New Delhi:
The situation in Kashmir is causing serious concern. With the state caught in a vicious cycle of violence, with stone throwing crowds taking centrestage, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh spoke of the need for better methods of crowd control.
"...the public order dimension in the state has become a cause for serious concern. We need to revisit standard operating procedures and crowd control measures to deal with public agitations with non-lethal, yet effective and more focused measures..." the Prime Minister said.
Addressing the three-day conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police from around the country, the PM pointed out that non-lethal weapons should be used.
It's a tacit admission that the state police and the CRPF under their command could have handled the Kashmir protests better.
Children and teenagers have been amongst the 65 civilian deaths since June.
The Prime Minister's call for the police to change comes at a time when various steps haven't really calmed protesters in the Valley, nor ended the trust deficit in the minds of young Kashmiris.
It's a concern the Lok Sabha finally took up on Thursday. The debate started to a well attended House but increasingly saw empty benches.
The trickiest part was autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP wants the government to be cautious on the Prime Minister's promise of granting more autonomy within the Constitution if all parties agree.
"The people in J&K don't want dialogue, the only thing they are concerned about is autonomy. You must tell them clearly that this is not possible. Similar questions would be raised in North-east as well," senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said in Parliament.
But for the National Conference, which is in power with the Congress in the state, the key word is autonomy.
"If we give autonomy to J&K, then I must tell you that the issue is a political issue and it must be addressed politically," National Conference MP Mirza Mehboob Beig said.
Yet, what didn't emerge is just what will the government do now as it indicated yesterday to achieve a breakthrough to ensure peace.
"I want to appeal to all you people that understand our feelings. We don't want to leave India, nobody wants to leave India. People who want to separate themselves from India think everything is green on the other side. I want to correct my people, here there is lot of misinformation, there are lot of things that has been said wrong and I want to request all of you please try and understand - we want to find a solution within India and not within Pakistan, China or America," former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said.
While some MPs argued that more employment avenues would bring the youth to the mainstream, others cited the example of Punjab that how a popular elected government can end militancy.
The debate was meant to convey the whole of India is behind the average Kashmiri, listening to their problems and grievances. But empty benches won't do very much to convey that sense to the Valley.