A Perspective on Peace in Kashmir

Involvement of people in the dispute resolution process is the most prominent feature of the India-Pakistan relations in recent years. The ongoing peace process is multidimensional involving multiple actors. Earlier the dialogue process was almost confined to the official level, whether it was between New Delhi-Islamabad, India-J&K or Pakistan-'Azad' Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan. But as the recent developments would indicate, especially after the opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route in April 2005, the major focus has gradually shifted to the people of the undivided Jammu and Kashmir. The opening of cross-border routes, the proposed e-mail-linking of passport offices in Srinagar-Muzaffarabad to ease travel, the increasing realisation of the need to fight disasters like earthquakes together, the prospects of other joint mechanisms-are all indicative of a government-backed people-centric process underway. The present article focuses on the ongoing peace process in Kashmir which involves not only India and Pakistan but also the people of both parts of Kashmir. Admitting the complexities involved in the whole exercise, the paper endeavours to portray the positive aspects of the peace process, which could possibly succeed in spite of hurdles. Most of the materials used in the paper are from author's field surveys in Jammu and Kashmir (in Poonch, Jammu, Srinagar, Kargil and Leh), and monitoring of the developments in the region from close quarters.