of dialogue

DIALOGUE will be the tool new Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Mr. Manoj Sinha will use as he rides on a developmental programme. By stating this as he took oath of office in Srinagar, Mr. Sinha, a seasoned politician and administrator with years of experience in responsible ministerial positions, has underlined his approach to the new and challenging assignment -- of shaping the future of the region that reeled under decades of hostilities until one year ago. Known for his solicitous implementation of official programmes, Mr. Sinha is being looked up to for a rapid transformation of the new Union Territory.

As he is readying to deal with complex socio-political process in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Sinha has naturally chosen the path of dialogue to bring together different elements for making possible success in a common cause. Of course, the challenge will never be easy to handle, but dialogue, nevertheless, will be a better approach than distrust. The political challenge before Mr. Sinha will be of a critical nature since Kashmir’s traditional political class has declared that it would not participate in the political process under the condition of a Union Territory.

This is, of course, absurd, but if that is going to be the situation, then Mr. Sinha may find things easier than otherwise since the obstinacy that may have blocked the dialogue would no longer impede his efforts to establish better and closer connect with various stake-holders. There is no doubt that many sections of stake-holders are eager to get going with the process of development that had remained stalled for decades in Kashmir. Fortunately, the period of one year since the abrogation of Special Status has proved beneficial to Kashmir. Ladakh was never a problem, and is now happy under the status of Union Territory, making steady progress in the right direction.

Trouble was in Jammu and Kashmir where separatism and terrirosm were the two monsters that disturbed peace and harmony. And Mr. Sinha has been tasked to find suitable solutions to both the problems. True, the question of dialogue with separatists and terrorists does not arise. These evil forces must be tackled only with force applied with a right mixture of restraint and aggression. Dialogue, thus, will be the best tool while establishing connect with other sections of the larger Kashmiri society. The past one year has proved beyond doubt that the common people in Jammu and Kashmir are least interested in violence and separatism.

They are eager to get going with normal life that the rest of the country enjoys. The new Lt. Governor will have to channelise that popular eagerness into a potent force by inviting the people to join the mainstream and affording to them various tools to facilitate the process of assimilation. Mr. Sinha is known to be good at such an approach. Though it may pose some problems, the obstinacy of Kashmir’s political class in refusing to participate in the process of reconstruction may help Mr. Sinha in a way to build better bonds with the common people.

If the dialogue which Mr. Sinha proposes gets going with vigour, then most issues in Kashmir would get sorted out sooner than people may imagine. The biggest challenge that Mr. Manoj Sinha will have to handle is perception-management. And there could be no better tool than dialogue to achieve that goal. The administration will have to approach the challenge of negativism by presenting the positive side of the situation, and there could be nothing better than establishing warm connect with all stake-holders. Once an atmosphere of openness of communication begins taking shape, things would fall in their respective places.