To be brutally honest- NEVER!!! To help solve the Kashmir issue, we need to talk to every party involved here. We need to accept the hard realities. And above all, one of the parties must be open to make compromises. Sadly, nothing is happening.

The Indian government – and the rest of the country – has never been this distant to the Kashmiris ever before. Even with BJP-PDP alliance, things are stuck beyond control. Some of the hurriyat leaders are spewing venom. Hardcore leaders are brainwashing the young and innocent minds. The idea of ‘Azaadi’ from India of some people in Kashmir has eclipsed the dreams and happiness of thousands of Kashmiris who wants to be with India—live in India.

There are three groups. One, who wants to merge Kashmir with Pakistan (they are very small in number). Second is the group of people who wants an anonymous, independent state, neither in India or Pak; they have their own reasons to demand this- they want peace from India-Pak tension, they are sick of the overlooked atrocities of Army under the shelter of AFSPA. Third is a large group of people who wants to stick with India.

The problem is the whole country and media houses, in particular, focus too much on the group number one, often labeling them ‘anti-nationals’ or traitors. We all fail to address the real needs of the people in group number 2. We’re inflexible in our terms—with hyper-nationalism casting shadow over our senses.

Indian government and media channels are always critical of few renowned leaders in the Kashmir. This gives them the chance to gain sympathy in the valley and amass big support.

From top to bottom, rest of India has been wrong in dealing with Kashmiris and their definite demands. We’re not up for any changes. We’re using forces to suppress voice, which today is failing to work. In fact, the biggest problem is that Indian Government is not even ready to accept that the problems of people in Kashmir are real and legit. Most of them don’t care about India and Pakistan. They want to leave in peace. They want food. They want happiness for their children. They want to live a normal life. Away from all the sense of pseudo-nationalism, they want a happy and prosperous life for themselves and their family.