When you invite a speaker or a panelist to a meeting, you confirm his or her participation before the cards are sent out. If you don’t, you could have egg on your face. This being elementary wisdom, it is astounding that the government should call a Round Table meet, that too at the prime minister’s level, without first ascertaining that those invited would indeed turn up. First it was Yasin Malik, who the PM met only the day before, who turned down his invitation. Then it was the moderate section of the Hurriyat headed by Mirwaiz Omer Farooq. This does nothing for the PM’s authority. The idea of a Round Table was suggested by the Track Two wallas but, obviously, the government did not do its homework.Round Tables on Kashmir have taken place in the early nineties when they were called by two home ministers but those were the pre-Hurriyat days. This was the first time such an initiative was being taken by the PM, inviting both separatists and mainstream parties from all regions of the state. Even though critics suspected it to be an attempt to win points with George Bush — particularly as it looks unlikely that the nuclear pact will be sealed while he is here — it had not detracted from the value of the meet.Moreover, there had been welcome signs of change in South Block with the PM showing an inclination to break away from the practice of relying solely on intelligence agencies in the planning of political negotiations. He had, for instance, used Union minister Saifuddin Soz for meeting Mirwaiz Omer Farooq last year, though he had to contend with a reaction from the IB.The lack of preparation for the February 25 meet was evident, also, from the absence of an agenda. Even if the Hurriyat and JKLF leaders had agreed to attend, an unplanned meeting would have led to the reiteration of known positions, each player keeping an eye on his\her constituency back home. The separatists have been advocating independence, the NC speaks of autonomy. Mirwaiz Omer Farooq recently made a case for the United States of Kashmir. The PDP has endorsed the proposal made by Pervez Musharraf for ‘‘self rule’’ in an attempt to position itself between the Hurriyat and NC.Pakistan has not spelt out in detail what it means by self rule — though Musharraf has obviously moved away from his old position of plebiscite, UN resolutions and independence. Manmohan Singh threw the ball back in Pakistan’s court, hinting gently at the absence of self rule in POK and Northern Areas, while clarifying that Kashmir already has self rule because a democratically elected government is in the saddle and the last elections were recognised by the international community as free and fair.The PDP, however, was more specific about its understanding of self rule at its executive committee meet last month. The party is making a case for a return to the 1947 position — in other words, for defence, foreign affairs, and communications remaining with the central government — while the NC’s ‘‘autonomy’’ aims to restore the 1953 position, by which time certain provisions of the Indian Constitution had been extended to J&K, even as Sheikh Abdullah managed to wrest concessions like the abolition of hereditary rule and continuance of special citizenship rights under the Delhi Agreement. The PDP also argues that the self rule model addresses the aspirations of Jammu and not just of the Valley, and aims at finding a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem without the state’s accession to Pakistan or dilution of India’s sovereignty.There are indications that the PDP was not consulted on the Round Table even though it is the Congress’s ally in J&K and there was a turnaround in the state during the stewardship of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. There are signs of trouble brewing between the Congress and PDP, and of growing warmth between the Congress and NC. The PDP is obviously readying itself to upstage the NC in the battle for the minds of Kashmiri Muslims.The mishandling of the Round Table is unfortunate. Kashmir continues to present a window of opportunity. Even as incidents of violence continue, and there have been revelations about extremist infiltration in mainstream parties, the mood in the state has undergone a change. So has the region’s geo-politics after 9\11. Many young Kashmiris are looking outwards, dreaming of making good in an India striding ahead on the world stage. India has everything to gain from improving the political climate in the state and pressing ahead with steps to end the alienation of Kashmiris. The government recently announced the pull-back of some troops; more responsibilities need to be passed on to the J&K police. The less visible the armed forces, the better it will be.It is not as if the government does not have a Kashmir policy. It’s there: that J&K is an integral part of India; that it will not cede any territory; that there cannot be a religious solution; and that, beyond these, anything is possible. The problem lies in its inept handling of the situation.
