HE valley of Kashmir is a symbol of human resistance that goes far beyond the decades-old Pakistan-India dispute over a stretch of territory. It is a land of people who want choices in life and who are brave and desperate enough to lay down their lives in pursuance of their dreams of liberty. Tragically, circumstances continue to tax them, asking for ever more sacrifices yet more evidence of their resistance came a few days ago, when a number of people were killed during by-polls there. Considering the angry protests that have erupted in the India-held valley since the killing of Burhan Wani last year, bloodletting at the hands of the Indian security forces was not unexpected. The poor turnout at polling stations itself showed the level of the people`s anger: only 7pc of the electorate came out to vote, with the result that a re-poll was ordered. This illustrates overwhelmingly the people`s rejection of the BJP strategy to `fix` matters behind closed doors.

In fact, matters as they stand now are hardly encouraging for those who had wanted to impose some kind of solution on Kashmir. `Terrorism or tourism` Prime Minister Narendra Modi had roared, his words as hollow as the earlier slogans promising development and aimed at `compensating` Kashmiris for stifling their demand for freedom. The Kashmiris are hardly convinced by the sops on offer through Mehbooba Mufti`s government, or the pledge of a stable future under a BJP vision that lays stress on Hindutva. In fact, many Kashmiris have been emboldened in their acts of defiance as the BJP endeavours to establish a Hindu nationalist order. This sentiment is not just voiced by Kashmiri liberation groups and their sympathisers but also by Kashmiri leaders who have in the past worked with New Delhi to try and `tame` the ungovernable valley. Among these leaders is former Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, who in his evaluation of the situation since the killing of Burhan Wani, has warned India that Kashmir was slipping away from its grip. He has made it absolutely clear to the BJP government that it is digging a deep ditch for India in held Kashmir and insists that there can be no dialogue without the inclusion of Pakistan. This pretty much sums it up for everyone. The sooner the talks begin the better it would befor allconcerned.

But will they? There are many elements in the Pakistan-India relationship that need to be discussed by the two nuclear rivals from terrorism, to trade to visa regimes. So far, all these elements have moved about within the parameters of a circular storyline. And almost at every juncture, the issue of Kashmir has cropped up. A solution is urgently required and that can only come about through sincere talks between Pakistan and India and not without the representation of the Kashmiri people.