Kashmir has been a thorn in the flesh of India and will remain so in the years to come. Its problems are complex, and the lack of understanding and tact shown by the Centre towards the Kashmiris over the years has only made the situation worse.

In September 2024, former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah had, in a programme on Aaj Tak filmed on the banks of the iconic Dal Lake, strongly countered the BJP’s claims on an improvement in the security situation in the UT following the abrogation of Article 370. During the interview, Abdullah said, “Tourists (come here) like prisoners and go like prisoners.” He was referring to the massive deployment of security forces in the Valley (over five lakhs).

The situation was the same for the Amarnath Yatra. “There never used to be so many forces (in the past) during the Amarnath Yatra… They (tourists) come like prisoners and are taken away like prisoners in caged buses.”

Abdullah’s target was the Modi government, which had been tom-tomming the fact that the abrogation of Article 370 had restored normalcy to the Valley.

The senior Abdullah is known to be a person easily moved to tears. The present Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is far more controlled in his emotions, but addressing a special session of the state assembly this Monday, he was choking back his tears while expressing sympathy for the families of the 26 tourists who had died at the hands of militants in Pahalgam.

“Curse be upon me if I go to the Centre and push for statehood at this critical time,” he said in the assembly.

Kashmiris are known to be an emotional people (as probably are the rest of us), but why should the Chief........

© Free Press Journal