Resolving the Kashmir Imbroglio

Even as the clueless Manmohan Singh government refuses to concede that it has failed in its primary duty to maintain law and order in the country, the only sensible reaction to the relentless violence in Kashmir has come from Maninderjeet Singh Bitta, chairman of the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF), and former chief of the Youth Congress.

In his statement Bitta has:

• opposed a special package as that would amount to conceding victory to militants
• asked for abrogation of Article 370, which confers special status on Jammu and Kashmir
• felt that governments were more worried about rehabilitating the militants than providing relief to the Kashmiri pandits
• disapproved of the India-Pakistan talks, and
• urged government to press USA, UK and Russia to declare Pakistan a terrorist state

It is rare that we see such sensible suggestions from either intellectuals or politicians, big or small. The fate of Kashmir problem is sealed with Article 370. No lasting peace in Kashmir is possible until Article 370 is abolished. The earlier India develops gumption to accept this fact, more likely Kashmir issue will be solved, and lasting peace be established.

An appeal to stay calm

The most ridiculous reaction to (probably the first) bomb blast in Pune was from Pune's Congress MP Suresh Kalamadi, who "appealed to the people of Pune to be calm". India's problem is not that people become agitated by terrorism. Our problem is that ordinary citizens care less about terrorism. "It is neighbour's daughter, who died in the terrorist attack, not mine. Thank God! Now, let me get back to what I was doing" - that's the kind of attitude most Indians show towards terrorism. They are too busy on their jobs and their shopping that they neither have any time nor do they care for anything else.

We don't need people to remain calm. We need people to raise in rage against those people who are condoning and abetting terrorism. We must stop electing (and re-electing) politicians and political parties who overlook or tacitly support terrorism. Newspapers (such as Times of India) who create sympathy for terrorists and terrorism-sponsoring Pakistan should be burned. And we need to slap the so-called celebrities who have more sympathy for Pakistanis than for Indian victims of terrorism.