Stones 038; grassroots

Before this storm in the Valley,before the calm that preceded it,former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee once said that the touchstone for the peace process in Kashmir should be insaniyat,or humanity. That is as true today as it was then,and his successor made the same thing clear in his opening remarks to an all-party conference called to discuss the crisis in Kashmir. A political solution,said Manmohan Singh,will be one that addresses the alienation and emotional needs of the people. In itself,the substance and style of his speech marked a departure from how New Delhi has addressed the current trouble in the Valley so far: he acknowledged that there is some truth in the claim that the stone-pelting protests are born of a genuine sense of grievance.

What will be crucial is if this re-orientation translates into better action on the ground. One by-product of the prime ministers speech is that there are now deliverables laid out by which both Central and state policy responses in Kashmir can be judged. A new jobs programme,for example. And increasing the capability of the Jammu and Kashmir police for independent and effective action. The contours of a future response were carefully avoided,perhaps in order to avoid pre-judging the conclusion of an intra-state political consensus. But what is clear is that,by both New Delhis standards and those of the young people throwing stones on Srinagars streets,concrete movement towards greater grassroots political engagement is essential.

This is where,of course,Kashmirs mainstream politicians come in. Yes,neither the ruling National Conference nor the opposition Peoples Democratic Party which did not attend the all-party conference is a favourite with the street at the moment. But neither,necessarily,are the separatists. As the prime minister said,politics in Jamp;K needs to get more local,more responsive to grassroots concerns. Those in the room as he spoke,and those who did not bother to come,need to take up that challenge. Whatever else the kids on the street represent,this they certainly do: a fraction of a population that feels their political leaders have failed them,for whom the only way of engaging with the government is confrontational. That is what Kashmirs politicians have to change.