Hills and valley

• The Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government has altered Kashmir’s ground realities, promoting prosperity, peace, and integration.
• Separatist outfits like J&K Peoples Movement, Democratic Political Movement, J&K Tahreeq Isteqlal, Tahreek-i-Istiqamat, and J&K Salvation Movement have publicly dissociated from separatist ideology.
• This shift signals a shift from the past, where political engagement was used to manage separatist sentiment.
• The government’s shift to a new narrative of a “developed, peaceful, and unified Bharat” is a significant departure from the past.
• The Hurriyat Conference, once an influential coalition, has been rendered inactive, with most of its top leaders jailed or sidelined.
• The people and political class of J&K have not organically embraced these realities post-2019, and security forces have been deployed across urban centres.
• Stability in Kashmir requires trust, participation, and a long-term vision, with J&K restored as a full-fledged State of the Indian Union.