Sushant K. Singh has a great piece over at World Politics Review on the state of Indian Kashmir (you may need to subscribe). Something seems to be going right:
With the global spotlight unwaveringly focused on the momentous changes in the Arab world, subtle shifts taking place in another strife-torn Muslim-majority region in Asia have escaped the world’s attention. Jammu and Kashmir, the object of a longstanding territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, has been ravaged for the past two decades by a violent, Pakistan-backed Islamist insurgency that has exploited popular grievances among Kashmiris. But almost a year after turmoil in urban Kashmir led to the deaths of 112 unarmed civilians in police actions last summer, the situation has been completely peaceful this year.
This is in spite the fact that Kashmir has been holding local elections, previously a high-risk activity. Even more surprisingly, says Singh, turnout has been exceptionally high in these polls, even in separatist strongholds. He ascribes this to the senistive political touch of Kashmir’s Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah (a voracious user of Twitter) and promises of big grants from Delhi. Other factors are at play:
A team of interlocutors appointed by New Delhi, though systematically ignored by the separatists, has further helped cool tempers by engaging with various sections of the Kashmiri population. In addition, New Delhi has approved a skills-training program for Kashmiris that aims to generate employment for 15,000 youths in the next five months. The local police have also geared up to prevent any repetition of last year’s street violence. Meanwhile, the fatigue gripping the two-decade-old insurgency led by Pakistan-based jihadi groups has been exacerbated by Pakistan’s own internal strife, which has undermined the separatists’ goal of merging Kashmir with Pakistan on the basis of religious affinity.
With everyone watching Pakistan with deep concern – and ramifications of the Bin Laden killing still playing out – this is one bit of good news for South Asian security.
