The Kashmir Opportunity
Kashmir is back on top of the news cycle, thanks to the Indian government's decision to revoke articles 370 and 35 of Indian constitution. And predictably, the world media has responded with rounds of criticism, focusing on Indian government's right to take such a decision in what is considered a disputed area, and especially their right to do it by Presidential decree and not a public mandate. The criticism is further focused on the fear that the BJP government, which has Hindu ideological foundation, may have taken this decision in a Muslim dominated area to ethnically cleanse the area of muslims. While it is understandable that the decision isn't popular amongst all critics, it reflects a sense of paranoia and betrays a lack of understanding of the role of government in the lives of Indians. Let's take the first issue: Indian government's right and the method of bringing about change. The central dogma here is that given the autonomy of Kashmir enshri