Heat wave in Kashmir

The attack on the Kupwara army camp has heralded the start of the killing season in Kashmir. It is not as if the situation was under control when snow made movement difficult. Subsequently, the 7 per cent polling in Srinagar, the postponement of the Anantnag bypoll and the turbulence in the streets are clear signs that the situation has hit an air pocket. And from available signs the turbulence is going to be a prolonged one if the Central Government continues to give simplistic and superficial responses and reasons for the unrest roiling Kashmir since Burhan Wani was gunned down nine months ago.

In November, the Prime Minister touted demonetisation as the panacea for all national security ills such as drug trafficking, counterfeit currency, Maoist violence and unrest in Kashmir. The first two manifested themselves within days and the Maoist violence never abated. Rather than demonetisation, it was the onset of winter that provided a temporarily lull in Kashmir. When stone-throwing resumed, the Prime Minister told Parliament that this was an aberration: the money for the provocation came from a bank robbery in Srinagar! The embarrassingly poor polling in Kashmir that left eight dead demonstrated the pitfalls of facile reasoning. It was the same with surgical strikes. While the partisans cheered from the sidelines, the country was told that Pakistan had been taught a salutary lesson for the cowardly attack on an army camp.

Now that the political ground is slipping and PDP MLAs are showing signs of unease with the governing arrangement, Mehbooba Mufti has outlined a three-month plan to bring the situation within manageable limits. She is hoping that a relative lull will create the atmosphere for talks. But she may well be talking to a blank wall. The Centre believes that the PM’s Rs 80,000-crore package will bring around the emotionally lacerated populace. Instead of scoring points with their Hindutva supporters with simplistic jumlas, the PM needs to think of out-of-the-box responses. He can begin with encouraging civil society missions. Yashwant Sinha, who has travelled this road before and has volunteered for the job, may be a good start.