Opinion | A Month After Pahalgam, Have We Lost Sight Of Kashmir And Kashmiris?

A key element of any war on terror is public resistance. The battle against terrorism in Punjab, for instance, was won through a combination of strong police and army action, political solutions and most importantly, a shift in people's mood in favour of peace and democracy expressed through a high turnout in the local elections of 1992 and 1993.

The manner in which Kashmiris poured out on the streets to condemn the Pahalgam massacre raises hopes of changing ground realities, which could work to our advantage in fighting terrorism in the troubled Jammu and Kashmir. This is, however, provided that the government seizes the moment and crafts a confidence-building outreach to win hearts and minds.

A United Voice

It is unfortunate that the shrill noise of war cries deflected attention from unprecedented developments in the Union Territory post-Pahalgam. For the first time in many years, we saw public expressions of solidarity with the national mood as residents of the Valley organised shutdowns, marched in protest demonstrations and held candlelight vigils to mourn the victims of the Pahalgam attack.

The show of empathy from a people who have harboured deep feelings of alienation and resentment for decades deserved acknowledgement from the highest political quarters. That was scarce. While the Prime Minister referred in general terms to a mood of national unity in his address to the nation, the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, whose Congress party is an ally of the National Conference (NC)-led Omar Abdullah government in Jammu & Kashmir, met only the injured victims of the terrorist attack.

How We Turned On Our Own

Worse, the rightwing ecosystem threatened and abused Kashmiri students in other parts of the country. And when Himanshi Narwal, who lost her husband - a naval officer - appealed for peace and voiced distress over the hatred directed against Kashmiris and Muslims, she was mercilessly trolled on social media. 

Security forces reacted in the usual fashion. Around 1,500 youths on suspicion of being terrorist sympathisers. In addition, the authorities bulldozed several houses allegedly belonging to the families of suspected terrorists. Many of the accused had long fled their homes, but their families found themselves on the streets, unsure of what crime they had committed. Notably, the gunmen who committed the dastardly attack in Pahalgam have not been caught.

Taking The People Along

It's been almost a month since the incident and India and Pakistan have fought a high-intensity four-day air battle in that period. But the pity is that we seem to have lost sight of our priorities amidst these tensions. While we establish a new normal of military deterrence between India and Pakistan on the issue of cross-border terrorism, we seem to have forgotten that our most valuable allies have to be the people themselves. We must win the battle in Jammu & Kashmir to defeat the covert war that Pakistan has unleashed to bleed India.

After seeing the response of Kashmiris to the Pahalgam attack, the time has come for some creative thinking to re-energise the process of mainstreaming Jammu & Kashmir that the Modi government began in 2019 with the abrogation of Article 370.

After several years of protests followed by sullen silence, it was amazing to see Kashmiris accept their new reality and place their faith in the democratic process. Both the Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls in 2024 generated an enthusiastic voter turnout of the kind the state has never seen before, even in the early decades preceding the advent of terrorism and militancy in the 1990s.

What Kashmir Needs Right Now

If there are any lessons to be learnt from Punjab, this level of people's participation in the electoral process held out immense possibilities for new beginnings. A window of opportunity has opened now for the leadership in New Delhi to build on these gains. There are many steps it can take. And it has to come from the Centre, not the state leadership, because the people of Jammu & Kashmir look at New Delhi for signals.

One is to offer a relief and rehabilitation package for the tourist industry, which has suffered a crippling blow after the Pahalgam attack. Tourism is one of the main drivers of the state's economy. Since last year, it grew by leaps and bounds to touch an all-time high of 2.5 crore visitors in the first five months of 2025.

Then Pahalgam happened, and the flow of tourists dried up completely. Leading members of the tourism industry in Jammu & Kashmir have already appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for a special package to fill the economic void caused by the collapse of tourism and to help rebuild visitor confidence in the sector. The Centre could add its own healing touch by helping the Abdullah government at this difficult juncture.

While tourists from other parts of the country and a local Kashmiri ponywallah bore the brunt of the Pahalgam attack, ordinary folk living in villages along the Line of Control running through Jammu & Kashmir suffered their share of misery during the four-day India-Pakistan military showdown. We don't have an official death toll yet, but at least 11 persons, including some children, are believed to have been killed in heavy shelling and artillery fire.

Politicians Must Step Up

Houses have been damaged, livelihoods lost. Except for Abdullah and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, no other national political leader has visited those affected by the conflict.

Muslims and Hindus were almost equally affected. Areas from Kathua to Akhnoor up to Rajouri are largely populated by Hindus. They were badly bombed and damaged, but no mainstream leader went to those areas to meet the victims.

Perhaps it is too early to talk of the question of the restoration of statehood to Jammu & Kashmir. But at some stage, both the Centre and local political leaders must tackle it.

There is lots to be done if the Centre is willing. Ultimately, Jammu & Kashmir is a political problem and needs a political resolution. The government of the day must have a large heart to bring to life the words of the late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, that the road to lasting peace in the state is "Insaniyat, Jamhuriyat and Kashmiriyat".

(The author is a senior Delhi-based journalist)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author