Withdrawing cases against some 700 “first-time” youthful stone-pelters in the Kashmir Valley would be the first tangible move by the Central and State governments to add substance to the endeavour of Mr Dineshwar Sharma to try and revive the dialogue process that had been virtually scuttled after the NDA government assumed office in New Delhi. Little purpose would be served ~ politicking apart ~ by reopening the question of why no “peace initiatives” were made earlier. The government has a point when contending that forcing a reduction in hostility-levels had to be given top priority. That, it would appear, has been substantially achieved (at least in terms of fewer incidents of violence involving common folk), and “space” for dialogue has been opened up.

A combination of using force on the ground, and choking the supply of funds which the separatists used to foment trouble seems to have worked. The gesture of releasing the 700 young persons might facilitate a more positive response when the Special Representative undertakes his second visit to the Valley, possibly a few days hence. Particularly welcome is the spirit underlying a home ministry communication that says “misguided youth need a chance to build their career and participate in job opportunities rather than being labelled as criminals for their entire life.”

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Some sceptics might contend that job opportunities are too limited to wean youth away from the allure of ‘azadi’, yet a certain goodwill has already been earned by the decision not to take any action against a young footballer who quit a militant outfit in response to his mother’s appeal to resume a normal life: that a reputed national star has offered to train the budding player serves as the “icing on the cake”. Mr Sharma’s effort would be boosted by more such moves, little things do mean a lot. Now it is for the administration, at all levels, to try and rise above past prejudices and channel more youthful energies back to the mainstream. A hard task, for those bent upon “keeping the pot boiling” will surely launch their own counter-offensive against reconciliatory moves. It will be an “endurance test” for both Mr Sharma and other agencies of the administrative apparatus involved in peace-making.

The government will have to strike a well-calibrated balance between goodwill-building and maintaining pressure on militants and their backers: there can be no compromising the security-grid that has taken years to establish. In the past, reducing force-levels had been expected to evoke a positive response from the separatists ~ it did not, in fact it proved counter-productive. Mr Sharma’s onerous duties would also be facilitated if politicians, across the board, opted against “fishing in troubled waters” and permitted changing realities to cut the separatists down to size.