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| Kashmir Crisis: Karan Singh's noble intervention | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Aug 6: Every Tom, Dick and Harry and mercenary in Kashmir and New Delhi is putting forth various kinds of solutions which, according to him/her, alone could end the Kashmir impasse and forge a lasting peace in Kashmir. These solutions range from autonomy to self-rule to independence to joint-control to joint-management to the shared sovereignty and to what not.
The focus of all these Toms, Dicks and Harrys and the mercenaries is on Kashmir. What are common in what these Toms, Dicks and Harrys and the mercenaries have been saying are the two basic suggestions that need to be accepted forthwith by the authorities in New Delhi in order to prepare the ground for dialogue with the Pakistan-supported and abetted Kashmiri secessionists. One is the withdrawal of the Army, security forces and anti-terror laws from the state. The other is the release of what they shamelessly call "political prisoners" and liberal compensation to and honourable rehabilitation of separatists, extremists and hardcore terrorists.
At a time when these Toms, Dicks and Harrys and the mercenaries have upped their ante, unleashed a no-holds-barred propaganda in favour of what they have been suggesting and vitiated the whole atmosphere with a view to making the authorities "win over the hearts and minds of the alienated Kashmiris" (read Muslims), the ignored, the marginalized, the discriminated against and the concerned people of Jammu and Ladakh have witnessed a noble intervention. (Even the Union Home Minister today told the Parliament that "we must win the hearts and minds of the Kashmiris.) An intervention that applies a sort "sandlewood balm that gives coolness after the end of the heat-wave in the desert."
The case in point is the August 5 suggestion put forth by Dr Karan Singh, former Sadar-e-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir and presently Member of Parliament, to end the "Kashmir stalemate." Senior Congress leader and intellectual par excellence Dr Karan Singh on Thursday urged the powers-that-be in New Delhi to initiate "serious political dialogue with all political parties and groups in the State for a process of reconciliation." He said: "The current situation has left 'broader political questions, regarding the precise position of Jammu and Kashmir within India, as well as the differing aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to be considered in depth." "…Once normalcy has been restored, I would urge that a serious political dialogue be opened with all political parties and groups in J&K to try and arrive at a consensus, if possible," Dr Karan Singh, in fact, said.
What Dr Karan Singh said could be construed as a noble intervention in the sense that he sought to put things in perspective by talking about the conflicting and mutually exclusive aspirations of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. What he said was altogether different from what the BJP delegation told Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The BJP did not talk about Jammu and Ladakh. It only talked of an all-party delegation that should go to Srinagar to listen to the up-in-revolt Kashmiri leadership. On the contrary, Dr Karan Singh made it loud and clear that there are three distinct regions in the State - Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh - and that the solution to the problem has to be such that is also acceptable to the people of Jammu and Ladakh.
Every right-thinking person and everyone who sincerely believes in democracy, secularism and all-inclusive and holistic approach to the issues confronting different people inhabiting different regions of the State would at once endorse the Dr Karan Singh's line because it, unlike other suggestions and solutions, talks of the resolution of the problems being faced by different people inhabiting different regions simultaneously.
It doesn't talk exclusively of Kashmir. It is hoped that the powers-that-be in New Delhi or the official think-tanks would take into serious consideration the sane counsel of Dr Karan Singh and not do anything that has the potential of aggravating situation in the otherwise peaceful regions of Jammu and Ladakh. The authorities in New Delhi just cannot take Jammu and Ladakh for a ride.
However, to say all this is not to suggest that all Dr Karan Singh has said is acceptable. He has put forth one controversial suggestion: Implement the recommendations as contained in the Working Groups' reports. While putting forth such a suggestion, Dr Karan Singh, who was one of the distinguished delegates to the round table conference, has not done justice to the people of Jammu and Ladakh, the displaced Kashmiri Hindus, refugees from West Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and border migrants of 1965 and 1971. He has utterly failed to appreciate the fact that the Working Groups' recommendations are Kashmir-centric and militant-friendly.
However, to express this very genuine reservation is not to undermine the basic premise of Dr Karan Singh that the solution to the problem should be such as is also acceptable to Jammu and Ladakh. Dr Karan Singh must insist on his suggestion and, at the same time, he should avoid any comment on the controversial Working Groups' recommendations because the people of Jammu and Ladakh and other interests, barring the Kashmiri Muslims, have rejected them outright. He would also do well if asks the authorities in New Delhi to trifurcate the state at once. For, he should know that the contradictions between Kashmir and the state's two other regions are irreconcilable.
The Rajya Sabha MP also sought speedy implementation of the recommendations of the Working Groups set up after the Prime Minister's roundtable. |
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