The visuals emerging from across the LoC in the other part of Kashmir are not only deeply disturbing but also profoundly surprising to me. I had always believed that, despite all our grievances in Jammu and Kashmir, we were comparatively better off. While our political aspirations were repeatedly ignored, we nevertheless had far superior infrastructure, better educational opportunities, medical colleges, engineering colleges, IITs, and other institutions. In contrast, the other side of Kashmir got its first medical college only in 2009, and its infrastructure pales in comparison to ours. I assumed that despite these limitations, people there were relatively content. The recent protests, however, and the brutal force used to suppress them have shattered that perception. In many ways, the scenes unfolding there resemble what we have endured here over the decades.

These developments raise difficult questions that the governments of both India and Pakistan must confront.

First, why did Kashmir, often described as paradise on earth, reject the two-nation theory and choose secular India over Pakistan? In 1947, our people fought the tribal invaders with sticks and even bare hands. Kashmiris wholeheartedly embraced Gandhi’s vision of India while rejecting Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan. Besides Maharaja Hari Singh and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s deep emotional bond with Kashmir played a defining role. His promise that Kashmir would become a “show window” for........

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