Valley sees a glimmer of hope

SRINAGAR, AUGUST 9: The ceasefire has been withdrawn, talks have failed so is Kashmir back to square one? Well, yes and no.Although the fe...

SRINAGAR, AUGUST 9: The ceasefire has been withdrawn, talks have failed so is Kashmir back to square one? Well, yes and no.

Although the feeling in the Valley is that an opportunity to control violence has been lost, the ice has been broken: Dialogue with Delhi, so far seen as a 8220;sell-out8221; is no more a taboo.

Many feel that despite the final outcome, the Hizbul offer and the Government8217;s response will benefit the peace process in the long run. 8220;This has proved that the complex Kashmir problem cannot be resolved through short cuts and little ground work,8221; says Noor Ahmad Baba, a Kashmir University professor. 8220;Parties involved will now have to see the realities and complex dimensions of the problem on the ground.8221;

Baba says that the positive spin-off is that there is now a fastgrowing realisation that dialogue is the only way to resolve theissue. 8220;The differences are more about the parameters and notwhether to come to the table or not,8221; he said.

In other words, the Government-Hizbul dialogue was stuck in modalities, not the substance of the issue. 8220;Next time, the process will definitely move further,8221; he said.

Pressure is also mounting on the separatist Hurriyat to do more soul-searching. 8220;Now the people are not ready to accept the politics ofstagnation. They are tired of death and destruction. They wantthe political leadership to do a rethink and get them out of thisquagmire,8221; a second-rung Hurriyat leader said. 8220;We Hurriyat have to move quickly on this. If we don8217;t do it, any militant outfit will take the lead,8221; he said.

In fact, other hardline foreign-dominated militant groups too have beenforced to accept dialogue as a means to resolve the issue though they haveput difficult and unacceptable pre-condiions. 8220;Groups like Lashkar andHarkat are essentially anti-democracy and extreme hardline. Their onlystand had been that Jehad is the only way,8221; says a Hizbul sympathiser.8220;Now there is a slight change in their approach too. They have started putting pre-conditions on any dialogue with India like the Army and paramilitary forces should vacate Kashmir before talks,8221; he said.

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New Delhi is being criticised for being confused about its reaction to the Hizbul offer. 8220;The Government of India needs to deliberate on theissue and clarify its stand. They Centre have to decide as to what canthey offer and how far can they go in any dialogue on the future ofKashmir8217;s relations with India,8221; says Rekha Choudhary, head of the political science department at Jammu University.

Choudhary adds that a consensus at the national political level is a must before a clear-cut policy is formulated. 8220;Most of thedecisions taken on Kashmir in Delhi are taken under thecompulsions and pressures of electoral politics in the rest of thecountry,8221; she said. Citing the London-IRA talks, she said: 8220;They British first sat down to resolve their own differences to reach a consensus and then opened a dialogue with the Irish,8221; he said.

There is also a growing consensus here that Pakistan8217;s involvement is imperative since it is a party to the conflict. 8220;Let us not shy away from this reality,8221; says Baba. 8220;If the Centre has problems in a tripartite dialogue, they can open negotiations with both Pakistan and the Kashmiri leadership independently.8221;

Muzamil Jaleel

Muzamil Jaleel is a Deputy Editor at The Indian Express and is widely recognized as one of India’s most authoritative voices on Jammu & Kashmir, national security, and internal affairs. With a career spanning over 30 years, he has provided definitive on-the-ground reportage from the heart of the Kashmir conflict, bearing witness to historic political transitions and constitutional shifts. Expertise and Investigative Depth Muzamil’s work is characterized by a rare combination of ground-level immersion and high-level constitutional analysis. His expertise includes: Conflict & Geopolitics: Decades of reporting on the evolution of the Kashmir conflict, the Indo-Pak peace process, and the socio-political dynamics of the Himalayan region. Constitutional Law: Deep-dive analysis of Article 370 and Article 35A, providing clarity on the legal and demographic implications of their abrogation in 2019. Human Rights & Accountability: A relentless investigator of state and non-state actors, uncovering systemic abuses including fake encounters and the custodial death of political workers. International War Reporting: Beyond South Asia, he provided on-the-spot coverage of the final, decisive phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. Landmark Exposés & Impact Muzamil’s reporting has repeatedly forced institutional accountability and shaped national discourse: The Kashmir Sex Scandal (2006): His investigative series exposed a high-profile exploitation nexus involving top politicians, bureaucrats, and police officers, leading to the sacking and arrest of several senior officials. Fake Encounters: His reports blew the lid off cases where innocent civilians were passed off as "foreign terrorists" by security forces for gallantry awards. SIMI Investigations: He conducted a massive deep-dive into the arrests of SIMI members, using public records to show how innocuous religious gatherings were often labeled as incriminating activities by investigative agencies. The Amarnath Land Row: Provided critical context to the 2008 agitation that polarized the region and altered its political trajectory. Over the years, Muzamil has also covered 2002 Gujarat riots, Bhuj earthquake, assembly elections in Bihar for Indian Express. He has also reported the peace process in Northern Ireland, war in Sri Lanka and national elections in Pakistan for the paper. Awards and Fellowships His "Journalism of Courage" has been honored with the industry's most prestigious accolades: Four Ramnath Goenka Awards: Recognized for J&K Reportage (2007), On-the-Spot Reporting (2009), and Reporting on Politics and Government (2012, 2017). Kurt Schork Award: From Columbia University for international journalism. Sanskriti Award: For excellence in Indian journalism and literature. IFJ Tolerance Prize: For his empathetic and nuanced reporting in South Asia. International Fellowships: Served as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and worked with The Guardian, The Observer, and The Times in London. He has also received Chevening fellowship and a fellowship at the Institute of Social Studies, Hague, Netherlands. Professional Presence Current Location: New Delhi (formerly Bureau Chief, Srinagar). Education: Master’s in Journalism from Kashmir University. Social Media: Follow him for field insights and rigorous analysis on X (Twitter) @MuzamilJALEEL. ... Read More