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| Create atmosphere for dialogue | | | | At last there are some good signs from Kashmir. The Kashmir Coordination Committee –a conglomerate of almost all separatist outfits, business organizations, lawyers, doctors and intellectuals –has asked people to resume their normal activity. This appeal was made to the people after government stalled a separatist move gathering at the Lal Chowk. What all the separatists had wanted to do at the Lal Chowk was quite evident and was perhaps unaffordable for all sides and all parties at this point in time. Taking cue from the experiences of past few months, the government, this time, deserves appreciations for its timely application of mind to thwart the move to Lal Chowk. It was a lesson after three bitter incidents of the past –the Muzaffarabad march, the earlier Lal Chowk march and the Pampore march. All these occasions ended with violence and bloodshed and, of course, a bad publicity for India at international level. Therefore, this time it was in the fitness of things to have put proper arrangements so that there was no threat to law and order. We are not of the opinion that the freedom of expression or the right to assembly should curbed anywhere in the country, much less in Kashmir, but the question here is that any such move which threatens law and order and challenges the basis of state has to be handled with sensitivity of mind and firmness of approach. It is good that the law and order problem was prevented a day ahead of the full Election Commission’s visit to Srinagar to find out suitability of atmosphere for elections but this is not the end of it. If the government wants restoration of normalcy to pave way for the much awaited democratic exercise for electing next government, it should engage the Kashmir Coordination Committee in a meaningful dialogue. State’s Governor NN Vohra, who has a marvelous administrative acumen and a deep understanding of Kashmir politics, has often reiterated that there is nothing which can not be resolved through a dialogue. Then, in this backdrop he must understand that some three to four months back Kashmir Valley for ripe for elections and even the rank of separatists was disintegrating to find a way to the legislative assembly. A foreign hand can not be always blamed for whatever happened in our land. Something really must have gone wrong these days which needs to be corrected. The government should engage all sections in dialogue and clear the misconceptions which have crept in the society. This will isolate people inimical to maintenance of peace and resolution of issues in amicable manner. The Kashmir Coordination Committee has called a meeting on October 8 to draw future course of action. It is advisable that the Coordination Committee should rise to the occasion and help create an atmosphere conducive for dialogue. |
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