Envoys in Kashmir: Is it just domestic optics or attempt to address global backlash?

Illustration by Soham Sen | ThePrint Team

Five months after Modi government’s controversial move to dilute Article 370 status for Kashmir, a delegation of 15 foreign envoys is visiting the region for two days. The tour by officials from US, Norway, South America, South Africa, Bangladesh and Maldives comes at a time when India is witnessing unprecedented protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

ThePrint asks: Envoys in Kashmir: Is it just domestic optics or attempt to address global backlash?

It’s an attempt to address global backlash on Article 370 move, and one must ask how free envoys are to meet people

Noor Ahmed Baba
Professor, Central University of Kashmir

It is important to first understand who these 15 foreign envoys and senior diplomats are, what the nature of their visit to Jammu and Kashmir is, and their position on Kashmir before Article 370 was diluted to abrogate J&K’s special status. We need to know more about the delegation before making any comments.

It is noteworthy that the envoys of European Union countries declined the invitation because they wanted to meet people “unescorted”. So, one must ask whether this tour will be a guided one or will the delegation have the freedom to meet people alone. The fact is that there has been a global backlash over the Narendra Modi government’s August 2019 decision. No major country has endorsed it given how it was taken when the entire Kashmiri leadership, including mainstream leaders, were incarcerated. Many have also termed the communication clampdown as a violation of human rights.

I would say this tour is an attempt to address the global backlash, and I am not sure how successful it will be. Nevertheless, it will hold some value and will give the Modi government a moral standing in some ways.

Govt aim is two-fold: let world judge how peaceful Kashmir is and use it to justify any future restriction

Abhijit Iyer Mitra
Senior fellow, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

On the one hand, the initial denial of permission to visit was based on security considerations. So, taking these envoys to Kashmir signals, at the very least, a partial return to normalcy domestically. However, on the other hand, this can also exacerbate international pressure on the Narendra Modi government to ease restrictions.

When I say pressure, I mean actual, diplomatic discussions as opposed to public statements, which have not been backed by any real conversation behind the scenes. Public statements by leaders and legislators have so far only been to send messages back to their domestic audiences in the US, UK, and Germany. Also, we must be absolutely clear that the pressure will only be in terms of conversations – sanctions will never happen in any foreseeable circumstances.

The message to the international community is two-fold. First, come and see for yourselves what the situation in Kashmir is – this will help counter the press propaganda. Second, If the situation continues to be like this – more peaceful than it has been in years – then restrictions will be gradually eased. So, very cleverly, this trip is also a benchmark. Restrictions will be measured against what the envoys see. If the visitors judge the situation as perfectly peaceful, then even one major demonstration can be later justified to the diplomatic corps as one that made reimposition of restrictions a necessity.

All up, it’s domestic optics, inter-governmental communication, and benchmarking exercise for what constitutes the “new normal”.

Well-informed envoys can hardly be used for domestic purposes. Also, ‘global backlash’ is an exaggeration

Amar Sinha
Member, National Security Advisory Board and Former MEA Secretary

The Ministry of External Affairs has taken a good initiative by arranging this visit of foreign diplomats to Jammu and Kashmir. One could argue about the timing, but from New Delhi’s perspective, it is never too late. I hope this is only the first of many such visits by small and manageable groups of interested envoys.

I would surely discount ‘domestic optics’ being a driver of the MEA’s motivation or policy objective. I believe foreign envoys are well informed thanks to India’s media and the open debates that we witness each day. So, they can hardly be used for domestic purposes. There are other channels and institutions that are better placed to work on domestic aspects of any internal situation.

I would also be cautious in using the term “global backlash”, because it substantially exaggerates the concerns expressed by the media abroad. Most of these reports have been clearly one-sided and biased, with the primary aim to sensationalise rather than do a sober analysis of the situation in J&K.

The MEA’s objective is to allow the envoys to make their own assessment on the ground. Resident envoys in any country would not rely only on media reports for authentic information. In India, they all have access to the highest levels of policy makers and get a more balanced picture.

Global angle is more important. India’s image has been tarnished abroad by internal and external lobbies

Kanwal Sibal
Executive council member, VIF, and former foreign secretary

Restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir since 5 August 2019 have been criticised internally and externally. While internal criticism as part of party politics and civil society concerns in a democracy is normal, its vehemence and tenacity found echo externally in mounting censure by western liberal circles. Seeing some Indians so distressed, foreign lobbies that are traditionally unsympathetic towards India, fortified in their prejudices by a section of Indian academics, writers and others, got the opportunity to slam the country. India’s mage has been tarnished abroad by this synergy between internal and external lobbies.

Normalcy has slowly returned to the Valley. It’s been enough to first invite an unofficial EU parliamentary delegation to visit Kashmir – although it got embroiled in a controversy generated within India – and then organise a more meaningful visit for the first batch of foreign diplomats posted in India. If, as reported, US diplomats are part of the group, it should help in blunting criticism in the US Congress, in particular about their diplomats not being allowed to assess the ground situation in Kashmir first hand. The external angle is much more important in this exercise than domestic politics. In fact, opposition parties will again criticise the Narendra Modi government for favouring foreigners over their own MPs.

Nothing is harming Kashmir more than Indians writing negatively about the situation in Valley without knowing ground reality  

Rolee Kachru
Head of Marketing & Business Development, ThePrint

The first thing one needs to ascertain is the mindset and the thought process of the 15 foreign envoys travelling to Kashmir. Are they Left and liberals or do they support the abrogation of J&K’s special status? It is important to understand that whatever they witness will be from their own vantage point. For example, the presence of CRPF may be abnormal for them, but it is completely normal and non-obstructing for me.

One must realise that any place having been through armed insurgency for three-odd decades will in all likelihood have forces deployed. The Narendra Modi-led government has to bite the bullet and lift the internet ban and release all political leaders. The people of Kashmir don’t care about the incarcerated politicians anyway, so it’s better to release them.

I was in favour of the 5 August decision, but I think the government did not manage the narrative well. Tourism has suffered greatly and that has affected the people of the Valley the most. The Rana Ayyubs and Shehla Rashids of the world have only harmed the tourism prospects in the Valley further by spreading lies and a negative narrative.

In this talk about Kashmir, people have forgotten about Jammu. Jammu has also paid a price for Kashmir, and it too had an internet ban that no one talks about. Currently, nothing is harming Kashmir more than Indians writing negatively about the Valley without knowing the ground realities to suit their agenda. It is now time for the Modi government to get its counter-narrative right.

By Revathi Krishnan, journalist at ThePrint