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Journalism of Courage
Two weeks after the results of the J038;K elections were announced, the state is moving closer to an elected government. The impasse in government formation, caused by disagreement between the Congress and the People8217;s Democratic Party PDP over the chief ministership of the state, was threatening the credibility not just of these parties themselves but a process that the country had invested a great deal of hope and energy in, a process which had seen a courageous people exercise their franchise under the shadow of the gun. Therefore the agreement reached late on Wednesday is to be welcomed.
Precious time has been lost and it is important that all displays of competitive politicking between the two parties are avoided in the difficult phase of government formation and governance that lies before them. While it would be unrealistic to expect perfect understanding between two entities like the Congress 8212; the oldest party in the country with a national presence 8212; and the fledgling PDP, with a highly localised presence, they now have no choice but to evolve a working understanding at least. Their differences in perspective and orientation could, of course, prove to be their biggest drawback. While the Congress, given its enormous stake in national politics and the general election of 2004, will instinctively want to steer a cautious course; the PDP raring to replace the National Conference as the natural party of governance in the valley and wishing to use some of the talking points of the Hurriyat Conference to emerge as the chief articulator of Kashmiri aspirations will undoubtedly want to press ahead with more radical interventions.
