It is time to deepen political engagement in Kashmir

(The article was originally published in Indian Express on December 20, 2025 as a part of Dr Madhav’s column titled ‘Ram Rajya’. Views expressed are personal.)

It is more than a year since the new government came to power in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory. Eight months after the brutal Pehalgam massacre that led to restrictions and downslide in tourism, the region seems to be limping back to normalcy. Tourist inflows, that touched a record 24 million in 2024 and showed similar surge in the early months of 2025 crossing 9 million in first four months, dipped substantially after the terror incident in April 2025. Even the government decided to shut 48 important tourist spots for several weeks after Home Minister Amit Shah, during his visit to the terror site in Pahalgam on April 23, ordered for a complete security review of those sites.

But things look optimistic again with winter tourism showing signs of revival. There was a time in the last couple of years, until the Pahalgam incident, when hotels, resorts and houseboats saw 100 percent occupancy with months of advance reservations. Acute shortage of rooms was experienced during peak tourist seasons like the Amarnath Yatra and summer holidays. That kind of rush is yet to come back although the hotels in Srinagar are reporting 50-60 percent occupancy in December.

Ever since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, one conspicuous thing in the Kashmir Valley was the change in mood at the grassroots. Biggest support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in Delhi came from the ordinary Kashmiris, who refused to be swayed by emotions and separatist rhetoric. It appeared as though they, having lived under the Article 370 regime for several decades, wanted a try at life under ‘no-370’ and see if it benefits them more.

In the immediate aftermath of the abrogation, when a large number of political leaders in the Kashmir Valley were placed under preventive detention, there was no hue and cry. It looked as though the people were okay with such preventive measures. A year after the abrogation, when some members of the Abdullah family tried to organise a protest from the Lal Chowk, only a handful of people turned up. These and many such incidents in the last few years testify that the people of the Valley seem convinced about their new identity under the Indian Constitution and were willing to be partners in development-centric governance of Delhi.

Upholding the promise given to the people of J&K, the government had successfully conducted elections to the UT legislature and allowed the formation of a popular government there. Elections held in September-October 2024 saw people in different districts in the Valley too enthusiastically participating in them. Districts like Anantnag, once famous for poll boycotts, registered more than 50 percent polling, conveying to the rest of the world that people of the region have accepted their new status as an integral part of the Indian Union.

There is zero appetite for terrorism and separatism in the Valley now. Avowed separatist bodies like the Jamaat and religious leaders often seen as toeing soft separatism like Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq have considerably moderated their tone and tenor. A major section of the Jamaat plunged into the electoral politics and contested in the elections held for the UT legislature last year, affirming its loyalty to the Indian Constitution. Mirwaiz, an influential figure in moulding public opinion in Kashmir, consistently maintained his position against terror and harped on the need for greater dialogue to bridge the “dil aur Dilli ki doori” (distance that Kashmiris feel in their hearts with Delhi).

Although Pahalgam remains a heart-wrenching incident in which 26 innocent civilians lost their lives, overall number of terror incidents has seen considerable dip in 2025 to about 69. Majority of those incidents were encounters in which the security forces have neutralised a large number of terrorists, mostly coming from across the borders. It must be kept in mind that the number of terror incidents used to be 5-6 times higher until 2020.

Pahalgam incident saw a large number of ordinary Kashmiris coming out openly not only in opposing terrorism but also taking up cudgels against Pakistan. There is considerable resentment against Pakistan in the Valley today due both to its terror machinations in India as well as the domestic happenings in that country. That popular sentiment forced leaders like Mirwaiz also to tone down their old rhetoric about tripartite talks between India, Pakistan and Kashmir and shift their public discourse to issues like waste management, public hygiene, power shortages and water scarcity. By traveling to Delhi to attend parliamentary panel meetings, Mirwaiz gave clear indication of his willingness to work with Delhi.

All this demonstrates a perceptible change in the mood in Kashmir. The memorandum submitted by the delegation of MPs from the Valley, who met Union Home Minister earlier this week, is an indication of the new priorities and aspirations of the people of the UT. The memorandum urged Amit Shah to initiate “clear, concrete, and time-bound” steps for early restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, in keeping with “constitutional principles, judicial observations, and the assurances already given at the highest level”.

Delhi must seize the opportunity and enhance direct engagement with various stakeholders in the state for a political dialogue. In Kashmir, besides prominent parties like NC, PDP, BJP and Congress, there are several other important players, political and non-political, who wield considerable influence over different sections of the society. Most of them will be willing, if not eager, to engage with Delhi. Delhi may start engaging with all such sections through a political process that will surely give great dividends in consolidating the goodwill achieved through good governance over last six years. Unfortunately, besides visits by Prime Minister, Home Minister and a couple of cabinet ministers in the first half of the year, not much political engagement has happened in the last several months in Kashmir.

Some opposition for the sake of politics notwithstanding, the sentiment in the Valley was well captured by the MPs’ memorandum which said, “A Kashmiri”, besides being a human being, is “an Indian”.