Opinion In J&K Assembly, the challenge after Pahalgam is framed and Omar Abdullah strikes a resonant note

It was an extraordinary occasion — and the J&K Assembly rose to it, in full measure. In the sombre aftermath of the terror attack in Pahalgam, the expressions of sympathy and solidarity that filled the House during its special one-day session send a message that’s at once very simple and enormously powerful: In this moment of collective mourning that follows an act of terror in which the victims were selected by their faith, the people of Jammu and Kashmir will be heard, as they join with other voices in the country. For now, it does not matter whether J&K is a state or a Union Territory. It does not matter whether security is the Centre’s responsibility, or that there are limited powers with the Assembly. What matters, as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah put it in a speech ringing with eloquence and empathy, is that the people’s representatives condemn the terrorist’s strike and everyone participates in the grief of 26 families. In a poignant recitation, CM Abdullah read out the names of those killed on April 22, alongwith the state each belonged to. “Uttar se dakshin, purab se pashchim… aur beech ki saari riyasatein (north to south, east to west, and all the states that lie in between)… poora mulk is hamle ki lapet mein aaya (this tragedy has enfolded the entire country).” Even in a state that bears the scars of so many terror strikes, the targeting of tourists in a meadow in Baisaran was especially horrific. Because, as the CM said, it broke a lull — in which “we thought they (terror strikes) are a part of our past, not our future… Now we worry, where will the next one be?”

At the same time, Abdullah pointed out that the dark is not without a sliver of light. “Kya yeh hamaari ijazat se hua (Were we asked before the terrorist killed in our name)?” he asked. The aftermath of the Pahalgam strike is different from those that have gone before because the people have come out to condemn and to say, “Not in my name.” This time, the ordinary men and women of Kashmir made banners, lit candles and observed two-minute silences in the masjid. The militancy will end only with the people’s support, the CM underlined, and this could be the beginning of that. In this moment, he said, it is important not to turn people away. It is necessary to acknowledge and honour, instead, Syed Adil Hussain Shah, the local pony ride operator shot while trying to protect the tourists, and so many unnamed others who reached out to the victims and survivors and opened their doors and hearts to help them.

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As it endorsed the diplomatic steps taken by the Narendra Modi government after Pahalgam, the J&K Assembly also sent out a sobering note of caution. It appealed to governments to ensure the “safety, dignity, well-being” of Kashmiris, including students, in other states. Several MLAs pointed out that the demolition of houses of relatives of militants by security forces could be counterproductive, as it amounts to “collective punishment”. But most of all, the message of the special session was this: The people of J&K have spoken to offer the special empathy that only those who have borne the brunt of terror for long years and decades can. And that going forward, as the Centre decides on the next steps, their voice, as it strikes new chords in the state’s political discourse, must not go unheard.