New Delhi/Srinagar:
First came the calls for azaadi by separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer-activist Arundhati Roy. Then came rowdy interruptions by a group of Kashmiri Pandits and workers of the Akhil Bharti Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the youth wing of the BJP.
"Kashmir has never been an integral part of India," said Roy, provoking the BJP to demand that she, along with Geelani, be charged with sedition. Others jumped to her defense, arguing this was an example of democracy on full display.
The storm erupted as the government's panel of interlocutors was in the Kashmir valley, trying to kickstart a political process.
The headlines shifted from them to Roy once she reached Srinagar over the weekend, stating at a closed-door event, "After attaining freedom from the British, India itself has become a colonial power."
The BJP reasserted its demand. "There is a perfect case against Arundhati Roy and Geelani of sedition and that's why we have also today demanded that they should be arrested," said the party's spokesperson, Prakash Javadekar.
The interlocutors, navigating their way through a political minefield, say this would be an over-reaction.
"We should see through this attempt by some people to get noticed... we should not be provoked," said Dileep Padgaonkar.
The government concedes that legally, it has possible grounds for action. "The remarks by Ms Roy and Geelani are not in good taste. And let me tell you frankly, we are concerned," Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily said.
But privately, government sources say acting against the internationally-famous author or Geelani wouldn't be smart politics at a time when the government is struggling to control the unrest and violence that ravaged the Valley till recently.
As the interlocutors meet everyone from jailed militants to young students, the separatist statement is one they will have to contend with.
"We simply told them that people here are demanding freedom - and they are genuine," says Nida, a student.
Faced with a possible sedition case, Arundhati Roy, who has famously called herself "an independent, mobile republic", threw the gauntlet back at the Indian state, saying "What I say comes from love and pride. It comes from not wanting people to be killed, raped, imprisoned or have their finger-nails pulled out in order to force them to say they are Indians... Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds." (
Read: Arundhati Roy's statement on possible sedition case)
As India debates whether democracy should permit dissent even if it challenges the very entity of the nation state, in the Valley, the real concern is that the row over Roy may further weaken an already-fragile peace process eve.