Winning the peace

Prime Minister Vajpayee has clearly indicated that while the present attempt at normalisation — the third by him as head of government,...

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Prime Minister Vajpayee has clearly indicated that while the present attempt at normalisation — the third by him as head of government, not to talk of the others before him — would be ‘‘decisive’’, he was not going to rush into the process. This is at it should be. It is quite obvious that New Delhi should adopt a calibrated approach, especially since so much is at stake. For the moment, the moves towards re-establishing air links and full diplomatic ties are to be welcomed. Vajpayee needs to be congratulated for the bold step to try a third time after the failures, as he described them, of Lahore and Agra, to normalise relations with Pakistan. With the general elections due next year, another failure would certainly affect the fortunes of the BJP-led coalition. This would hardly give any advantage to Pakistan. But it is a political risk that the statesman in Vajpayee has had the courage to take. And its success promises peace in the region.

At this stage, it is necessary to be clear about what we may expect from the process of normalisation now set in motion by Vajpayee’s Srinagar speech. Fifty-five years and a number of wars later, not to talk of the war through terror waged for nearly two decades, the issue of J&K has only acquired greater complexity. It has many dimensions with overlapping complications. But two of them stand out. One is the issue of winning the hearts and minds of our own people in the state, where the ideal end-point would be the return of the displaced people of the state with dignity and confidence. The other, deeply linked with this, is the issue of terrorism blowing from across the frontiers. The government had been insisting that terrorism must end before any dialogue with Pakistan would be agreed to. This is where the major concession to the elected government in Islamabad is being made.

Under the circumstances the best scenario that we can expect is the steady movement along the path to normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India. This, however, could hardly be sustainable without terrorism being rolled back. The US had taken an unambiguous stand on the issue and asked for a permanent end to it. It has sent out a few signals re-endorsing it. When he comes here next week, the US under secretary of state, Richard Armitage, would no doubt be reminded of this promise of last year conveyed by him. The US could hardly be expected to find a ‘‘solution’’ to the Kashmir issue; and could lose a great deal of the goodwill that it has been trying to build with both Pakistan and India. On the other hand, Washington may be expected to continue to seek reduction of tensions between the two nations so that its own policy choices are not complicated. We should have no quarrel with that, especially since the process would remain bilateral in substance.