India's restraint so far in not crossing the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan has been widely appreciated. But once some sort of status quo is restored in Kargil we will undoubtedly come under great pressure on Kashmir  itself, an issue that has domestic, regional and international

dimensions. Bilateral efforts have been made in the past to arrive at an amicable settlement ... Half a century of negotiations and thinking on Kashmir all over the world have thrown up 10 options.

· Plebiscite under UN auspices for the entire state of J&K as it existed on August 15, 1947.

. Integration of Jammu and Ladakh into India and POK into Pakistan and a plebiscite only in the Valley.

. Conversion of the Kashmir Valley into a UN trust territory for 10 years and plebiscite thereafter.

. Independence for the state of J&K as it existed on August 15, 1947, with its territorial integrity

guaranteed.

· Integration of Jammu and Ladakh into India and POK into Pakistan and independence for the Valley.

· Integration of Jammu and Ladakh into India and independence for a united Valley.

Condominium or joint sovereignty of India and Pakistan over J&K as it existed on August 15, 1947, with the maximum possible autonomy for the state.

· A confederation of India, Pakistan and J&K as it existed on August 15, 1947

. Partition of the state with the Valley and large parts of Jammu in Pakistan and with Ladakh and the districts of Jammu and Kathua in India.

. Recognition of the existing LOC as the international boundary, either sealed or "porous".

Clearly, independence or partition should never be agreed to by India. India's best bet is to negotiate to have the LOC declared the international border ... Pakistan won't agree but we can get the international community to put pressure on it. However, this will yield results only if

we improve our own image.

We are not given credit for not doing in Kashmir what the Chinese have done in Tibet or what the Israelis have done in the West Bank. On the contrary, India is seen as the "oppressor". The propaganda has been fuelled by the influential overseas Kashmiris. But not all is propaganda.

There is alienation in the hearts and minds of the young in the Valley. But our own experience has shown that alienation is not a permanent condition and with creative power-sharing agreements and regional autonomy ... the divide can be bridged.

What needs to be done following the end of the Kargil crisis is for India and Pakistan to appoint two political personalities each to carry forward the dialogue on Kashmir ... This dialogue can take months or years. But in  a world where optics is an important as reality, this move will serve as a signal that new beginnings are being willed in south Asia as they have been elsewhere in the world ... where people have been long-suffering victims of a Kashmir-like cocktail of religion, geography, history and politics.  (Source: The India Today, 12 July, 1999)