Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

J&K situation

The editorial “What next in J&K?” (August 14) has rightly pointed out that it would be the most ill-advised move if the Central government yields to the suggestion emanating from some quarters for postponement of the elections to the Assembly. The elections should take place as scheduled and all those among the contestants who are interested only about their political gains and not concerned about the violence or precious lives lost, should be voted out.

K.D.Viswanaathan,

Coimbatore

The Manmohan Singh government is clueless about what to do next. While the decades-old insurgency in Kashmir and in the North-East, the spreading naxalite menace in many States, the spread of terrorist cells across the country, rural economic distress and other problems are waiting to be addressed with skill and determination, the government seems to be happy to ride on its success in maintaining economic growth, ignoring the cancerous problems eating into the vitals of the country.

K.Vijayakumar,

Bangalore

One wonders whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ever had a clear, principled policy on any subject except perhaps on the nuclear deal. Most of his and his government’s policy reactions are patently knee-jerk. When the Left withdrew support to his government, the Prime Minister fell for the Samajwadi Party and the JMM for survival for which the UPA has already started paying heavily. The UPA’s support to the revoking of the grant of land to the Amarnath shrine board was also a panic reaction to garner the support of the PDP and the National Conference for the trust vote. Sending Sri Sri Ravi Shankar as the Centre’s emissary on a peace mission to Jammu and Kashmir by the secular, non-communal UPA government is also a desperate move, however wise it may sound. The only course of action left for the Prime Minister and the J&K Governor is to ensure that “an elected government will be in office in Srinagar come October,” as you have suggested.

Col. C.V. Venugopalan (retd.),

Palakkad

I endorse your observation that no political leader except Farooq Abdullah is looking at the crisis beyond parochial and religious parameters. For 150 years, Kashmiris had been supportive of the Amarnath pilgrimage and there was never any incident of communal clash. The seeds of suspicion were sown in the minds of Kashmiris during the NDA rule which constituted the SASB with many non-local members. The inept handling of the crisis by the Centre has made the hard gains made over the years to restore peace in the State to go down the drains. It is high time the Prime Minister announced his resolve to ban rallies and chakka jams till normality is restored.

Syed Sultan Mohiddin,

Kadappa

The reasons for the situation in J&K turning communal are not far to seek. First, when the land was transferred influential parties in the Kashmir Valley misled the people by distorting the facts for petty gains. Second, after the protests in the Valley, the government tried to appease the protesters by rolling back the decision. Third, the inaction of the Central government which allowed the issue to be blown out of proportion.

When everyone acknowledges that things are really bad, none of the leaders is ready to show any flexibility to find an amicable solution.

Rahul Vats,

Shimla

It is distressing to note that President Pervez Musharraf has chosen to address the latest problem we are facing in Kashmir as “state-sponsored terrorism” and “human rights violation.” The fact that he felt it warranted to utter such statements shows the bankruptcy of ideas prevailing in that country. We all know how much the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan spends on terrorist activities. Kashmir is conveniently used as a tool to divert people’s attention from other burning issues in Pakistan. Gen. Musharraf has just shown that he is no exception to this rule.

S. Sudhir Kumar,

Hyderabad

The National Security Adviser’s defence of Gen. Musharraf is highly inappropriate. Gen. Musharraf is the man who started the Kargil war and who even today calls Indian actions in Kashmir state terrorism. His election to presidency twice by the same Parliament is unconstitutional and undemocratic. If we support him any more, it would appear as if we are succumbing to American pressure.

N.A.M. Usuf Ali,

Thanjavur

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