After weeks of blaming the separatists, the Lashkar-e-Toiba, opposition PDP and Pakistan of fomenting the unrest in Kashmir, New Delhi tried to reach out to people. In a 100 days from June 11, Kashmir had lost an equal number of lives, mostly youth and children. The cycle of killings and protests seemed unending. It was in this situation that a 42 member parliamentary delegation (APD) headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram landed in Kashmir on September 20. BJP parliamentarians were also part of the delegation.
With the separatists refusing to meet the APD, the visit was destined to fail, especially if the ADP stuck to its announced plan of meeting visitors in SKICC.
But then it pulled out a surprise. A group of parliamentarians showed up at the residence of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and began to discuss the issue with him. The conversation between Geelani and the delegates led by Sitaram Yechury of CPI (M) was televised live. Geelani put up his point of view vociferously, and reiterated his five conditions for dialogue.
Another group of parliamentarians led by Gurudas Dasgupta showed up at Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s Nigeen residence and the conversation was similarly watched by people on television sets. People could see separatists putting their view to parliamentarians, who seemed very keen and open. It was a break from the usual line taken by New Delhi that street protests in Valley were instigated by militants, or separatists, or vested interests.
Ram Vilas Paswan led a group to the residence of JKLF leader Yasin Malik. None of the Congress of BJP leaders called upon the separatist leaders. On the contrary BJP leader Sushma Swaraj stirred a controversy by calling the parliamentarians’ meeting with separatists as personal affair.
However, BJP leaders and the Home Minister Chidambaram had some tough moments in Tangmarg, where local legislator Ghulam Hassan Mir had organized a selected gathering.
However, there were some blunt questions to which Home minister had no answers, like “If you call us your integral part, then doesn’t it pain you when you fire at us.”
It is debatable whether the APD which was to submit its recommendations to the government made any substantial stride on Kashmir, especially from a Kashmiri point of view, but the visit did help in calming down the tempers in the state.
The killings did not end there, but the intensity of protests did decrease.
