The killing of 26 tourists and injuring of many more tourists in Baisaran in Kashmir was a tragedy beyond words. The terrorists claimed to be part of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba's front, 'The Resistance Front,' who have taken responsibility for this dastardly act. They identified people by religion and brutally fired upon them. One of the people killed was Syed Adil Shah, the one who used to take the tourists on ponies.

The rescue was done mainly by Muslims till the helicopters arrived, and the injured were treated by a team of Muslim doctors. The whole of Kashmir observed a bandh, and the slogans of 'Hindu-Muslim Bhai Bhai' (Hindus and Muslims are brothers) were in the air. The Prime Minister at that time was in Saudi Arabia; he returned and, instead of visiting the site of terror, went to attend an election rally. PM Modi did not Chair the all-party meeting as he rushed to Bihar where sitting on the dais, he was seen joking with BJP's ally Nitish Kumar. All the opposition parties very correctly pledged their support to the ruling coalition in countering the after-effects of the terror attack.

This strategy of his was in contrast to his visiting Godhra in Gujarat when he rushed to the site of coach burning within half an hour of the disaster and directed that the burned bodies be taken to Ahmedabad, where a procession was taken out with the dead bodies.

The social media was abuzz with messages demonising the terrorists as Muslims. 'They asked the religion first' was the central point of spreading Hate against Muslims. This trend is so prevalent here already, where Muslims are killed on the pretext of beef and love jihad. They are denied (sale or rent) after asking for their names. They are denied jobs because of their religion. The Government and Godi media overprojected the Muslim angel of the terror attack. It totally blanked out the failure of security and the absent role of intelligence in the incident.

This is quite akin to the Pulwama case, where a mass hysteria was created about the terror attack but failed to take up the issue of how RDX could come in despite the heavy security already in place. This time, there is news that there was some indication of an impending attack; what was the government doing to prevent it? One has to cross so many military barricades to reach Baisaran; how can terrorists do that?

After the tragedy, the local Muslims, the pony handlers, the rickshaw pullers and hotel owners (all Muslims) helped the travellers and decided not to charge them any money. The airlines, on the contrary, made hay by increasing the airfares, taking advantage of the situation. Many Kashmiri students faced harassment in their hostels (were asked to leave), and Kashmiris in different parts of the country faced persecution.

The Indian Government decided to take measures to stop the Indo-Pak water treaty. Pakistan's leadership stated that violating the water treaty is like an act of war. The clouds of confrontation are uncomfortably present in the sky.

Terrorism is a bane of Kashmir. Its genesis has been a complex phenomenon. The dissatisfaction among the Kashmiris began with the dilution of the Treaty of Accession, when Sheikh Abdullah, the lion of Kashmir, started feeling discomfort. He started thinking aloud about whether it was a mistake to accede to India. This dissatisfaction had a total Kashmiriyat colour. Kashmiriyat is a culture synthesising the Vedanta tradition, Buddhist values, and Sufi teachings.

This was complicated by Pakistan's promotion of dissatisfaction and giving it a violent form. In the 1990s, as Al Qaeda terrorists became stronger, similar elements turned the purely Kashmiriyat resistance into a communal issue. Kashmiri Pundits were harassed, and they emigrated from the valley when VP Singh's Government, supported by the BJP, was in power in the centre. Pro-BJP Jagmohan continued to oversee the operations in Kashmir when the Pundit exodus took place. He provided facilities for them to emigrate. The move of locals to ensure security and protection for Pundits was thwarted.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee coined 'Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhiruyat' (humanism, Kashmiriyat and democracy) as the best formula for ensuring peace in the region. However, the democratic process in Kashmir has been thwarted most of the time. Instead, measures to suppress the popular will have been the main hallmark for many decades. It is also true that earlier elections in Kashmir were not fair.

With Modi coming to power initially, demonetisation was put forward as a panacea for controlling terrorism. Demonetisation was an all-around failure. Then came the abolition of Article 370. This, along with demoting Kashmir from statehood to Union territory, was touted as the solution to the problem of terror. Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that there is peace and terrorism has been curtailed, which encouraged tourists from all over the country to travel to Kashmir.

Sporadic acts of terror against Kashmiri Pundits and others kept occurring and tormenting the spirit of Kashmir. Now a Union territory, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is not a part of security cover. The last time Mr Amit Shah called a high-level security meeting, Abdullah was kept out of the process. The Central Government totally controls the law and order!

How can terrorism be eliminated? The high-handed approach to divert the locals from managing the affairs of the state is a significant obstacle to the countering of terror. The repeated failure of security in Pulwama and now Pahalgam is a matter of deep concern. As part of India, Kashmir deserves full support from all over India to walk on the path of peace where Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Jamhuriyat has to play a big role. The statehood of Kashmir and the strengthening of the democratic process are the need of the hour. Our fellow citizens in Kashmir need an atmosphere where due security is provided, and tourists can keep flocking to Kashmir fearlessly. Tourism, being the main lifeline for the survival of the locals, deserves utmost consideration in Kashmir policy.

As the nation solidly supports the ruling government, the government, in turn, needs to take the opposition's suggestions seriously. As some have said, war is no solution; war itself is a problem.