Down a middle path

In Kashmir, we need to defeat terrorism through democracy

In his first public pronouncement after Secretary of State Colin Powell left Islamabad, General Pervez Musharraf, in his address to the Muslim clerics, argued that ‘‘we should adopt the middle path’’ between ultra-modern westernisation and radical Islam. Coming from the architect of Kargil and the man who rubbished the Lahore Declaration, this is indeed a path-breaking move. At the same time the long marginalised Hurriyat is reportedly trying to persuade militant groups to declare a ceasefire. This would be a welcome initial step in restoring peace in a tortured state, wracked by jehadi terrorism for the past 13 years. The main casualty of that violence has been, not just innocent citizens, but the traditions and culture of Kashmiriyat. The state which had been rapidly moving up on the human development index during the previous two decades, suffered serious setbacks, especially in human terms. Abjuring violence is a long overdue initiative that the Hurriyat should have taken ages ago; but it should still be welcome if it places the militant political leaders on the side fighting terrorism.

While attention is focused on the electoral processes in UP and Punjab, we need to think of the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which would follow soon after. At the same time it is clear that India, and for that matter even the US, would continue to monitor the progress Pakistan makes along the newly promised middle path. Prudence would demand that the military mobilisation on the borders would stay in place well into the summer, when the real impact of promised policies on infiltration and terrorism will start to become clearer. At the same time, the political process in the state must now seek to firmly establish the democratic principle and a polity that can look forward to bringing peace, reconciliation and reconstruction in the state. The Hurriyat must play a responsible role in this project if it has to be relevant in the future as a dissenting entity to the existing political parties. We have seen separatist groups and leaders wedded to the violent path return to the middle path and democratic politics in the Northeast. The Hurriyat has the opportunity of the century to shift gears and we would urge that it should not waste any more time in chasing mirages.

The Indian government, both at the Centre and in the state, has responsibilities to discharge in shaping the political process without overly trying to do more of the same. The world would start to take a renewed interest in the political process in J&K and, in some ways, Indian democracy would be under global scrutiny like it has never been before. This throws up fresh challenges as well as new opportunities, not the least of which is to demonstrate the resilience and validity of the great Indian experiment of giving shape to the democratic principle. Ours is a country where the world’s largest Muslim population has been a critical part of democratic practice for more than five decades. Democratic countries may be the most vulnerable to terrorist violence as the events of the past indicate; but democratic practice is also the ultimate instrument to defeat terrorism.