Ex-RAW chief AS Dulat said that early elections and the restoration of statehood are the way forward in Jammu and Kashmir for the central government.
Speaking with Hindustan Times at an event in Chandigarh, Dulat remarked that Kashmir, like the border sensitive state of Punjab, needs empathy.
Talking about his new memoir, A Life in the Shadows, Dulat said: “Today’s Kashmir is not happy. It’s not about abrogating Article 370. Kashmiris have reconciled. It’s an issue alive only in political rhetoric and the case in the Supreme Court. Since the situation in the Valley is very much under control and muscular power is working, it’s time to move in politically.”
Dulat added: “If Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to visit Srinagar and announce elections and restore statehood, he will win over Kashmiris. He can move freely in an open jeep and he will be garlanded. Kashmiris only need empathy. They want peace with honour and dignity. The biggest fear of Kashmiris for the past 25 years is what will happen if they are reduced to a minority in their own land.”
Defining Kashmiriyat as togetherness, he cited the crowds that joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra on its last leg in Anantnag. “Rahul promoted the idea of India in Kashmir,” he said, reiterating the message for New Delhi. “Kashmir needs a leader who can manage the Valley and Delhi. A leader who understands both. NC leader and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah can bridge dil ki doori and dilli ki doori,” he said, reposing faith in traditional mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir.
