Book Discussion Group

 

K File: The Conspiracy of Silence

By Bashir Assad (New Delhi: Vitasta Publishing, 2020)

 

Discussants: Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM; Shri Sushil Pandit, activist and Founder, Roots in Kashmir; Dr. Rekha Choudhary, formerly Professor of Political Science, University of Jammu & Kashmir and formerly, Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla; and Shri Bashir Assad, senior journalist, researcher and author of the book

 

Chair: Shri N.N. Vohra, President, IIC

 

The conflict in Jammu and Kashmir is one of the biggest internal security challenges for the Indian state. 2001 saw over 4,500 terror-related deaths in the state. This figure has steadily declined in the last 18 years, makinf the world wrongly believe this reduction in violence is a sign that Kashmir is moving towards conflict resolution. Bashir Assad argues, there is never going to be a resolution of conflict in Kashmir and return to peace unless all stakeholders – the Kashmiris themselves, the Indian state and the political parties in Kashmir get together and negotiate peace with the militants.