But the government must continue with its multi-pronged approach. This may not be a bad thing so long as New Delhi opens up the dialogue to all currents of Kashmiri opinion. What matters today is less the immediate product and more the process, which is likely to be prolonged and messy. Those who stand for a peaceful and just solution to the Kashmir problem should, of course, continue to press for a bilateral dialogue between the two governments. But the situation is not yet conducive to tripartite talks on Kashmir without the first pro cess being launched in good faith and allowed to play its role.
Good faith is absolutely indispensable today.
New Delhi must demonstrate it in three ways. First, it must recognise that the roots of the sui generis Kashmir problem lie in a messy process of decolonisation and partition, enormously complicated over 53 y ears, not least by its repeated betrayal of its own constitutional and political promises. Pakistan has cynically exploited the resultant popular alienation. But the onus is on New Delhi too to reverse some of the damage. As part of its pluralist and sec ular-democratic agenda, India must accommodate a generous federalism.