The BJP continues to approach the Kashmir issue either using a Pakistan angle (insisting that the Kashmir uprising is propped up by Pakistan) or from a Hindu-Muslim perspective. The reality is that neither do Indian Muslims have anything to do with what happens in Kashmir nor is the ‘azadi’ struggle in Kashmir a purely Islamic movement. Hence one cannot address the substantive issue of conflict resolution in Kashmir without addressing the symbology of the ‘azadi’ movement. This explains the thought-process behind the so-called Musharraf formula on Kashmir, a solution that hinges on resolving the bilateral Kashmir dispute without changing its currently existing borders. The BJP, however, due to its hyper-nationalist baggage and puritanical claims about Kashmir, may find it hard to address Pakistan’s need for a ‘symbolic resolution’ of the Kashmir dispute.

Source: The Hindu August 28, 2016 18:45 UTC