Here are three reasons to charge Arundhati Roy with sedition: she has spoken of Kashmir never having been part of India; she advocates azadi and therefore breaking up of the Indian union; and she has clearly broken the law.

Here are three reasons not to charge Arundhati Roy with sedition: Freedom of speech and dissent is sacrosanct in a democracy; Roy is not saying anything that has not been said before by Kashmiri separatists; and charging and arresting her will internationalise the issue even further at a time when India could do without any such negative publicity. Plus, and here’s the cynical view, Roy may be hoping for just that, because by getting arrested she would have got the publicity and martyrdom that she craves for.

For a government that has so far shown little imagination and finesse in dealing with a situation that has escalated out of control, it is a Hobson’s choice. The ultra-nationalist BJP has already started its hectoring and shouting about “national outrage.” Saner voices within and outside the government have advised against this step, not the least because it will detract from the main issue at hand, which is finding a way out of this imbroglio. The violence has ceased for the time being, but the mood in the Valley is still simmering with resentment and with President Obama’s trip round the corner, trouble-makers could get busy again, if only to get mileage.

So what steps to take at this delicate stage? How to quieten down the heated mood in the state and also show a way forward instead of going round and round in circles? Suggesting a solution to this intractable problem is way beyond the scope of a mere columnist, but some observations can and should be made.

To begin with, there has to be recognition that something needs to be done to diffuse the situation. Many in India resent, rightly, the constant airing of grievances by a small section of the state’s population which is agitating to break away from the country. Remember, the residents of Jammu and Ladakh are also part of the state and even within the Kashmiris, there are Hindus and many Muslims who do not want to secede. So the rest of the country simply cannot understand why a group of secessionists, who want to take the populace back to the medieval times wants to leave India, especially since so much money has been poured into the state.

But this bemusement should not blind us to the fact that there may be genuine reasons for Valley residents to complain. It cannot be easy for any citizen of a free country to have the army around all the time, to be frisked and to worry about being shot or whisked away or simply frisked at every stage. This humiliation leads to alienation and then anger and this sentiment must be understood. They are after all our own fellow citizens and we cannot turn a blind eye to their feelings. It is therefore important for the government to step forward a step or two and give them some of what they want, including perhaps some more autonomy.

But at all times, the government should make it clear, to Kashmiris and to the world that no matter what, azaadi will never be an option. This may appear obvious, but yet often it gets lost in the fog and confusion of immediate events. The violence we see on the television screen can often have the exact effect that the perpetrators and propagandists want and make us feel as if the end is near. Then come in the media cheerleaders, the international commentary and all the pundits who pontificate about how terrible the situation is and we start thinking the worst. A bungling state government and a confused centre add to our beffudlement. But we should not lose sight of the underlying principle, that secession from the Indian state is simply not acceptable. States do not lose heart so easily; they may appear cruel and unconcerned, but their first duty is to uphold the state and its integrity, not give in to the first sign of pressure.

Which once again brings us to the proposition we began with: should people who advocate secession be arrested and tried with sedition? And if they are prominent, and their views get a lot of airtime, should we tread carefully?

My personal view is that Roy should not be arrested. It will definitely give her more publicity than she deserves and fulfil her craving to be a kind of Mahatma Gandhi and Che and Mandela rolled into one. And it will show the world that India is not mature enough to take a bit of dissent in her stride. But also because the government has other, more serious things on its mind. The main objective here is to tackle the situation on the ground, rather than get distracted by a silly publicity seeker who has little real influence beyond getting the media and a few politicians all worked up. Roy may win brownie points among some people here, in Pakistan and elsewhere, but she is insignificant in the larger scheme of things. Arresting or not arresting her will hardly change the reality in the Valley. That is where the government’s attention should be because that is where the real problem lies.

This article is written by Sidharth Bhatia is a senior Indian journalist who has worked in print, broadcast and online media. He is a columnist and regular commentator on current affairs for several leading publications and on national television.

He can be contacted at  sidharth01@gmail.com

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