NEW DELHI: India`s leading political parties will come together on Wednesday to try to forge a consensus on how to defuse escalating tension in Kashmir after the worst violence in three months of protests.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who admitted last week that he was "groping" for a response, will chair the all-party meeting at his residence, with the government under pressure to show leadership in the worsening crisis.
One measure under consideration is the partial withdrawal of a tough military law in the region, which grants the armed forces immunity and is seen as fuelling a sense of injustice for Kashmiris.
The cabinet discussed this at a meeting on Monday, but decided against taking a decision on a day that saw the worst violence since mass street protests began in June.
Seventeen protesters were killed in police shootings and one police officer died in mob violence.
"Ultimately we thought that before we take a final decision, we should take into confidence all major political parties," Defence Minister A.K. Antony told reporters on Tuesday. "It is better to involve everybody."
Politically, the ruling Congress party is hemmed in by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) main opposition group, which sees any concession to autonomy-seeking Kashmiri separatists as a betrayal of the nation.
"Kashmir is in turmoil due to wrong policies of the state and the centre and the need is to have more forces but the Congress is looking to reduce the number of security personnel" in Kashmir, BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said.
"The BJP wants total peace in Kashmir prior to any talks and it is of the opinion that unless this happens any form of talks is useless."
The prime minister warned last week that there "is no royal road to success" and that he "can`t pull a rabbit out of a hat" in Kashmir.
Many before him have tried and failed, producing a deadlock that dates back to the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, when the Muslim-majority region was split between India and Pakistan.
It has triggered two of the three wars between the nuclear-armed nations and remains an enduring source of tension in South Asia.
A majority in Indian Kashmir, where New Delhi has an estimated 500,000 troops, favour independence for their region, according to a recent poll.
For three months, young Kashmiris have thrown stones at security forces, defied strict curfews and held anti-India rallies, resulting in clashes that have left 88 people dead.
The frustrated new generation has become the focus of resistance to Indian rule, superseding the militants who made the region one of the most dangerous places on Earth in the 1990s.
Since 1989, an anti-India insurgency has plagued the part of Kashmir ruled by New Delhi, claiming an estimated 47,000 lives.
But militancy has fallen to its lowest level for two decades and New Delhi estimates there are now merely 500 militants active in the region, a fraction of the thousands previously.
More people have died at the hands of the security forces this year than in militant attacks.
BDST: 0929 HRS, September 15, 2010
