Author: Editorial
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: October 29, 2010
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/292963/Blunderbuss-busybodies.html
'Interlocutors' must keep their mouths shut
The three-member panel of 'interlocutors'
appointed by the Union Government to interact with people representing various
sections of opinion in Jammu & Kashmir - and not the Kashmir Valley alone,
a point which cannot be overstressed - to gather their views on region and
State specific grievances appears to be more interested in creating news than
in undertaking a sensitive mission while maintaining a low profile. Nothing
else explains why the 'interlocutors' should go out of the way to speak to
mediapersons and make controversial statements. Just as Mr Dileep Padgaonkar
had no business to talk about Pakistan having a role in settling issues in
the Kashmir Valley, a comment which has understandably upset people across
the country, his colleague Ms Radha Kumar should have known better than to
baldly state that the interlocutors could recommend amendments to the Constitution
to accommodate a 'solution' in keeping with the 'aspirations' of the people.
This could be interpreted to mean, as it has been, that the Constitution can
be amended to facilitate azadi or secession - for that alone would meet the
aspirations of those Muslims of the Kashmir Valley who subscribe to separatism.
Ms Radha Kumar now claims that she has been misquoted by the media; she never
meant to suggest that the Constitution can be amended to accommodate azadi.
It is possible that her words have been taken out of context; it is equally
possible that the message she wanted to convey - that a solution has to be
found within the Constitution of India - was lost in translation. Nor should
we rule out the possibility that she indeed said what has been attributed
to her and, realising that she had transgressed her brief, is now trying to
wriggle out of a sticky situation.
The mounting concern over the interlocutors'
penchant for speaking their mind freely and posing as spokespersons of the
Union Government is, therefore, not without reason. The consequences of what
they say have to be faced by the Government as the interlocutors are not accountable
to the people of Jammu & Kashmir, leave alone the people of India. Worse,
the interlocutors may find themselves shunned by the people of Jammu and Ladakh
regions where such ill-conceived utterances are bound to raise hackles. That
would render the attempt to gather all sections of opinion infructuous and
yet another initiative by the Union Government to address the real and imaginary
grievances of the people of Jammu & Kashmir would come to naught. Surely
that's not what the Government wants. Before further damage is caused by busybodies
overwhelmed by their sense of self-importance, the Government should rein
them in: The interlocutors should be instructed not to speak to the media
or plant stories. Anything less than this would be unacceptable. The Government
should also make public the remit of the interlocutors. The people of India
have the right to know what the three worthies have been asked to accomplish.
If there are no red lines, as the interlocutors insist, then they should be
drawn without any further delay. We don't need to further complicate issues
in a strife-torn State.
