By Nazir Ganaie,Agence India Press,
Angry youth is our focus
Srinagar: With an initiative to bring some considerable changes in the Indian Kashmir, the three member team of Interlocutors after arriving in the valley on Saturday said that they will focus on the youth, besides meeting all sections of people, including people in jails without pre- conditions ‘with an open mind and a big heart.’
The interlocutors said that the Kashmir is a unique problem developed in unique historical circumstances and it demands a unique political solution.
“We have to come to speak people without any pre-conditions. Our main focus will be the angry youth of the valley, whose future is at stake. We have clear guidelines from the centre (New Delhi) to meet them and provide some recommendations so that those will be acted will be acted upon,” eminent Journalist and a member of three member team of Interlocutors, Dileep Padgaonkar told reporters here.
He said they will reach out to the stone pelting youth and listen to them as well.
“We will listen to the stone pelters. We will also listen to the women folk of the Kashmir valley. We won’t talk of economic aspect of the Kashmir only, after meeting the people we will try to have a comprehensive political solution of the decade’s old Kashmir problem,” he said.
Interlocutors on Jammu and Kashmir appointed by the Centre said they were ready to meet anyone, including separatists, who were willing to talk to them. The three-member team headed by eminent journalist Dileep Padgaonkar.
“Our main focus is to address the political angle of Kashmir dispute. We are here to talk to every shade of opinion and we are here to listen to the people,” Padgaonkar said.
He said the team will be in the Valley for the next four days and will meet people from all walks of the society and would hear their point of view.
“We have already fixed some appointments, some more will be fixed in the course of the visit. We are planning to meet students on Monday,” Padgaonkar said.
He said the interlocutors will be visiting the state at least once a month to continue the dialogue with the people of the state and they will submit their recommendations after each visit.
Asked if the team would be meeting the separatist groups in view of rejection by hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the eminent journalist said they were ready to meet anyone who was willing.
“We will not invite anyone to meet us but we will go and visit their homes and listen to them,” he said adding “separatists and other group have the right to put forth their point of view. They have every right to criticize and analyze our work. If they are ready we will be happy to visit their homes. I have said it earlier also that if they wish us to call on them, we will do it as well,” he said, adding he has done some work in this regard already.”
Padgoankar said that they will visit the valley every month and simultaneously present the report of their visit to the highest seat in New Delhi.
“After every visit a report will be prepared and presented to the government in New Delhi. The government will address on the recommendations,” Padgoankar told Agence India Press in a special interview.
He said “we don’t have conformational approach, we have come to talk to everyone here and we will try to hold talks with wide range of people in the valley,” he added.
The other members of the team are educationist Professor Radha Kumar and Information Commissioner M M Ansari.
The Centre named the interlocutors to hold talks with all shades of opinion including the separatists in Jammu and Kashmir as part of efforts to bring peace in the state.
The decision to appoint a set of interlocutors was taken at the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Manmohan Singh on September 25.
Earlier, Kashmiri separatists had termed their group of interlocutors a “futile exercise which according to them was a delaying tactics from the Indian side.
Observers’ here believe that the departure of three member team of interlocutors by the India is to appease the international community as the President of America Barack Obama is scheduled to visit India next month.
The wave of violent protests was ignited on June 11 by the death of a 17-year-old student hit by a tear-gas shell during a clash with police.
Since then the Indian part of Kashmir has been paralysed by demonstrations, strikes and rolling curfews imposed to stem the violence.
The unrest has left the government grappling for solutions in the region where it has stationed hundreds of thousands of security personnel to fight the armed insurgency it says is backed by Pakistan.
Atleast 111 civilians have been killed at the hands of police and paramilitary forces.