Although most of the provisions of the Accord were never translated into reality, it is the spirit behind the compact of 1974 that needs to be revived once again.

Despite the grim situation in Jammu and Kashmir today, the political and social climate is arguably right to begin a broad-based dialogue that could lead to a new accord ...

The situation today, while strikingly different in several respects, is similar in at least three ways. First, there is ... strong disillusionment th Pakistan. The d political and social conditions prevailing within Pakistan have not gone unnoticed in the Valley. The near total kabsence of a civil society, the ethnic conflict in Sindh and other areas, and the almost Orwellian control that is I exercised in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, has gradually left ca deep impression on the Kashmiris. Although it is too early to gauge what impact the recent military coup by General Pervez Musharraf will have on Kashmiri public opinion, it may well strengthen the growing feeling that a country, whose commitment to democracy is so weak and e imperfect, can hardly be a real supporter of the democratic a aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Additionally, the Kargil debacle has signalled once again that Pakistan cannot annexe Kashmir by force. Second, at least some Kashmiri 'secessionist' leaders r seem to be coming down from the maximalist positions that they had adopted during the last decade ... Many leaders of the All Party Hurriyat Conference ... seem to have indicated their willingness to enter into a dialogue of with the Centre.

The Hurriyat's shift seems to be rooted in the recognition that the current phase of militancy in the Valley, almost entirely foreign inspired and controlled, is leading to the marginalisation of Kashmiri leaders. True, there is no leader in the Valley today with either the popularity or legitimacy of Sheikh Abdullah, but a dialogue can help create the conditions under which it will be possible for the real leaders of the people to emerge and enter into an agreement with the Centre.

Finally, after a nearly a decade, there is a strong and stable government in place at the Centre ... Vajpayee can ... articulate Kashmir-sensitive policies that will not be seen as appeasement or a sell-out by public opinion.

.. There was no militancy in the Valley in 1974 (but) the popular alienation from the Centre's policies was equally intense ... However, this need not be a hurdle in the way of an imaginative political initiative.

Today, there is an overwhelming Kashmiri sentiment against violence, irrespective of its origin. Militancy may not be down and out, but it has lost a great deal of popular legitimacy. "Peace with dignity" is the slogan that perhaps most suitably captures the prevailing mood of Kashmir.

Finally, there seems to be a genuine desire to recover the social capital lost in the last decade, and to restore Kashmir's traditional society based on the common synergetic identity of Kashmiriyat. A new accord will, of course, not resolve the problem of terrorism, or end the problem of foreign militants. But then the battle against terrorists will reduce itself to being a law and order problem that will be fought primarily by ordinary Kashmiris rather than by security forces from outside the state. (Source: The Times of India, 3 December, 1999)

Tavleen Singh On Kashmir Problem

.. It really is time that our home minister woke up to the fact that we need to do something about Kashmir. Some kind of talks with Kashmir's more moderate secessionist groups are becoming increasingly necessary Since Advani took charge of the Home Ministry his approach has been military rather than political. This  approach has not worked and it is time to consider what else can be done and how. There is no point in blaming the whole Kashmir problem on cross-border terrorism because we all know that when Kashmir exploded in1989 after a decade and a half of peace, it was entirely the fault of our own policies. Pakistan got into the act afterwards.

Only when the home minister examines the Kashmir problem from a political angle rather than a military one will we corne any closer to solving it ... Advani needs to ask himself what has gone wrong in Kashmir. If he does that he may discover that the crux of the problem is that his policy has been completely lacking in a political element.

Let us also not forget how quickly yesterday's terrorists become today's political leaders. Remember that Farooq Abdullah, now a nationalist hero, was considered a terrorist by Indira Gandhi in 1984. His alleged support for terrorism was the justification she gave for dismissing his government ...

So, if we want a solution in Kashmir we need to begin by revising our domestic policy in the valley. We need to find out why ordinary people continue to be so angry with India and what can be done to assuage some of this anger.

There is no point pretending that a military solution is the only answer. Jagmohan tried that as governor and nearly pushed Kashmir over the edge ... Let us concentrate on our internal problems in Kashmir. We could find that Pakistan becomes irrelevant to Kashmir, as it did between 1975 and 1989, if we manage to solve our domestic problems in the Valley. (Source: The India Today, 22 November, 1999)