Now when the clock says that less than 72 hours are left for the G20 meet in Srinagar on tourism, hailed as unprecedented and historic there has been a play out of blame-game politics. The charges and counter charges as to who did, what all was accomplished today as compared to yesteryear is not helpful for the times so critical to the nation, and in particular to the Valley.
For India, it is an important leap jump to tell about its standing on Kashmir in diplomacy rooted in the reality of the times. This mega event in Kashmir, it should be clear to one and all is not as similar events or meets held in other parts of the country. There is no scope for such political and diplomatic delusions as Delhi knows why it is holding this event in Kashmir – to acquaint the world with the changed realities – a departure from the terrorism-hit land.
But the verbal duels between the government and Kashmir’s political leadership charging each other with undermining their contributions at this moment when each and every word spoken in Kashmir is being picked by political and diplomatic observers, is the last thing that should have been spoken of. Whatever profile the G20 meet in Srinagar is to be conferred, sight should not be lost of the fact that Kashmir is at the core of this meeting – that’s why India is elevating it to the unprecedented level. This perception and effort must be preserved. Any diversion would reflect, may not be on the event, but on the discourse in aftermath of the event. It will be a mistake to think that the visiting delegates will not pick up these words to form their own impressions and perceptions. Before embarking on their Kashmir visit, they would be briefed on the finer points of the place and the people.
The political war of words as to how things have changed in the last three-four years as if it was all dark before that, and the counter presentation of facts, enlisting the real construction and reconstruction and employment work in the most difficult circumstances when militancy defined the valley, is triggering a narrative that should not have been triggered at the moment. The prestige of Kashmir and its place in the Indian Union, after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, is at stake.
The government should have been careful with its vocabulary has provoked reaction from the political leaders, particularly from the veteran leader Farooq Abdullah, and firebrand PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, to return charges against them. This is unfortunate. At this point in time when the Government, political groups, industry, and all others should have appeared on one page, they have chosen their select slots, diss integrating the same page idea.
As far as the event is concerned, both the government and political parties should have been careful as not to present a fragmented picture about their views on the meet, especially when there is no disagreement that the meet would boost Kashmir tourism and open new and sun -lit avenues for it. Kashmir tourism is integral to the idea of India in the international frame.
The government of the day could have kept its political narrative in check for a while, and the political leadership too could have looked at bigger picture. Both sides should have known that the stakes are high for them, and also that in the era of social media, words travel all across in a matter of seconds. When the issues of the past are raised in the public forum, these have the potential to rebound. Kashmiris have tendency to keep silent to a limited extent even when they are waiting and watching things with extreme patience. They know that things have changed for them in all respects, they have to maintain a particular demeanor suiting the atmosphere. Still, the leaders cannot stay silent when their work is challenged in the public forums, that too at a time when it is very critical for Kashmir. Leaders like Farooq Abdullah would not like denunciation of their rule and contributions unchallenged. They have given a lot to Jammu and Kashmir, which not have been perfect, and the thought should be spared to the fact that the times when they were in power were far more challenging and dangerous than today.
In the first place, clarity was needed over the event. The G 20 meeting on tourism in Srinagar has its strategic goals; and no objective can be accomplished without the involvement of natives. The natives are soul and spirit of such events . This must get integrated into their discourse and spirits that it is for the people This message should have been delivered to them by reaching out them with outreach acts and words.
| Posted by Sameer Khan | 
