India's Narendra Modi seems to have forgotten his own ‘prescription’ on dealing with the Kashmir issue, says Indian politician and writer Shashi Tharoor.
He made the jibe during a session titled ‘India against itself,’ on the third and final day of the ninth edition of Dhaka Lit Fest on Saturday (Nov 9).
The third-term member of Indian parliament said next week, he plans to remind Modi about his prescription of resolving the Kashmir issue not through “guns and abuse but by drawing them closer.”
Responding to queries from the audience on Kashmir’s future, Tharoor said that this cannot be a way to establish democracy.
Keeping politicians under house arrest is “an unacceptable practice of democracy,” he added.
Tharoor said that the governor has to take decisions regarding Kashmir but those should first go through the parliament.
Saying that resolving the Kashmir issue is a challenge, the former international diplomat added that the issue is an old one and many non-traditional approaches have been adapted there which are both against humanity and democracy.
He said that a political solution for Kashmir isn’t possible as it’s different from other Indian provinces and the biggest challenge is to figure out how to move forward.
Tharoor, however, refused to make any comments on the Indian Supreme Court's verdict on the disputed Babri Masjid saying that the country has suffered socially a great deal over the issue and bigger challenges lie ahead.
On Saturday’s India's top court awarded the bitterly disputed religious site of Babri Masjid to Hindus, dealing a defeat to Muslims who also claim the land that has sparked some of the bloodiest riots in the history of independent India.
The ruling has paved the way for the construction of a Hindu temple on the site in the northern town of Ayodhya, a proposal that has long been supported by Narenrdra Modi's ruling Hindu-nationalist party.