Those familiar with the Indian experiences with insurgencies may have noticed the recurrence of some catchphrases and keywords. The need to "win the hearts and minds" of the local population, the importance of assuaging the hurt "psyche" and, subsequently, to apply the "healing touch" are familiar features of political and well-meaning interventions. We saw this during the decade-long Punjab troubles in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the anti-Sikh riots. In the case of the Kashmir Valley that erupted after the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989 and the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits, the platitudes were combined with pleas for even greater regional autonomy and the reversion to the state's pre-1953 status.
Read Swapan Dasgupta's column here.