An idea to engage with

External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, with characteristic flamboyance, has promised that the sky would be the limit for autonomy in J&K. Five days earlier, Union home minister reportedly stated that his ministry recommended greater autonomy for the state. The issue had created a storm some four years ago, when the Farooq Abdullah government had tried to push through a Bill on autonomy. Today, much depends upon the nature of this autonomy and how it is to translate into reality with issues like the nature of domestic politics, the alignments of political parties and the situation in J&K, in particular, playing a decisive role.

Terrorism and ideological violence have not gone away in the state and it may yet take awhile for peace and normalcy to return. But two things stand out. One is the need to break the deep-rooted perception that all problems of the state can be laid at the doors of New Delhi. And the other is to take advantage of the changes in the air, including progress on the Indo-Pak dialogue front. The reduction of troops engaged in internal security is an important sign along that road. The prime minister and his government have done well to announce that the doors of dialogue, with all segments of the population seeking a peaceful future, are wide open. This is as it should be in a democracy. The J&K government must be allowed greater authority, and it must in turn display greater responsibility in governing the state and winning the confidence of the people.

Given the prime minister’s vision statement for J&K during his recent visit to the state, it is obvious that New Delhi must now seriously engage with the issue of autonomy. We need clarity on a lot of issues, including on what “autonomy” really means. The prime minister should, on a priority basis, now set up a time-bound, high-powered task force to look into the question of how greater autonomy can be ensured for J&K. At the same time the issue needs to be discussed among opinion-shapers, policy-makers and leaders from all groups, both inside and outside the state, so that a consensual approach to autonomy emerges.