Round table roulette

That Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was able to extract some dividend out of a trip that was pre-ordained to be a damp squib can be seen as a tribute to his powers of gentle persuasion. His is not the grand turn of phrase or gesture that his predecessor would have revelled in. Manmohan Singh8217;s style, in contrast, is less flamboyant, more quiet, more patient even. When confronted with odds, he does not tire of stating that he has 8220;not lost hope8221;.

To be sure, the odds this time have been significant. Not only were the militants able to keep themselves in the primetime space with calibrated attacks of great violence, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference preferred to keep away from the negotiating table. The Conference8217;s argument for doing so was disingenuous 8212; it wished to be the sole negotiator with New Delhi. Its leaders argued that New Delhi needed to engage with the separatists, not with those whom it had already broken bread with. In taking this position, the Hurriyat once again talked itself out of the frame. The problem with the Hurriyat Conference8217;s brand of political negotiation is that it always assumes a larger role for itself than reality strictly allows. It sees itself as the sole representative of the Kashmiri people, yet has never put itself to the test of an election. At least many of those who sat the Srinagar Round Table had actually faced elections and potential attack. But New Delhi must resist any temptation to stand on false prestige if its peace talks are to be seen as an open-ended process that will explore even tricky themes like 8220;autonomy8221;. The reversal of the venue this time 8212; Srinagar, not Delhi 8212; signalled New Delhi8217;s intention to reach out. So too were did the prime minister8217;s statements about reviewing the cases of militants returning from PoK, and of 8220;zero tolerance8221; for human rights violations by the security forces.

But now, having uttered the appropriate words, the government should not withdraw into itself as it has been wont to do in the past. If this visit is to shape up into anything more than photo-ops 8212; and a lost opportunity for the prime minister to visit Dal Lake 8212; it would need those five working groups, set up 8220;to look into all issues affecting J038;K8221;, getting their brief and focus right.