The Kashmir Goes To....

The bus journey between Srinagar and Muzzafarabad has spurred questions about what we really expect this "peace journey" to accomplish. Is it the start of finding peace in Kashmir? I think not. The core of the problem still remains and has not moved any closer to resolution. The Kashmir issue so far has been a battle of egos; And an intervention of super-powers that have no intentions other than poking their noses into matters that are of no concern to them, hoping to leverage something. Everyone is callous to the matter at the core of it all, the people of Kashmir. What do they want? Why can't we let them vote for their future? This will bring up questions about whether the "militants" should be allowed to vote, and I think they should. Yes they are extremists, but they are no different from the fanatical political party supporters in the other states. If they can vote, then so can all the denizens of Kashmir. I have been fortunate to visit Kashmir as a child and have great memories of the paradisiacal state. As much as I want her to be a part of my country, it is only fair that the people who have lost so much to the war decide how they want to be in peace.

On a related note, go here and scroll down to the last-but-one letter. I finally managed to get in after (almost) spamming The Hindu every day! What was published is still quite different from what I wrote. Cheap thrill I know :-)