The Big Story: Kashmir conundrum

The death toll in Kashmir, in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, has now gone up to 23. The 21-year-old Wani, who became the poster boy of militancy against the Indian state, was killed in an encounter on Friday. This was followed by a massive outpouring of anger and clashes between protesters and authorities, leading to nearly two dozen deaths.

Not all of these deaths have been of protesters. A shocking incident near Sangam saw a mob heaving a police vehicle into the Jhelum, drowning its driver. Others have set fire to police stations. But the state is also concerned about its own actions: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said she would look into complaints about the use of excessive force.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has assured Mufti that the Centre will provide any support that is necessary. Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu had a less useful statement to make: "We are really surprised that some people are trying to support so-called protestors who are sympathising with the terrorist... how can any Indian have sympathy for such people?"

This is a very problematic statement. Lakhs of people came out to attend Wani at his funeral over the weekend, and the protests over the last few days cannot be passed off as simply being Pakistan-funded incidents.

There is clearly a section of the Indian citizenry (even if they don't see themselves that way) unhappy enough with the state that the killing of militants turns into a cause for sympathy. If Naidu is simply making a political statement to wind up the rest of the country and turn it against Kashmir, that's a dangerous move. What would be worse, though, if he was being sincere: Does the Indian government really not understand the Kashmiri sympathy for Wani?

The Big Scroll
Ipsita Chakravarty and Rayan Naqash look at the legend of Burhan Wani, the local narrative that drives people like him and his supporters and at how South Kashmir has turned into fertile ground for militancy.

Political Pickings
1. Gautam Adani is outraged, outraged, that a corporation's actions could be the subject of political debate. "We do not go anywhere we are unwanted," he tells the Economic Times.
2. Yet another unnamed source in the Congress, yet another story about when Priyanka Gandhi will actually join the party's Uttar Pradesh campaign (no it technically hasn't happened yet).
3. The Indian Union Muslim League, the second-largest partner in the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala, has come out in support of controversial preacher Zakir Naik.
4. S Gurumurthy is unhappy with the Perumal Murugan judgment. "You should be more careful when writing fiction. Fact is a defence against defamation. Fiction cannot be."
5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and not their respective Cabinet ministers, will take the final decision on what the new Ministers of State are going to be working on.

Punditry
1. Manas Chakravarty in Mint says that along with the celebrations, we also need to look at the failures of liberalisation, 25 years ago. He lists seven of them.
2. Prakash Javadekar needs to ensure that ideology doesn't take precedence over the reforms agenda in his new ministry, writes a hopeful Sarah Farooqui in the Indian Express.
3. RK Raghavan and D Sivanandan in the Hindu argue for a complete overhaul in India's approach to policing.

Don't Miss
Aakash Karkare speaks to IM Kadri, the man who designed some of Mumbai's most iconic post-independence architecture, on the state of the city.

"He believes it was the Rent Act, an old legislation meant to keep rents under control, that “ruined Mumbai”. The legislation resulted in tenants paying as little as Rs 400 as rent a month in areas where the market rates ranged from Rs 20,000 to Rs 60,000. “In the 1940s, when I [first] came [to Mumbai], there were beautiful buildings,” Kadri said. “Today it is the worst possible shape. That is because of the Act. They should have gradually increased the rent. Even public housing cannot come in because of the Rent Act. Entire central Bombay is in a mess.”