What made PM talk of lasting K-solution

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 23 

Kashmir opposition parties’ passionate narration of anger and recall of the “historical blunders and betrayals” of Delhi made Prime Minister Narendra Modi come out with a reassuring statement, calling for “dialogue” and a “permanent and lasting” solution of the problem.

His statement emphasising that “there has to be dialogue and we need to find a permanent and lasting solution to the problem within the framework of the Constitution” was surprising for many because they read in it a dramatic shift from his tough talk on Independence Day, exactly a week ago.

Insiders told The Tribune that the Opposition groups from Kashmir did not mince their words and told the story of streets, besieged homes and the “excesses” —– innocents being picked up while the real troublemakers, who were active keeping in with their pro-Pakistan ideology since 1947, were left untouched. This was deepening the anger and frustration and a sense of injustice was getting ingrained. That this may keep the land with the country but not the people had the Prime Minister thinking.

On Sunday, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was reminded that “Kashmiris had not asked for plebiscite in 1947, it was Delhi that took the matter to the United Nations, which in turn proposed it in its resolutions. Kashmiris had assisted the Indian Army in repulsing Pakistan-sponsored tribal invasion of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947-48.” The group asked the Congress leader that “do you think that they would behave in the same manner now,” and then proceeded to declare that the answer was “no”. 

The Prime Minister had known this line of argument put forward by the Opposition parties and articulated by Omar Abdullah was historically correct, and this helped him make up his mind to invoke clause 21, 22 of the Agenda of Alliance of the PDP-BJP government. All political parties in Kashmir had been waiting for him to do so since March 1 last year, when the Agenda of Alliance document was made public.

The clause 21 of the Agenda says, “The earlier NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee had initiated a dialogue process with all political groups, including the Hurriyat Conference, in the spirit of “insaaniyat, Kashmiriyat aur jamhooriyat”.

 “The coalition government will facilitate and help initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all internal stakeholders, which will include all political groups irrespective of their ideological views and predilections. This dialogue will seek to build a broad-based consensus on resolution of all outstanding issues of J&K,” the clause 22 reads.

Moreover, Modi was perhaps conscious of the perils of ignoring the prevalent situation in Kashmir and the need to embrace Vajpayee’s mantras that made him give up his tough stand. Perhaps, he wanted to script his chapter with course correction in the follies committed before his arrival on the scene.