RELATIONS between India and Pakistan have nosedived since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014. If anyone thought that he would make up the loss by a conciliatory policy towards Kashmiris, they were mistaken. It was never part of his agenda. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) would have none of it. The game is to accuse dissent within Kashmir as a movement that is Pakistani sponsored, and ruthlessly crush it.

At least a decade ago, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had warned that alienation was on the rise and leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference were fast losing influence over the insurgents. He has nothing to offer them except snubs.