Reuters picked up the 2 columns, and sparked off a debate.
From the comments, its obviously a tough battle - getting people to agree to even put let-Kashmir-go on the list. Years of chest beating have attuned us to patriotism based on weird stuff. It matters not that its an impediment to our march forward as a nation, and drag on resources, and to top it all, the people of the place want out.
The only stakeholders who can think otherwise with some legitimacy are the Pandits, whose home this land was and who've suffered there. But I suspect a lot many will be pragmatic, and look ahead rather than backwards.
At the very least, keeping this out of the scope of the discussion is certainly both short sighted and counter productive. I even think a lot many Kashmiris will themselves wonder about how it'll work out for them once this option becomes a possibility, however bleak. I'm sure they realize how Pakistan's progressed, and how Indian has. Even the Pandits that were pressurized into leaving have done way better outside of Kahmir.
We've got to look beyond the land itself, and boundaries. We've got to move ahead and get to other problems. Too much effort, money, time is being spent on this, with little in return.
Update: Jug Suraiya gets into the act too. Its a pretty strong vote for considering this possibility already. The shrill noises from the other end, as experienced from the users comments to this, mean that a lot of PR work remains if this option is to made workable, but totally discounting it isn't healthy for us, right now.
From the comments, its obviously a tough battle - getting people to agree to even put let-Kashmir-go on the list. Years of chest beating have attuned us to patriotism based on weird stuff. It matters not that its an impediment to our march forward as a nation, and drag on resources, and to top it all, the people of the place want out.
The only stakeholders who can think otherwise with some legitimacy are the Pandits, whose home this land was and who've suffered there. But I suspect a lot many will be pragmatic, and look ahead rather than backwards.
At the very least, keeping this out of the scope of the discussion is certainly both short sighted and counter productive. I even think a lot many Kashmiris will themselves wonder about how it'll work out for them once this option becomes a possibility, however bleak. I'm sure they realize how Pakistan's progressed, and how Indian has. Even the Pandits that were pressurized into leaving have done way better outside of Kahmir.
We've got to look beyond the land itself, and boundaries. We've got to move ahead and get to other problems. Too much effort, money, time is being spent on this, with little in return.
Update: Jug Suraiya gets into the act too. Its a pretty strong vote for considering this possibility already. The shrill noises from the other end, as experienced from the users comments to this, mean that a lot of PR work remains if this option is to made workable, but totally discounting it isn't healthy for us, right now.
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