120 Whither Kashmir? (Part II) - Islamabad Policy Research Institute

Whither Kashmir?
where politics of any kind does not violate the sanctity of their lived
spaces. They can do it in a way, nobody else really can.
Societies must grow out of celebration of life and everything
connected with it, not its demise. Nations can not thrive over stillness of
grave yards. Kashmir will revive no doubt, but a philosophical question
which everyone connected with the good old times continues to ask is,
"can the magic ever be retrieved?" Perhaps, people of Kashmir know best
and they alone can make their choices in this regard.
Dr Karuna Thakur, February 21, 2010.
http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showarticles.php?subaction=showfull&id=126
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KASHMIR: WHAT NEXT?
Now that Islamabad and New Delhi have agreed to restart talks, it would
be a legitimate question for Kashmir’s peacemakers to ask: ‘The peace
process has restarted: what next?’
‘Process’ is about catalysing change. Even if [it] does not yield the
expected results, a process is important since it contributes to the
upstaging of many long-held fixations. Take, for example, President
Obama. Who would have thought a decade ago that an African-American
would be US president?
The terrorists who carried out the carnage in Mumbai and other
equally outrageous acts in Pakistan should know that it is impossible to
keep change hostage, even to odious rage. A subtle generational change is
taking place in South Asia. It is propelled by rising income levels, access
to technology, increased connectivity and choices in a globalising
environment; these changes are pushing matters forward.
This forward thrust is visible in the way New Delhi and Islamabad
reacted to the Mumbai incident. Leaving aside the media frenzy, the anger
and outrage, the two countries did not sever diplomatic ties. Unlike the
past, they did not cut off air links or mobilise forces along the border. In
fact, many Kashmir-specific confidence-building measures such as the
intra-Kashmir bus-service and cross-border trade kept moving, and
people-to-people contact remained active though at a more limited level.
My optimism for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue stems
as much from the unjust situation of people of Kashmir for the past six
decades as the inherent incapacity of the parties involved to settle it
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