Prime Minister hinted a re-think on Kashmir in his interactions with party leaders.

Prime Minister hinted a re-think on Kashmir in his interactions with party leaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs a meeting with a delegation of opposition parties from Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI Photo)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi comments mark a departure from his three earlier statements since the outbreak of unrest following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani last month.

For one, efforts are being taken to provide a healing touch by acknowledging the protesters in the Valley as “part of us, our nation”. It could be a conscious attempt to dilute the hyphenation between young protesters and peace-loving people.

Blaming Pakistan and separatists for instigating protests in the Valley has lent credence to the shrill jingoistic discourse on Kashmir but did little to contain the spread of violence with every killing in the Valley.

At a rally in Madhya Pradesh on August 10, Modi spoke of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s path of “Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat” , but in the same breath, blamed “a handful of misguided people” for “hurting” Kashmir’s great tradition.

At the all-party meet in New Delhi two days later, he talked about the “pain felt by all of us” irrespective of whether it was a civilian or security personnel, injured or killed, adding that “to spread the myth that this is a public agitation is far from the truth”.

The reference to the unrest in Kashmir in his Independence Day speech was marked by an escalation of rhetorical hostility with Pakistan over brutalities in Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Monday’s remarks by the Prime Minister, therefore, signalled a change in New Delhi’s assessment of the situation in Kashmir. His appeal to opposition parties to convey to the people in Kashmir his distress over the loss of lives of “our youth”, security personnel and police could be the first step towards bridging trust deficit in the Valley.

Source hindustantimes