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War not an option and it's the right time to restore statehood to J&K: A.S. Dulat

War not an option and it's the right time to restore statehood to J&K: A.S. Dulat

The Hindu29-04-2025
Amarjit Singh Dulat, former chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and an expert on the Kashmir question, speaking to The Hindu in Bengaluru in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, said, despite jingoistic calls, war was not an option. 'I have always maintained war is not an option. Let us hope there is no war. Even if it comes to that, it is not just the last option but the last bad option. Neither country can afford a war,' he said.
Asked about other offensive options before the Government of India to create a deterrence against such attacks on Pakistan, he said while that was for the government to decide, deterrence could be built 'by increasing security, and ensuring the local Kashmiri is happy and is on our side'. 'I agree with the Prime Minister when he says the perpetrators of this attack should be found and punished. So let us find them,' he said.
On restoring statehood
Mr. Dulat stressed on the importance of taking the Kashmiris along and expressed concern about some actions by the Union government in the region in the aftermath of the terror attack.
'For the time being, everybody in Kashmir is one and all the Kashmiri leaders have said they are with Delhi. This is a rare opportunity that should not be squandered away. The local Kashmiri should not suffer for whatever has happened. But slowly, there is a concern developing. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have also made statements that locals should not be targeted. The demolition of houses in this fashion is a concern to me as well,' he said.
He suggested that, as a confidence-building measure, this was a good time to restore the statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.
'Whatever the Government of India does, it should take the local Kashmiri along. In this context, it is not a bad time to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The elected government in J&K should be supported and given credibility,' he argued.
'Tourism is not normalcy'
When quizzed about the narrative that claimed that a large number of tourists going to Kashmir as proof of 'Naya Kashmir', where violence had come down, Mr. Dulat said, 'Clearly terror has not gone away and tourism is not normalcy in Kashmir.'
'Violence had indeed come down. But it comes down and spikes again. Our armed forces have come under increasing attacks in the thickly forested Poonch Rajouri region for the past few years. In the last year, there have been more attacks in Jammu. Recently, there were a few attacks in Kathua, and it came up close to Udhampur. That's where you start climbing to the [Kashmir] Valley, and [it] is the route to Pahalgam. Obviously, these terrorists seem to have created some bases in this belt; it is not as if they are coming and going every day. So, if you see this pattern, terror has not gone away,' he said.
Making a passionate argument for restoration of statehood to J&K, he said, in fact, a short period of peace in the [Kashmir] Valley was after the recent Assembly election in which the National Conference swept the polls. 'The common Kashmiri felt finally there was a government of his (the voter's) in power. He slowly realised that it's only a half government. This needs to be corrected,' he said.
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Punjab needs a hero, not a leader
Punjab needs a hero, not a leader

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Punjab needs a hero, not a leader

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Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Akali Dal president Harcharan Singh Longowal in New Delhi. (KK Chawla/HT) A daring political approach SAD was not in government at that time and even the legislative assembly of the state stood dissolved. This fact was and is extremely significant as it heralded a new daring in political approach to go beyond the constitution in order to find a solution to issues which were far more than political, economic or geographical. They had a strong psychological and emotional dimension which had remained un-addressed for over 37 years since 1947. It also signaled an acknowledgement by the then government that the country was not just a constitutional entity but was an offspring of covenant based on the diverse sentiments and aspirations of people who had little in common except a shared national sentiment – and needed an emotional leaven to bind together a people with a staggering diversity of religions, languages, regional cultures and even the political history of their respective regions. That such a path-breaking effort was made was a tribute to what appeared at that time to be a daring vision of the national and regional leadership. Alas, that was to prove just idealistic day dreaming by the lovers of an emotional togetherness of a potentially great nation. The accord had two clearly demarcated zones of relevance: its Letter on the one hand and its Spirit on the other. 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(The author, a long-time adviser to the late chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, is a freelance contributor. Views expressed are personal).

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Resettled Bru migrant Zothanga ends 5-day hunger strike in Tripura after Govt assurance

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From dossier to designation: How India's diplomacy exposed TRF's Pakistan nexus
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From dossier to designation: How India's diplomacy exposed TRF's Pakistan nexus

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