There has been a certain predictability to the aftermath of the murder of 23 Kashmiri Pandits in Wandhama on January 25. The act has been duly condemned.Prime Minister I.K. Gujral has blamed Pakistan for masterminding the massacre. The state Government - in fact, every politician of any worth - has vowed to fight the terrorists to the finish. Even so, the odds are high that within days the carnage will be forgotten. Indeed, the Kashmir problem itself will once again be relegated to the Indian polity's collective amnesia. It is facile to speak of a "political solution" - whatever the term means - to the extremist problem. This amounts to beating about the bush; India - if a mixed metaphor be permitted here - needs to grasp the nettle.India's defensiveness on Kashmir is difficult to understand. The global information war with Pakistan has rarely been fought adequately. That free and fair assembly elections restored popular government to the state in 1996 is an achievement that has not been optimally highlighted; and exploited. Nor has Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism been suitably exposed. When he became chief minister, Farooq Abdullah promised Kashmiris who had fled the state he would make the environment conducive for them to return. Farooq can only redeem his pledge by asserting the authority of his regime, weeding out fifth columnists and strengthening local institutions, particularly the police and intelligence network. Above all else, terrorism is a security issue, a question of upholding law and order. The state must not enter into a dialogue from anything other than a position of strength. The mailed fist must be deployed before the velvet glove. This is the equation that worked in Punjab. Farooq and Kashmir cannot ignore its compelling logic.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Feb 9, 1998--- ENDS ---
