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.