The end of year 2025 did not mark the end of 365 days on the calendar; it was a capsule of the history that J&K has undergone in the first quarter of 21st century. The year 2001 was a seminal moment for the history of the place. Soon after 9/11, Kashmir saw a devastating attack at the Assembly complex on October 1. The outrage was lacking. There were no calls for punishment to the perpetrators. The whole concept of coercive diplomacy failed when mobilization of armed forces to the border in the wake of December 13 terror assault on the Indian Parliament did not yield any results.

Something has changed. Now the plotters of terror attacks across the border know the consequences that will follow. Operation Sindoor launched after Pahalgam massacre of April 22, 2025, has set new norm of counter-terrorism. The crude reality is that we are still grappling with the conditions set by the terror attack, and we continue to remind the world that there was murderous brutality in the serene Valley, avenged through Operation Sindoor.

At a time when we had understood that Pahalgam is fading, the origins of the conspiracy of November 10, 2025, served a chilling reminder that a lot of work remains to be done. Those who have seen the troubles in Kashmir since 1989 – isolated bomb blasts hit and run shootouts, blackouts and general strikes – can tell that there were occasions of lull. Toward the closure of 1993 – the success in clearing Hazratbal shrine off militants, and rolling of tanks on the streets of Sopore, known as “liberated zone”, it was presumed that the deed was done. That was not to be. 1994 saw release of Shabir Shah, and JKLF chief Yasin Malik, now facing trial in Rubiya Sayeed kidnapping case; and many more developments that saw peace returning to the Valley.

Neither 1994 nor any other year in the past 35 years can be compared to what happened in 2025 and the challenges that are in store in 2026. It is time to wake up to the reality of enormity of the task. The clock needs to be reset. While it is very important to trace and neutralize the forces of disruption, there also is need that fresh fault lines are not created, and the old ones are addressed with innovative approach.

Today, Kashmir’s story has definitive hope and promise in it. Before reflecting on the history and the task to be accomplished, it is important for all of us to view the reality as it exists. Despite some fears lurking in the backdrop, there is a definitive change in the situation. We had not seen such a spell of normalcy in Kashmir over the decades. Did we see such regular life in 1990s, early 2000s, or even for that matter in 2008, 2010, 2016. No one was able to predict that the situation would ever be as normal as we are seeing today. There may be political apprehension in crediting the change to the current Central government, but it all happened on the watch of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

There are several issues that remain unresolved. Some opportunities have been missed, but then that should also lead to the question – did we rise to the occasion. We shifted our stands and promises time and again. Dialogue between Delhi and J&K is needed, but that also has certain imperatives. We have not been able to sort out our own differences on our narrative. There is a lot of confusion and chaos in the political class, which believes in berating one another rather than holding strategy sessions, how to approach centre with our case, and what exactly is our case. Centre has obviously taken advantage of it.

Let it be understood in all fairness that our future should be driven by the idea of a state that backs entrepreneurial spirit and addresses the historical issues in the light of the new realities of the second quarter of the 21st century. Before seeking dialogue with Delhi, it is important that the verdict of the 2024 elections should be honoured in letter and spirit. National Conference was voted to power to govern, a majority of its seats came from the Valley, while BJP did extraordinarily well in Jammu region. BJP should accord due respect to the government, instead of looking for alternate ways to undermine the elected government.

Recognising and respecting the elected representatives is to honour all the BJP MLAs. And the Omar Abdullah government should respect Jammu mandate. Jammu is not a mere geographical unit, it has its history and role. Mutual respect doesn’t come with power-sharing arrangements only, it comes with understanding each other’s view point. Unfortunately, extremes are reflected more than the common ground.

There is need to understand and acknowledge that the youth is gripped with a sense of disappointment, and frustration is touching unprecedented levels. It is driving them to drugs and other crimes. Society is getting hollowed out. Corrective measures are needed. They should be heard. They are not interested in the political battles, they are simply interested in their future, and security.

Centre, after having done so much for Jammu and Kashmir in the past few years cannot should not allow the frustration to fester in youth. There are extremists on either side of the fence, projecting the disappointment of the youth through their extremist views. These elements are furthering their politics of fragmentation. It needs to be checked.

The entrepreneurial skill, creativity and tenacity is needed. Is someone going to take this call. The real change in the narrative based on the reality and the future needs, is the only way out.

The post As we move ahead appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

West is working overtime to project more dangerous clashes in the region, sidestepping the question of cross-border terrorism through which Pakistan has been staging murderous brutalities in the country, particularly Jammu and Kashmir.

The west is dragging the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, announced by Delhi on April 23, a day after horrific tragedy of Pahalgam attack; into the conflict without censuring Pakistan for what all it had been doing to India for over decades. This is a typical western mischief. The Pahalgam incident is just one example of that.

Terrorists had massacred 26 civilians, 25 of them tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. The attack had sent shockwaves across the country. The incident was sponsored by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. It was for the first time that India reacted to the terror attack in an unprecedented manner – the earlier response to the terror assaults in Uri in 2016 and Pulwama in 2019 were left far behind. This year it was an unimaginable punishment for terrorists and their patrons in Pakistan.

Operation Sindoor, the military action launched in small hours of May 7 was directed at terror infrastructure and terrorists in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir to punish perpetrators and backers of the terror. Now it has evolved into an international brand of counter-terrorism.

The definition of this operation assumed wider meaning only after it has achieved its initial purpose of destroying terror infrastructure and terrorists across the border and Line of Control. Pakistan escalated it to a war level, and paid a heavy price for this misadventure. It had also not calculated the cost of the misadventure in Pahalgam, nor did it when it retaliated to the destruction of its terror assets. It lost on both ends. The immediate losses have been assessed in terms of what its defense system suffered; its airbases, air stations were crippled. However, it has transpired now that Pakistan suffered much more than just the military assets. It is on a territory where it can be hit again even when it might be planning for the attack.

Two points emerge out of it. India is keen to tell the world what it can do when its citizens are targeted. The history is full of chapters in which Kashmir has been in the focus of terror-promoting machines from across the world. Delhi, through its strong action against the terror sanctuaries is making it clear that all threats will be dealt with to make Kashmir safe. In fact, that work is nearly complete, as in the past over six years, it has corrected many misperceptions that Kashmir can stay with India only if it offers political and economic concessions to those who live and promote the agenda of dispute and doubts.

Some of the leading foreign policy experts, however, look it through different prism. They are still stuck with the past and narrative of the times that “Kashmir is the most dangerous place in the world,” as it was described by President Bill Clinton in 2000. This essentially is the view of American experts who are keener to prove that India-Pakistan conflict is due to Kashmir and refer to it as a dispute. They have for long argued on the lines that Pakistan’s terror acts were due to the unresolved issue and refusal of India to acknowledge that could create potentially dangerous situation in south Asia. Now they have added suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of Pahalgam attack as one of the things that could escalate tensions between the two nations. James M Lindsay, renowned foreign policy analyst working with Council of Foreign Relations listed Indo-Pakistan clash of May 2025 as one of the ten most significant events of the world in 2025, and titled it “ The Water’s Edge”.

He referred to Pahalgam attack and the “likely” involvement of Lashkar in this incident. He opened the essay with a quote of US President Bill Clinton in 2000, in which he called Kashmir as the most dangerous place in the world. “The simmering tensions between India and Pakistan over the region erupted into open conflict in May; two weeks after five terrorists killed twenty-six people near Pahalgam in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir. Lashkar-e-Taiba , the Pakistan based terrorist organization that carried out the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack that killed 175 people , likely sponsored the Pahalgam attack. In 2008, India declined to retaliate. This time, it struck what it called terrorist infrastructure.” He goes on to describe how Pakistan retaliated to Indian strikes, but suffered destruction of defense system at the hands of India.

Lindsay wonders whether India’s decision to suspend its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 means it will curtail the flow of water in the Indus River system that supplies 80 percent of Pakistani farms.

There is not so hidden attempt by the western media and experts to suggest that continued suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty would hurt Pakistan’s agrarian economy and for that India would be responsible. It, in a roundabout way, is to condone the terrorist attacks that Pakistan mounted in India and bled its citizens to death. That’s why there is a comparison to Mumbai terror attack. India did not retaliate that time, but this time it launched military action of unprecedented scale and scope in response to the terror attack of April 22. It implies that despite such a terror atrocity in 2008, India did not retaliate, leave alone taking any action on IWT. The comparison in the number of victims of the two terror incidents 17 years apart , and different reactions, is a typical western attitude and approach toward rising India.

It was only last week that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had reviewed the work in progress of diversion of waters of the three rivers of J&K flowing to Pakistan. It made India’s plans clear that it is not going to change its decision. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already made it abundantly clear that India will not compromise on its security. The announcement of keeping the Indus Waters in abeyance is interlinked to the country’s security. The suspension of the treaty came a day after Pahalgam attack. The sequence and chronology is self-evident.

The post Western mischief on IWT appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

The 2024 Assembly polls were extraordinary in many respects: these were held after a gap of 10 years – the last were held in 2014 winters which gave birth to a new political alignment – BJP , an ultra-nationalist party joined hands with PDP, a Kashmir centric party that asserted the special rights of the people of the state. This was for the first time that the elections were held in J&K following the split of the state, downgrading to UT, and abrogation of Article 370.

This election was much beyond the status, time and space. This sought the validation of the abrogation of Article 370, and aimed at projecting a new Jammu and Kashmir for the international community where tourists had given a new phrase “hot spot of tourism”, replacing unwanted and unwelcome tag of being one of the major hotspots of terrorism in the world. The voters tuned on to new life – expressing their unwavering faith in democracy with the hope for good governance , ending all the troubles of the past.

It did matter to whom did they vote for forming the government. It demolished the myths that certain narratives could prevail against the will of the people. National Conference, the oldest party of Kashmir, was victor all the way, BJP, despite scoring better percentage of votes could not break the jinx of zero-victory in the Valley.

Indeed the electors were interested in listening to the leaders and their agenda, but they were interested in investing in their future. Polarising narratives that if NC comes, Jammu Hindus will suffer and if BJP comes to power, the nationalists will not be able to breath, however, could not curb aspirations for better future. The people voted for consolidation of peace with their involvement as primary stake holders, for which they gave mandate to their representatives. They were keener than ever before to march ahead with their undisputable Indian identity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a new meaning to the election campaign in Jammu and Kashmir. It was beyond the “ double-engine” government, it was a campaign for the Indian nationhood in the state that was torn apart by the secessionists and violent forces of terrorism. Terrorism had defamed not only the limited geography of J&K, but the entire nation. The international community used to taunt Delhi that it cannot resolve problem in its backyard. There were no effective answers until Modi decided to take certain bold decisions, bringing down walls of suspicion, and ushering in peace efforts with zero tolerance toward terrorism.

Much was achieved before the elections, and there was immense hope that more progress will be made with expansion of constituency of peace. Kashmir’s peace is answer to all the problems provided it is echoed by the people. There were many lessons to be learned. That all the bitterness and the narratives of polarization on regional, sub regional and religious line should be shut. The effort should have been to carry each and every one along, exchanging view points and developing thought process of unison for overcoming all the challenges and availing the new opportunities.

While hailing the peaceful conduct of polls and victory of National Conference, Prime Minister Modi had remarked: “I would like to compliment JKNC for their commendable performance in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election.” NC’s Omar Abdullah had thanked the Prime Minister and said that his party looked forward to a constructive relationship with the Centre.”

It was in this spirit that Omar Abdullah began his innings as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory of J&K. It took him few days to understand that the things were far more difficult for the UT CM than all the troubles that he had faced during his tenure as the youngest Chief Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir ( January 5, 2009 to January 7, 2015). Now, everything had changed – here nothing was guaranteed , he had to rely on promises. The minimum hope was that till the time statehood returned to J&K he would have smooth sailing in administration, little realizing that the bureaucrats had aligned somewhere. The rule book had changed. That he had won the mandate to govern was not sufficient dawned him from the very start of his innings as CM on October 16, 2024. It was made plain to him that he is yet to win the confidence for becoming Chief Minister of State from that of the UT.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha who had managed all the affairs from August 2020 till the time of the formation of the elected government, had rule book of the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019 to show that he was acting as per his prescribed role in the changed equations. Honestly speaking, LG and CM never seemed to be comfortable with each other. Now their differences have come into open. They berate each other more than talking in complementary terms.

As things stand, J&K has entered an era where LG – CM public spat is grabbing headlines. This is not something to be amused of. It is Jammu and Kashmir for which thousands of soldiers and civilians have made sacrifice both in wars and peace times. The ego-clashes and undermining of the institutions is not only unhelpful but disasterous.

Everyone needs to realize that if future of J&K as a peaceful destination is to be secured, the mistakes of 2025 must be avoided in 2026.

The post Mistakes of 2025 must be avoided in 2026 appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

That was the time when springs overflowed, Jhelum zigzagged in its natural course, but often flooded the town from Lal Chowk to Khannabal and beyond. Sheikh Abdullah was behind bars but his calls echoed all across. There was unequal contest between slogans calling for “Plebiscite” and “Azad Hindustan Zindabad”. It was perplexing. I used to wonder, why should it happen when the country is fully free and sovereign. It was a narrative that India was a free country where everyone was equal. It also meant that Plebiscite was an illusion, and ultimately it has proven correct.

It may not fit into the imagination of many of this age that the news was broadcast through a loudspeaker fitted at Lal Chowk, Mattan Chowk and few other crossings in the town. We learnt about the death of President Zakir Hussain from that loudspeaker which served as an amplifier to Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, broadcasts. Perhaps this was to pierce each and every home in the vicinity, and drown the noises of dissent.

The town represented crossroads at which Kashmir was at that time.

There was an unquenchable quest for identity. Kashmiri Muslims and Hindus had serious differences over the political development. The intellectuals would argue endlessly without ceding the ground, but there was no bitterness or any iota of hate.

Looking back at those times, and later to 1990, Kashmir is not what it used to be. Unfortunately, the whole prism of looking at Kashmir is through 1990s, when militancy erupted and Kashmiri Pandits had to flee their homes as they were faced with tidal waves of secessionism and unending cries of “Azadi” . The select killings made the country to think that they better flee the Valley than stay in the perpetual atmosphere of hostility. An anti-India ecosystem had taken shape, leaving no scope for the Indians to breathe easy.

By 1990n Kashmir was losing all its charm. It was a dreaded place where guns and bombs dictated life. That was my second introduction with the Valley – the first being in 1964 when my father was posted in Government Degree College, Anantnag. The winter of 1960s, though harsh, was pleasant and the summer of 1990 was full of fear and scare.

What all has been achieved in the last 36 years?

This question has many answers. In 1990, the Kashmir narrative was subjugated to forces of violence. Kashmiris did not like violence, then how come that hundreds of youth went to Pakistan and returned trained in the acts of subversion. They were addressed with respect. Even the victims of terror refused to speak against them. The changed lifestyle – Srinagar city used to become ghost town by afternoon, racing to safety after explosions, rattle of bullets in each and every hit and run shootout was taken as normal. Phones – land lines – were new lifeline. It was near death experience when these devices went lifeless cult to hear from the loved ones. We have relied on easy and convenient answers – the rigging in 1987 polls, but is that all? No attempt was made to decode the cumulative pain and anger.

Today we have smart phones, capturing life in its reality with a potential morph and edit selectively to change the whole reality. It has happened everywhere, but why does it matter in Kashmir more than any other place in the country? It is because it has the grim potential to derail things, indoctrinate the impressionable minds . They enable the newer generations to the history of turmoil of their land in 1990s. This is where no counter-device or narrative can work unless the issue is addressed thoroughly. It leads to learning of child psychology and applying it with the same sensitivity. Don’t force an idea, let the children develop their own understanding and responsibility. Here, I am not talking about the children of the school going age. This is about all ages. All Kashmiris have child’s heart in them, there is a need to discover it.

On June 6, 2025, when Vande Bharat train was flagged off from Katra to Srinagar, school children were excited. There was thrill in their voice, though some were tutored to say particular things yet the childhood prevailed. What is the story of the train, and how it has fulfilled million dreams. Children know what they were experiencing. They had seen experiencing the train ride through world’s highest rail bridge across river Chenab. This experience is beyond words. They became narrators of their experiences. Vande Bharat, in itself was both symbolism and operational reality of rising India. It formed part of the soft power doctrine.

Did we urge them to narrate their experiences and feeling to their parents, teachers and neighbourhood. No. We didn’t do that. For us this was a marvellous engineering marvel and covering distance of days in few hours. Its speed and looks mattered more than the larger canvas of harmony and connect.

An effort is needed to elicit the real feelings, sense of elation, make them partners in the achievement. It was their dream to scale the heights – the metaphor of Chenab Bridge, taller than Eiffel Tower of Paris can prove useful. This can trigger train of thoughts and positive influences that our nation stands at higher pedestal than others in the world. It is all about child care.

Kashmir is a child. It needs that care. Train journeys through all seasons are like taking care of the child waiting to board the train. Assist Kashmir to board the train into 2026. It has to be done in reality. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did that on June 6, 2025, now it is the responsibility of all others to take it into 2026 onwards. Let this train also take Kashmiri Pandits back to their homes. This train runs on the track of connectivity , emotional, political and economic. But it is essentially a journey of stream of consciousness which will help decipher the journey to destination where mind is free and aligned to the idea of India on its own.

The post Vande Bharat: Key to Future appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

Those who could not appear, nothing is going to change for them .Their age was above 32. They could not sit in the PSC exams held on Sunday. Their success would have led them to appear in the mains and then possibly made them JKAS officers in due course of time. Perhaps, they might be regretting why they didn’t prepare in time which could have enabled them to sit in the exams. They became over-age. That is where things collapsed for them.

But, will they really think so and accept the fact about their age. It is very difficult to say, at this moment. They see conspiracy of the system against them. They must have felt that they were best qualified to crack the exams.

All along they must have drawn confidence from the fact that there were precedents of age relaxation in the previous exams. They also believed that the precedents of age relaxation will apply to them too. But things did not go as per their expectations.

More than the merits of the issue of the age relaxation, blamegame traded on social media. There was a contest to pin the blame on the other side. Ultimately, the de-facto authority in the UT of J&K- Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha prevailed. Even last minute letter by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to JK PSC chairman did not help. That tells the story.

The holding of exams as per schedule became an operational necessity. The PSC could not have postponed the exams at the last moment. It was also uncertain whether Raj Bhawan and Chief Minister’s office will ever be able to come to an agreement.

Whether the postponement of the exams would have been injustice to the thousands eligible for appearing on December 7 ? This debate will rage on for quite some time with fierce arguments and counter arguments over the respective powers of the LG and the elected government. Inevitably that will bring in several other dark issues to fore, concerning conflict in the land having internal and external dimensions.

Unfortunately, in the recent times LG and elected government have been found on two opposing sides of the fence. It is quite harmful for the democratic and systemic health of the territory. The two sides have formalized their anger and frustration with each other in full public view, little realizing that this disorder is a recipe for perpetuation of the conflict that Jammu and Kashmir wants to read in the past tense only.

In Jammu and Kashmir, this is not the squabble that will remain within two sets of government as witnessed in Delhi during the AAP government, it will have far serious consequences. The fact that J&K is a UT at the moment is known to all on the other hand, the elected government is pitching for the return of the statehood, on the other.

Emphasizing and celebrating the UT status is affront to the elected government. J&K is a UT. It is known to all. But repeating that time and again in celebratory tone makes a statement that resolutions on statehood would not change today’s reality. This has its own effects.

And, the overstated statements that without the statehood, nothing is possible are unhelpful. For sure, the issue of the relaxation of age for JKAS aspirants left out in the cold will be cited as one more example of belittling the elected government’s mandate and absence of statehood. There is another related fact – it is not the elected government because NC is ruling the UT. NC is there because of the massive mandate given to it by the electorate. The election was held within the parameters of the Indian constitution, hailed by all the consequential leaders of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had hailed the verdict. That should have not left any scope for ego clashes. NC must know its obligations and deliver within the powers that have been given to its government till the Centre honours its promise of granting statehood . That may take years- that also is the reality .

The last month of 2025 has reinforced the point that it was a very difficult year for J&K, This controversy has added yet another fault line. It is not a question of fight between two unequal power centers, but it is rife with the risks of further alienation. The year that began with terror attack in Pahalgam when spring was blooming and tourists were enjoying holidays, appeared to be concluding with Delhi blast, the conspiracy of which has been traced to this territory. In between the floods caused devastation. Now this age-relaxation controversy has broadened the area of frustration.

A profile of the 32-plus aspirant or those between 33 and 37 years of age will reveal why the element of alienation may widen. They are crucial demographic component. This age group was born between 1988 and 1992. They have seen the conflict marring their childhood and have gory memories of their past.

At that time, apart from Pakistan’s designs, there were strong elements of internal unrest. They have seen the conflict in its intensity – midnight knocks by militants and security forces alike, shootouts and bomb explosions. They have also been a witness to the stone-throwing agitations of 2008, 2010 and 2016, and seen militants getting hero’s funerals. They have lived with the two sets of phenomenon – extreme violence and graveyards closing in on to their doorsteps, and also beginning of a new era of normalcy, where they could live life normal style. The second spell was projected as an era of grand opportunities, which they could avail, to heal themselves and their land. The danger is that for them the difference between the past and the recent years may get blurred. The political narrative is already there to deepen this mindset. They will bear this silent grudge until they come to terms with the fact that the age was not on their side.

The post Till they come to terms with their age! appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

This dangerous trend that assumes shape of a phenomenon is born out of faith in extremist ideologies. When the Modi Government says, it has zero tolerance toward terrorism; it also means that it has no tolerance for radicalisation. Terrorism is the trunk of the tree rooted in radicalisation.

Kashmir has been a victim of the notion that it is home to radicalisation which has helped spread radicalisation all across. This sharpened Pakistan’s appetite to bleed India. There, however, is a striking contrast in the reality and the perception – Kashmir has witnessed and experienced countless incidents of terrorism in the past 36 years, and at the same time kept its faith alive in its Sufi culture and traditions.

The place is victim of misperceptions; the narrators have taken full advantage of it in defaming its people. It serves no one’s cause.

The troubling reality, however, is that some radical elements were always active in the region. They pushed hard the narrative of the distinct religious identity and political aspirations. They also lived in denial of the reality of accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India. These elements challenging the Accession were pushed to margins when there was a strong local leadership in Kashmir, driving home the point that the reality of the Accession cannot be changed, come what may.

There was a drift when this pro-India leadership was weakened as an outcome of conspiracies woven by those who had ears of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. Nehru heeded the conspiracy-theorists and fell prey to the tales of conspiracy weavers unable to reconcile to the democratic set up and the leadership thereof.

All along, Kashmiri Muslims were fed the stories that Pakistan was their natural country, and India, by contrast, a Hindu nation that will not take care of Muslims and their religious freedom and political ambitions. Delhi countered this by citing the Accession. The fact was that the Accession had decided the fate of J&K once and for all, and therefore there can be no question on J&K’s status as an integral part of the Indian Union.

This fact was not consolidated by the emotional outreach. The finality of the accession needed mass public support for all the time. The integration was defended, citing decisive military victories of the Indian army in wars with Pakistan in 1947-1948, 1965 and 1971 and Kargil mini-war of 1999. The thrust was on the military might and outcome of wars in India’s favour. The political and emotional connect was not articulated and supported as it should have been.

Somehow, the military might got embedded into the narrative of Accession, and Kashmir as an integral part of the country. While there is no doubt that the Indian army, from the day one after the accession, defended the territorial integrity, it also left another notion that military was the sole defender of the idea of India in Kashmir. This point needs a reflection in a fair manner.

But somewhere down the line Kashmir’s civil society and political leadership’s role was undermined. Pakistan took advantage of it – radicalisation was used as a tool to widen the gap between Kashmir and the rest of the country.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, without fail, mentions threat of radicalisation in the Valley. His thesis is that few radical elements, though small in number, are opposed to the positive changes in Kashmir of past five-six years, were working to derail the process and progress. This is true. But the question is why these few are succeeding, while the change is not able to prevent these inimical elements from what they were engaged in. Unless that question is addressed, the real causes may remain hidden and the solution may take longer to surface.

Some steps are urgently needed to neutralise radicalisation. The government, in its perception, believes that only hard approach against the terror holds key to decimate this menace. This is good but absent in this approach is mechanism to identify all the elements involved in radicalisation.

There is need to understand the whole dynamics of the radicalisation. It has to be seen in the context of what went wrong till date, and where origins of this extremist ideology lie. Second, there should be check on the rhetoric as the choice of harsh words can complicate situation and keep the machines of radicalisation moving.

First, people of Kashmir should be trusted to deal with this issue. It should be a self-assignment, not the one given by others. The inner need for dealing with this crisis should be encouraged and appreciated. Kashmiris can diagnose the matters more intelligently, and handle deftly. They don’t have to launch exercises and activate intelligence networks to identify the culprits. Their tools lie in their neighbourhood approach. It cannot be matched by anyone else.

Second, the political leadership of the Valley, elected and other, should not be pushed to wall. They have a right to speak for their people, and oppose the actions which they deem run against the spirit of treating J&K at par with other states and UTs in the country. The rule of law has its own norms which should be seen both fair in appearance and action.

Third, a disinformation campaign launched from across the border needs to be countered not in kind by the official channels only. It calls for conditions that enable and encourage the youth in the Valley to become broadcasters of the real situation and the idea of India and its acceptability in Kashmir, defying the traditional tag of Kashmiris being restive against the country that has been taking care of them for decades, while Pakistan conspired to wreck Kashmir’s ethos.

Fourth, the merits of the transformation of Kashmir in the post-abrogation of Article 370 should be left to locals to count and reflect on their bitter and cruel experiences of the past to the positives of today. Essentially, they need to articulate and amplify the secure and safe future of their children. And, for that it is necessary that the vision that was laid for Jammu and Kashmir at the time of declaration of Article 370 as null and void be honoured through dialogue and delivery mantra. Unfulfilled promises will trigger old time narratives which may fuel radicalism. Kashmir’s voices should be heard and responded within the country. That will help Kashmiris to fight the radicalisation to its core.

Fifth, the locals should be encouraged to organise events showcasing the positives that have visited them in the past five-six years. The official intervention and presence should be kept out of it, let these be events of Kashmiris, by Kashmiris and for Kashmiris.

The post Let Kashmiris handle it themselves appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

Within its territorial boundaries, J&K is struggling to shake off the tag of being a Union Territory. That is the majority view. This majority delivered its verdict in a democratic fashion in the 2024 Assembly polls they supported and voted for parties that articulated the demand for restoration of statehood – National Conference, its pre-poll ally Congress, PDP and others. To a large extent, though it was not listed in its manifesto, BJP tried to hard sell the idea that the party would restore the statehoods. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who led the campaign for BJP from the front reinforced the commitment to accord “full statehood “to J&K.

The pioneer among all the J&K – centric parties, Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari was the first to call for restoration of statehood, exposing himself to all sorts of attributions as the flavour of the times was restoration of Article 370. On Saturday, November 22, 2025, he again reiterated his appeal to Prime Minister and Home Minister to initiate dialogue with his statement, “New Delhi may or may not choose to talk to Pakistan — that decision rests entirely with the country’s leadership. But I urge the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Hon’ble Home Minister to start a dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir without any further delay. Please fulfil your promise of bridging the gap between Kashmir and Delhi. Restoring trust and confidence is of utmost importance.”

The narrative of dialogue has intensified, and the ball is thrown in the court of Centre. That is natural and reasonable because that makes an unequivocal statement that Kashmir has pinned al its hopes in Delhi. This is a massive change in the psyche, because it unambiguously throws all external forces out of window. This call for dialogue affirms something more – the rejection of the Trumpian rhetoric that four-day Indo-Pak conflict in May 2025 was mediated by outside forces. This message is coming from Kashmir, and it should not be undermined. It is the same place where echoes of third party- intervention and settlement through dialogue with Pakistan and as per the UN relations used to fill the air. The internal dialogue is not about the Kashmir issue, it is about better understanding of each other.

Dialogue as such has inbuilt security mechanism. This involves eyes, ears and hope of millions of people. They know what they want and who all can deliver. The basic foundation of dialogue is to move on. They discuss all the issues – political, economic, social and their implications. That thinking complements the security needs and sense of security and safety among the people, and offers best guarantee to the national security. This kind of security is needed the most in Kashmir.

In India, ever since Modi became Prime Minister, May 2014, his word matters the most. In fact that is final declaration in the matters of state policies and setting narrative for the nation. So, Jammu and Kashmir, like rest of the nation and the world community that looks up to him for solution to major problems, trusted each and every word spoken by him. Though he was campaigning for the BJP, but his each and every word was trusted as that of the leader of the nation who fulfilled his commitments come what may.

In the autumn of 2024 when elections were held in J&K, fragrance of spring wafted all through. Those pleading for the history of J&K saw better times for them. The elections were not ordinary ones. The government of India was keen to project the elections to the world – remember the visit of diplomats to Srinagar to take note of the vibrant democracy at work in Kashmir. The basic idea was to tell the international community that the Abrogation of Article 370 has brought about this change – the peaceful atmosphere and enthusiastic voting were irrefutable evidence of support for the decisions taken on August 5, 2019.

The August 5 decisions had three layers: demolition of J&K’s status as a distinct territory and demography accorded with special rights and privileges, to bring it under the idea of one constitution and one nation; Reorganisation of the State, dividing it into two federally administered UTs, Ladakh and J&K. Promising legislative Assembly for J&K , and the return of statehood depending on the situation, and at an appropriate time, and to put J&K on unparalleled path of progress and opportunity. The electors, through their vote, endorsed all this.

Much before the elections, Prime Minister had made a historically important statement at an all-party meet in June 2021. After having feedback from the parties, Modi declared that there was a need to remove physical distances and also that of hearts between Delhi and J&K. It set a tone for renewed thinking in the UT. The premise was that Centre would open channels of communication and bring about harmony in the thinking of this territory and Central government.

PM’s vision was obvious. It was to eradicate all the irritants that existed between Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. The term Delhi means not only the Centre of power, it also represented the nation’s will represented and spoken of, by Prime Minister. J&K represented its leaders and the people they represented. In June 2021, there was no elected assembly, yet the leaders from Kashmir were invited to the meet as an acknowledgement of the fact that they represented the will of the people of their territory.

The very proposition of the dialogue stirred a lot of hope in J&K. It was not merely aimed to dwell on the talking points on the restoration of the statehood. It was to seek the emotional connect between the people of J&K and the rest of the nation, which needed to be cradled through dialogue. All distances and differences can end only if there is dialogue. It was dialogue with the people of the same country, and its contours were different from the pre-2019 era. It was not courtship of separatists, or to draw the militant groups into the optics of sitting across the table. Pakistan was nowhere in picture. It was demolition of the idea of external and internal dimensions. It was straight and simple thought of talking to the people of their issues and solutions thereof. In many ways it was to assure the people that they had an address to air their grievances without any fear. That is the real essence of the dialogue.

The restoration of statehood is a political decision, while dialogue is having a human content. The dialogue stimulates and consolidates hope and that is the best tool in countering narco- -terrorism, violent extremism. Jammu and Kashmir is battling these menaces for over 36 years now. The dialogue’s contours were supposed to be all-inclusive. This anticipated dialogue had also to take into account the long-pending problems – the biggest one of which is return of Kashmiri Pandit migrants to their homes in the Valley. That is crucial to showcase how much normalcy and peace has returned to the Valley and how much safe and feasible it is for the community to live there as they used to in pre-1989 era.

Unless the Kashmiri Pandits return to the land of their forefather and see it as best place for opportunities for their children, the narrative of normalcy falls far short of complete normalcy. There is a need to encourage dialogue between the communities; unfortunately some of the elements are bent upon sharpening the differences between the two communities. It is essential to work on positives rather than condemning the communities as a whole for the action of few.

For this, all the imperatives should be explored. It is time when the people of Jammu and Kashmir will have to come out with their draft for the talking points. Those opposing such a dialogue will miss the bus, though they might be living under the impression that they have wining card with them.

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Kashmir had sent a unequivocal message across, from its streets and homes that “Pahalgam” is not our doing. They knew that the massacre in Baisaran in Pahalgam Valley not only undid the normalcy and hospitality of  Kashmir, but also besmirched its image, a land that was coming out of the dark era of violence  and  courting peace  in a mission mode.

From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to leaders of the valley, everyone amplified Kashmiris’ resistance to terrorism and Pakistan’s designs on Kashmir. The  raw courage of  local pony ride operator Adil, who sacrificed his life to save more tourists falling prey to the terrorists’ bullets,  exemplified the real Kashmiriyat.

That demonstration of Kashmir was showcased as the real face of the Valley against all sorts of violence and extremism as the locals had not only distanced themselves from the act of terror but also opposed it. Their slogans for punishment for the perpetrators and their backers resonated all across and were captured as rare clips to show how  Kashmir has come out of the fear of yesteryear and stands for peace for one and all. Kashmir crowd had spoken – all faces and voices were against terrorism.

Now when Delhi blast of November 10, officially declared as “ heinous terror incident”, with a spotlight  on a few doctors  from the Valley, post-Pahalgam narrative suffered  a setback. The three to four doctors were not  scanned as few but the blame was put on  the whole of Kashmir. It is sort of a return of the tragedy of Kashmir where vast peace-loving majority is condemned to be seen  as part of ecosystem of terrorism. Ecosystem is a fashionable term, but it is becoming ubiquitous, without giving a thought to the whole dynamics.

Kashmir could not have given better example of its  devotion to peace and thumbs up for the action that nation thought of and executed to avenge the Pahalgam – the very name is now synonymous to the  act of terror  of April 22, 2025. This narrative needed to be built upon. But Delhi blast has halted it, because the Indian nation has not been educated and informed about what Kashmir is. It is unfortunate that despite the change of  the past five-six years that is hailed as historic transformation, the majority in the country continues  to view Kashmir as a proxy of Pakistan.

Delhi blast  had a follow up tragedy. The accidental blast at Nowgam Police Station  claimed nine  lives  and left many more injured. Thirteen lives were lost in a deliberate act of terror in Delhi, and nine more in the explosives  in an accidental blast in Nowgam, Kashmir. The deliberate  blast  combined with the accidental one  claimed 22 lives.

This is  a heart-wrenching moment for the nation. Kashmir has seen  and endured it for decades. It has been living on the hope that one day this curse will end, but that day is yet to visit them. All the normalcy and the daily work  moving like it does in the normal places  elsewhere. That has been credited to the immense and intense anti-terror actions by J&K police, army and other wings of security forces. That element of truth is reflected the way security forces took action against terrorists, terrorism and the ecosystem in which it operates. This ushered in an era where stone pelting, as deadly as the bullets – disappeared and the school children accessed their schools without any interruption on way to school and interruption in their academic calendar.That made life easy for children, their parents and teachers and society as whole. The children celebrated their return to school with a dream in their eyes, which three  preceding  generations missed. It was a profound message from Kashmir that it is not only partner in peace-building efforts but wants to be architect of new dreams of new era.

This particular aspect has not been highlighted as much as it deserved. The statistics do convey a message that terrorism is on decline and peace is getting wide headroom to claim its space. The sentiments of the  people and their commitment to peace needed to be appreciated  . That has not been done in adequate manner.

Home Minister Amit Shah has promised all angles of Delhi blast would be studied and probed and those involved would be warded punishment that will ring across the world. This should be sufficient ground for  one and all to trust the system. Official investigations, now being handled by NIA, should be allowed to proceed in the scientific and professional manner without interrupting it with the crowd mentality and narrative that these unfortunate incidents are inseparable from Kashmir. Such interruptions have an ill-consequence, there is a counter narrative. That delays investigations. No particular line should be set for the investigators because  they only know how to get to the roots of the conspiracy and its execution.

The directions of Home Minister are very clear: bring out the truth. No angle should be missed, because one angle leads to the other networks. Delhi blast has multi-dimensional incident. It cannot be concluded in a day or two. NIA  knows how to proceed and when to draw a conclusion that its investigations have reached conclusion.

What is at stake is the credibility and prestige of Kashmir. It wants to be placed  and viewed in proper perspective. Its leadership has stated it very clearly, almost echoing Home Minister that thorough  and fair investigations be conducted to bring out the truth. As neither they want to hear the explosive sound of car blast in Delhi, nor viewed as sympathizer of those who plotted and executed it. An evil shadow has been cast on them and their land because few faces from the land chose a path that besmirched the image. Listening to the voice of majority of Kashmir will be a best counter-terrorism operation. They won’t mind culling few from the crowd in Kashmir because their actions have defaced their image.

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The UT status for Ladakh was not a unilateral decision of the government of India. It had responded to the demand that Buddhists in the region had been making for over decades. They had not qualified the contours and content of the kind of UT they wanted. Now whatever they are asking for is founded on their basic demand. And, the Centre is weighing its options. 

The answer to Ladakh’s demands may be simple, but not that simple. There is a tendency to oversimplify the answers – statehood, sixth schedule, absolute rights on land and jobs. There are beautiful logics, as it happens in such cases where demands are woven into a narrative of struggle for realization of aspirations.

These demands deserve attention for the simple reason that these have come from the people who stood by the nation in all hours of crisis since 1947 without asking anything in return. Their patriotic credentials are above board. Despite living in the remote region, they maintained deep connect with the Indian nation.

They want this reality to be acknowledged and admired.

Post–UT status, Ladakh’s villages continued to face the problems with which they wee struggling against before that.

There are many ways the Centre can win over the people of the entire Ladakh region – be it Kargil or Leh. All it has to do is to come up with a plan. Very little scope is left for any complacency after the gory incident of September 24. It is equally applicable to the people of Ladakh and their leaders. They need to understand that they too will have to do something to create conditions for the Centre to respond positively.

Centre has taken few concrete steps in decentralizing powers. It is going to create five additional districts, alongside continuing with the dialogue that it has been hosting with Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance.

The real empowerment and solution will come only when the decentralization process percolates to all the villages in the region, touch lives of villagers. These efforts at micro and macro level can provide it with many answers to the issues agitating Ladakh.

A rapid migration is taking place. Villages are getting emptied. This search for opportunities by the rural youth has crowded cities. Already sparsely populated villages cannot survive without young and able-bodied population. The crises of lack of facilities have got complicated with the diminishing resources. 

It is a security risk too, especially in the border areas. On the other side of LAC, Chinese troops have settled their villagers to the frontline giving them absolute access to waters and pastures.

The rural migration has flooded the city of Leh, creating other set of problems, of housing and jobs, intensifying urban-rural concerns and competitions The tensions are escalating as to who has the first right to jobs.

The talks between the Centre and Ladakh leadership must go on, but, in the meantime, Delhi should undertake an in-depth study of conditions of villages. 

For example, Changthang – the power house of Patina wool – has fallen on bad days. The nomads have lost access to most of the pastures. Chinese troops have created hurdles for them.

Pashmina goats are on verge of extinction. These kind of diminishing resources are common place everywhere. The Centre should activate resource-rejuvenating actions. 

A comprehensive policy, involving locals can lead to solution of many of these issues. The vibrant villages programme, launched by Ministry of Home Affairs for the border villages, is a work in progress. More needs to be done. It is a key.

For decades Ladakh Buddhists agitated for the UT status in the belief that it would prove to be a panacea for all their problems; there were no takers among the Muslim community in Kargil district. The Buddhists and Muslims saw the life and the governance through different prisms. Buddhists felt that they were getting marginalized by the Kashmir-centric governments in Srinagar. They spotlighted their differences on the religious, cultural grounds. 

Kargil Muslims were happy with the status quo. They feared Buddhist domination, and identified more with Kashmir and felt safe in the arrangement.

In 1995, when Leh Buddhists agreed to have a Hill Development Council as an arrangement to move on to the UT, Kargil Muslim leadership said, no. They saw Hill Council as something that will distance them from Kashmir.

In 1995, the state of Jammu and Kashmir (Ladakh was an inseparable part of it) was under President’s rule. Gen. (retired) K V Krishna Rao was the Governor – a military man but a democrat to the core. Had he been not there, perhaps J&K would have stayed under President’s rule far beyond 1996. The elections that year changed the mood and the landscape .

It was Mufti Mohammad Saed’s government in 2002 that persuaded Kargil leadership to have their hill council. Chief Minister played a key role in convincing the people of Kargil about the benefits of having Hill Council.

In a way, honest and sincere working of the Hill Council in Leh had evolved itself as a role model for development. 

This bit of history is necessary to understand the critical dimensions of the region and how its demography is placed. Ladakh Buddhists are quite possessive about their land. They would not sell even a single inch of land to Jammu Hindus, despite their close bond with them. That attitude is still there.

On August 5- 6, 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370 and Reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir – the emergence of two UTs, Leh Buddhists did celebrate with drum beat and bursting of fire crackers, but on the very first day itself, they felt the absence of political institutions and guarantees of land and jobs.

Centre has its view point, and that is based on reality and thesis that infrastructural development, and investment from the country’s industry and business houses will enrich the region. The development is welcome. But they have their concerns too.

That explains their demand for statehood and Sixth Schedule.

Centre can explore various options: It can accept few demands, but Delhi has reservations and hesitancy in doing what the Ladakh leadership is asking for.

It is apprehensive that grant of statehood to Ladakh will have its direct bearing on Kashmir. Hypothetically, even if it agrees in principle to grant statehood to Ladakh, it will have no reason to delay the statehood for J&K. In the current context, Delhi doesn’t think that its promises obligate it to grant statehood to J&K. Therefore, the caveat of ‘appropriate time.’

It wants UT of Ladakh to stay as UT because for its own strategic requirements in the border area. It has strategic compulsions – China’s military standoff in Ladakh that lasted for more than four years has made it to move cautiously. But creating resources and opportunities in villages should not be a matter of caution – it can help it create trust and remove all the misunderstandings and misgivings. The villages hold the key.

The post What Ladakh asks for exactly? appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

“We were wondering who attacked and from where it had emanated,” he said.

It is very rare for such narratives to be exposed.

Those who aired these exaggerated versions of the four-day May 7-10 Indo-Pak War did not realise that they were causing a huge embarrassment to the very forces they were trying to give credit for what had not happened.

Had that not been so, the Army Chief would not have touched this subject.

Gen Dwivedi made these remarks while outlining the challenge of meeting the unpredictability of challenges coming their way.

He meant to say that while they were engaged in strategising to deal with old challenges, the newer visit in a rapid speed.

This creates a sort of uncertainty.

The Army Chief was candid and prescient.

The whole speech was centred on the astounding success of ‘Operation Sindoor’, which is now a byword for all-time high-class anti-terrorism operation across the border from where the plot of killing tourists in Pahalgam was thought of and executed.

The “Karachi episode” on the news channels and a few other fabrications raised serious questions about the war of narratives.

Certain things are exaggerated to demoralise the enemy, but all these things cannot be anticipated in imagination.

It is clear that when the Army Chief spoke of the old challenges being superseded by the new and unpredictable ones, about which even US President Donald Trump doesn’t know, he was talking not about the emerging threats and conflicts at the global level, but there are plenty of them within the country.

India is faced with a two-front situation – one with Pakistan and the other with China.

Kashmir sits among the major challenges with external and internal dimensions.

This is an old challenge that is also figured in the new ones.

This is due to the changing dynamics of the situation.

The Pahalgam attack of April 22 was the trigger for ‘Operation Sindoor’.

The military action, under this operation, has set new standards in counter-terrorism.

The world has come to acknowledge it as the best counter-terrorism operation against cross-border terrorism.

It is time for Gen Dwivedi to place Pahalgam, ‘Operation Sindoor’, and new challenges with extraordinary focus on the security situation of Kashmir, where multiple factors are playing out.

Kashmir and the Army cannot be separated from each other.

The Indian Army’s tryst with Kashmir that began in 1947 continues to this day.

Its role has changed with the changing times and newer challenges.

The benchmarks of Kashmir security challenges have transformed after Pahalgam and ‘Operation Sindoor’ from April 22 to May 10, 2025.

These are not the same as before the tragic incident of Baisaran, Pahalgam.

Since 1990, reckoned as the zero-calendar year of militancy in the Valley, Pahalgam was unpredictable and a big shock and surprise.

The terror attack that shook the entire nation and halted Kashmir’s dreams of being a safe tourist destination was unprecedented.

The Army will be doing a great service to its own skills and image by undertaking a serious and result-oriented study of the terror attack, why it happened, and how it played out.

True, in the common belief, Pakistan has been taught a lesson, but is that an end in itself as far as the old and the new challenges converge on the canvas?

In the early 1990s, when terror attacks were a daily routine, the people whose area would come under Cordon and Search Operations (CASO), also known as “crackdown”, would prefer the Army to search their homes.

There was a high-class discipline and professional approach, leaving the residents happy – there was no ransacking, no rude language, and deep respect for women.

That was the time when the Army and paramilitary forces were empowered with the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in July 1990.

Gen Dwivedi knows Jammu and Kashmir like the back of his hand.

He can guide the new course in security strategies, in which the people’s concerns are addressed.

Hard approach against men with guns and their backers has always been supported by the people.

It necessitates that “Karachi-type narratives” are neither aired nor believed.

Calling out “Karachi narrators” should lay the foundation for realistic narration on Kashmir.

Such utterances tend to block both rear views as well as the road ahead.

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