A Post-Pokhran Policy for Kashmir

An internal debate among the different ethnic and religious communities of Jammu and Kashmir on their status within the state and on the state's external ties must constitute the core of a post- Pokhran Indian policy on Kashmir It is unnecessary to assume that the outcome of such a political process would necessarily go against India. For, any understanding among the various identities within Jammu and Kashmir can be built only on the basis of a democratic and federal set-up which is closer to the Indian polity, with all its faults and shortcomings.