It was primarily the vitality of Kashmiri nationalism - called Kashmiriyat - which motivated Kashmir overwhelmingly to opt for secular federal democratic India and refuse to merge its identity in the new Islamic nation of Pakistan. Even when local sentiments against India peaked, they were expressed in the slogan of 'Azadi', not ... in favour of Pakistan. .. India should have ... show its genuine respect for Kashmiriyat ... But to treat Kashmiri Muslims only as Muslims and not as Kashmiris is to overlook the rich heritage of a 5,000 year-old civilisation. Without this background, the complexity of the Kashmiri mind and the Kashmir problem cannot be understood.

Another important clue to understanding the reality of the state is that while Kashmiris are the single largest and most vital community in the state, in the overall configuration, non-Kashmiris outnumber them. The people on the Pakistani side of the state do not speak the Kashmiri language, and thus are not true Kashmiris. Little Influence: The All-Party Hurriyat Conference has little influence outside the valley, which probably explains the gradual decline in its popularity. Initially, the insurgency in Kashmir and way it was dealt with by the government created some sympathy for it outside the Valley. Human rights activists and liberals felt that the wrong politics of the government of India had pushed the Kashmiri youth onto the path of violence. Even some of those were critical of the severe methods used by the state to crush the insurgency. Many innocent individuals became victims of counter-insurgency measures. Moreover, many, who did not entirely agree with the objectives of the insurgents, had sympathy for the broader aspirations of the people of Kashmir and wanted them to be accommodated.

In the course of time, outside sympathy started waning. One question that has troubled non-Kashmiri communities is the vagueness of the ideological and political stand of the separatists, who even as they want a mandate to represent the whole state, refuse to indicate the future status of various regions and communities within the proposed state. Obviously the separatists cannot appreciate the aspirations of non-Kashmiri speaking communities ... Few separatist leaders are willing to admit that the ruling leaders of Kashmir valley ... have not been fair to Jammu.

The Isolation: ... A result of too much valley-centered movement has been (its) isolation from all other non- Kashmiri speaking communities, not only on the Indian side of the state but also on the other side of the LOC ... The Kashmir problem which defied a solution for the last 50 years may still remain beyond solution for a long time to come. But what we need immediately is a minimum amount of understanding and sympathy for the various regions and ethnic communities.      (Source: The Times of India, 16 Cetober, 1998)