great demand on the part of the Government. And it is not that during now an over month-and-a-half-old crisis there were no relatively peaceful moments in between. Even Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said in the Lok Sabha today that "there was a lull after July 19 but since July 30 the situation has again been becoming serious." And it is not that the Jammu and Kashmir Government has failed to announce certain considerate steps like ordering a judicial inquiry into first 17 deaths through the present stir. Yet the question arises why such steps have not been having the desired effect upon the agitators.
Though there is no clear cut answer to this from the Government whether that of the State or the Centre, but it is amply clear by now that there is no visible leadership backing the current wave of protests in the State. It has been said that certain underground militants have been backing the fierce protests which have now escalated from raining stones to resorting to arson targeting Government buildings and vehicles. There may be some truth in these allegations. And if the increasing presence of women in the mobs during past few days is to be kept in mind the possible effect of Aasiya Andrabi a woman militant leader cannot be ruled out. Similarly, others like her could well be at work, making it hard for the Government to reach to anyone of them.
Thus, the option of coming out with a political package as Omar Abdullah has been suggesting even since before today's meeting with the Prime Minister and its working as a sobering tool upon the agitators cannot be said to be totally dependable. Faced with such a scenario the Government is yet to try out as to how far the separatist Hurriyat can be effective in controlling the angry youth of the Valley.
Only yesterday Omar Abdullah appealed to people including the civil society and the media for help for a possible turnaround to normalcy. Yet he did not mention the need for interlocutors to reach out the unidentified persons behind the current stir. Nevertheless this is important since other measures have failed to bring desired results.
The present crisis has indeed worsened amid a visible disconnect between the Government and the people. This has been pointed out by no less a person than Chief Minister's father. Farooq Abdullah has called upon for tightening of administration and making it more responsive to the people. Low level of the State Government's reach and credibility has been compounding the crisis. Thus, the senior Abdullah had to appeal to his son as the latter does to the parents of the angry youth.
Thus, the present Kashmir crisis somehow signifies a generational clash where youth want to have their own way in the absence of mature leadership at the societal level and control slipping out of hands of elder folks within homes. This is more so since besides the forces of politics those of market too work heightening the expectations of newer generations. Much of this has sadly been missed by the powers-that-be and thus Kashmir has been going from bad to worse. |
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