Two different cores There are thus two different cores, both centred on Kashmir, but they are really poles apart. India being constituted as a country of many faiths and cultures, we cannot let Islam determine the issue now, for that would unravel India's very existence as a nation. India rightly fears that any such latitude given to the separatists would lapse into communal press-ganging and frenzy, with the certainty of provoking an uncontrollable contagion of communal wrath and violence in India. As things stand, we cannot hope for a settlement on Kashmir. Beyond the summit lie perilous cliffs and chasms.
Deadlocks are common in diplomacy.
But diplomacy never dies, even in war time. If one track is blocked, another can be opened. India and Pakistan cannot give up their historic responsibility to settle the Kashmir dispute peacefully. It is not a stalemate, but in chess terms, it seems to be running into a draw by repetition of moves. India must pin its hopes for peace on economic performance.