The coexistence of contending realities in Kashmir is a natural corollary of the transition from conflict to peace. A successful transition to peace is not only a test of Indian secularism, but also of Indian democracy.

If India wants to engage with the “Global South” in a more meaningful way, it should recognize its Anglophone bias and consider developing relations with Portuguese-speaking countries and thus open one more front in its foreign policy.

The interim opportunity provided by the Army’s curtailment of insurgent activity needs to be utilised to meet the aspirations of the local population in insurgency affected areas.

If India is indeed interested in being a ‘rule-maker’ in a multilateral world, alternative approaches to persisting problems is the basic component of it.

Modern democracies are much more than about simply throwing the rule book at their militaries. Armed forces expressing their views on grave issues of security should be taken in the right spirit.

The current discourse which is mostly about the role or the absence of such a role for the military in decision making misses out on key currents and issues like overcoming the massive import syndrome and sustaining the positive image of the soldier in society.

Like NAM, neither the IBSA nor any other forum will be permanent or best, though they are just one step in hopefully a direction to find a better and just global political order.