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| Complex web over Kashmir | | |
Nearly two months after the quiet diplomacy term was coined by the Home Minister P Chidambram, it is a complex web that is being woven in Kashmir. While the contours of quiet diplomacy are yet to be understood by anyone outside the top government or top separatist circles, it is not even known whether such an exercise is already underway, is about to take off or will never begin. After attack on Fazl Haq Qureshi, a votary of dialogue, New Delhi and separatists reiterated the urge of continuing the dialogue but what exactly is happening is just a guess work. In recent development, many top separatists have refused to get the security details upgraded. Though Qureshi was most simple of them all, he did not have any security cover as others had. The affable Qureshi lived in a modest house unlike most other leaders. He was hungry for peace, but not at the cost of the dignity of Kashmiri people. He was determined to pursue negotiations, but didn't care much for his personal safety. While fellow separatists in Hurriyat and others accepted detailed security cover from the very Indian state they perpetually condemned, Qureshi preferred to roam like an ordinary man. Not that he was unaware of the complex web of terror that he helped seed in some parts --the armed militants, the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, the state-sponsored Ikhwanis, and even shadowy terror groups whose allegiance and existence is yet not assessed comprehensively. He was one of the interlocutors appointed by the Hizbul Mujahideen in 2000 for its peace talks with the Centre. But that was not to be. As New Delhi pussyfooted and Islamabad mounted pressure on Hizbul's Pakistan-based chief Syed Salahudin, the ceasefire collapsed in a matter of few days. Majid Dar and other armed insurgents disappeared. New Delhi's field operatives pretended to be in command, feeding their masters misguided information about getting the Hizbul back to the negotiating table. Those confident claims were, of course, wrong.
In 2003, Majid Dar fell to anonymous bullets. Now, six years later, his friend Qureshi is attacked. Since 2005 there has been visible and drastic reduction in all parameters of violence in J&K, but officialdom did not let the political leadership grasp the opportunity. The prime minister's call for out-of-the-box thinking was stifled by a concerted effort of the security complex that often distorted facts and figures to exaggerate the situation in Kashmir. The 'Kashmiri bureaucracy' of New Delhi did not let UPA government have its way. Nor did the political leadership try to free itself from the iron grip of bureaucracy. Thus insipid political leadership has only contributed to maintaining the status quo. Qureshi's struggle for life mirrors the reality of Kashmir's quest for peace. With historically low violence levels, enough indicators of abysmal morale of the insurgents, it is time for New Delhi to make a breakthrough proposal. Over the past two decades, India has made major strides in liberalising its administrative and decision-making mechanisms. The question before the UPA government is if it would exhibit a similar boldness to 'liberalise' its Kashmir policy and give it over to a set of men and women who would not bury compassion in a heap of absurdities.
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