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Journalism of Courage
Dismissing suggestions that Afzal Gurus execution had pushed Jammu and Kashmir back to the brink,Finance Minister P Chidambaram Saturday hoped the state return to normalcy soon.
I dont get the impression that we are back to square one. I agree that after the execution of Afzal Guru there have been some protests and agitation and rise in the level of violence, he said.
Afzals execution and burial in Tihar Jail on February 9 had sparked protests which continue to this day; the protesters are now demanding the return of his remains.
I am told yesterday was relatively peaceful. There was no curfew. I sincerely hope people of Jammu and Kashmir will not heed the call of separatists but heed the call of government and civil society and try to help restore peace and order, Chidambaram replied to a question on the situation in Kashmir at the National Editors Conference.
Chidambaram said he was confident that the government would be able to restore stability by April or May. And stability,in turn,would boost tourism. Jamp;Ks prime developer is tourism,both pleasure as well as religious,which boomed in 2008, he added.
