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Journalism of Courage
The nomination of a seasoned and distinguished civil servant like N.N. Vohra as the interlocutor in J&K is to be welcomed. But if his appointment gives confidence that the Centre is serious about pursuing the peace process in J&K, the challenges he faces are also immense. Terrorism in J&K has not abated, and is likely to escalate in the coming summer. The sponsors of the cross-border terrorist strategy can be expected to do their best to ensure that his mission does not succeed. A decade of violent tragedies in the state has left deep scars on the body and soul of society here, regardless of religion and region. As in the rest of the country, corruption and nepotism have aggravated the plight of people.
Vohra’s credentials are impeccable: he has been defence secretary and home secretary during some of the most difficult years for national security in the early nineties and was the author of the famous Vohra Committee report on the politics-criminal nexus, besides several other reports on governance issues. He has also been a principal secretary to the prime minister, skilfully negotiated Siachen with the Pakistani military, and headed the Task Force on Internal Security set up after Kargil.
The silver lining to the dark clouds in J&K is, of course, that four months ago the people in the state clearly indicated their preference lay in the direction of peace and development. And the fact that the government in Srinagar was consulted and has welcomed the nomination adds to the value of the promise it holds. The appointment of a non-political interlocutor also has the advantage that the political system is left with greater flexibility to deal with the evolving process. Above all, a bipartisan approach to the nomination sends a strong message of a consensus approach to the challenges of reconciliation and peace. At the same time, this may also be the last chance for the dissenting groups to rethink their positions in the context of the increasing probability that the impending dialogue process may well be their last opportunity to avoid becoming totally irrelevant.
