NEW DELHI: The prime minister’s outreach on Kashmir last week was driven by a vision and a roadmap that has been in the works for some time, says Prof Amitabh Matto of Jawaharlal Nehru University. On The Gist with Surya Gangadharan, he underscored that in all these years, no Indian government has compromised on Kashmir. The move on Kashmir was driven by the relative calm prevailing there courtesy lowered levels of infiltration, government crackdown on corruption and making the bureaucracy accountable.
Prof Mattoo also acknowledges the government’s use of “Kautilyan” methods to shape the Kashmir narrative. There is a large presence of Central security forces, political leaders including separatists have been reined in through use of the coercive instruments of state power, the media have been similarly restrained. This has helped the government take the next step forward.
More in this conversation with Prof Amitabh Mattoo.
