The Big Story: Foreign excuse
On Monday, Union home minister Rajnath Singh spoke in Parliament about Jammu and Kashmir. After nearly 10 days of unrest and nearly 50 Kashmiris killed, one might have expected statesmanship and sagacity from Delhi. Sadly, Singh pulled out the oldest trick in the Union government’s playbook: blame the foreign hand. “Whatever is happening in Kashmir is Pakistan-sponsored,” said Singh.
The fact that Pakistan plays a deleterious role in Kashmir is without doubt. But at this juncture, for the Indian government to simply fob off all blame on Islamabad is lazy at best. As the scale of the violence and protest crowds after Burhan Wani’s killing show, there is a real political problem in Kashmir that requires a real political situation.
This is nothing new for Delhi. The Union government has always resorted to short cuts when dealing with Kashmir. In 1953, as relations between Kashmir’s tallest leaders Sheikh Abdullah and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru soured, Nehru simple had him locked up for 11 years. In 1987, it is widely believe that Delhi and the National Conference colluded to rig the Assembly election. As democratic politics was shut off for Kashmirs they took up arms and, within a few years, militancy was raging in the state.
Of course, if nothing works, there is always the might of the Indian state. Kashmir is one of the most militarised regions on the planet. Even in the current round of agitations, Indian security forces have reacted with unusual force, killing nearly 50 Kashmiris and gagging the press.
Blaming Pakistan and flooding the state with military personnel are at best temporary measures. Kashmir is a political problem and it requires a political situation. Sadly, it seems that no one in Delhi cares enough to go to the trouble of even attempting one, preferring to go by the 70-year old Union government playbook.
The Big Scroll
The real tragedy: There will never be a solution to the Kashmir problem.
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Political Picks
1. Dalits dumped cow carcasses in from of the collector’s office in Surendranagar, Gujarat to protest Dalits being thrashed by cow vigilantes recently.
2. Navjot Singh Sidhu quit the Rajya Sabha and looked set to jump ship from the Bharatiya Janata Party to the Aam Aadmi Party.
3. Five years after a 15-year old adivasi girl was allegedly raped, killed and then branded a Naxal in Chhatisgarh, there has been no forward movement in prosecuting the accused.
4. West Bengal cracks down on extortion “syndicates”: Over 9,000 people held, claim the police.
5. Goods and Services Tax bill breakthrough: The Congress agrees to a parliamentary debate on the controversial tax proposal.
Giggle
Punditry
1. In the Indian Express, Shah Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top the Indian Civil Services exam, writes about the urgent need for India to reclaim “national interest” from its national media.
2. In the Telegraph, economist Ashok V Desai explains why cash transfers is the need of the hour in India’s efforts at poverty alleviation.
Don’t Miss
Has Modi picked the wrong Kurmi mascot in Uttar Pradesh, asks Dhirendra K Jha.
The churning that has begun among the state’s Kurmi voters after Modi’s Cabinet reshuffle has resulted in Krishna Patel gaining significantly in stature – a fact recognised by her rivals, too.
“It is true that most Kurmis sympathise with Krishna Patel,” said Surendra Patel, Samajwadi Party MLA from Sewapuri and state PWD minister. “After the death of Sone Lal Patel, Apna Dal lacked a face. Krishna was considered weak and Anupriya a conceited leader. But now this party has got a face. That’s why the majority of office-bearers of Apna Dal have stayed with Krishna, who has now developed the capacity to swing a significant section of Kurmis in the state.”
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