Jammu and Kashmir is firmly set on the road to normalcy - though peace may remain elusive for a while as spoilers, internal and external, and vested interests, stage ever more bloody incidents and threaten disorder to derail the peace process.

The series of elections held in J&K since 1996, in the face of dire threats by jehadis and others who fear democracy, and the increasing participation in each successive poll indicate that ordinary people seek an alternative to the gun, which has delivered nothing but grief. The municipal polls in January- February 2005, clearly showed people voting for development, civic amenities and good governance. The significance of these polls should not be minimized. They cut across party and family lines and have brought a new and younger crop of leaders to the fore. This could mark the beginning of a new political era in J&K.

The Pakistan establishment will not admit but probably realizes that it faces an end game in J&K. It cannot win at the peace table what it has been unable to wrest through open and proxy war, jehadi terror and virulent and misleading diplomatic campaigns off and on for more than 50 years.

A vital prerequisite for peace is that India must be able to fashion an internal settlement on its side of J&K. This would entail countering alienation by applying a salve to old wounds caused by human rights violations and disappearances and restoring a sense of dignity, trust and partnership to the people of J&K. They must be satisfied, as in 1947, that they can achieve complete self-determination within the Indian Union even while being able to evolve social, economic and other ties with the other half of J&K across the LOC.

Autonomy for J&K, or a reordering of Centre-State relations, entails a return to a social or federal contract that was unilaterally breached. Unfortunately the question has been reduced to slogans that are devoid of meaning. Thus the starting point can be a "return to 1953" or any other point and working backwards and forwards towards a meeting of minds, without losing sight of practical realities.

Article 370 has little to do with national integration. The Indian Union is defined by Article 1 and Schedule 1 and these make J&K an integral a part of India as Uttar Pradesh or Karnataka. The J&K Constitution unamendably binds the State to India and provides for fundamental rights that not merely parallel those in the Indian Constitution but go beyond it. The former permitted by far the best and most far-reaching land reforms in the country and does more for the gender rights of women.

The Centre has invited all stakeholders, including the Hurriyat, to talk. The thing to do now is to commence the talks and leave it to those who choose to remain aloof to explain why? Boycotters can claim no veto. The autonomy talks need to be a sustained process and can be implemented in stages as agreements are reached, with many things being amenable to administrative decree. Concurrently, issues of regional autonomy within J&K must be pursued so that local sentiments about identity, fear of dominance and neglect are addressed.

On the economic front, unemployment must be tackled and rising expectations fulfilled. This is necessary in itself as also to absorb in gainful employment after suitable training those who lay down their guns and come over ground. To this end one must move from financial packages to economic delivery. The extension of the railway from Jammu to the Valley via Srinagar to Baramulla will be transforming.

Construction of the rail line beyond Udhampur is now proceeding apace and should be completed by 2008, the Valley section perhaps even sooner. Likewise, the new four-lane North-South National Highway, with a tunnel through the Pir Panjal at about 7000 feet along a snow and avalanche-free alignment is also being taken up. It will reduce the distance from Jammu to Srinagar by some 60 km and permit speeds of up to 80 kmph, thus reducing travel time.

Air connectivity within J&K needs to be greatly improved and twin engine aircraft to operate basic, short-take off-and-landing (STOL) air taxi services to access and open up remote and isolated areas in order to promote better administration, development and tourism.

All this will require energy. J&K has a first approximation hydro potential of almost 9000 MW at 60 per cent load factor - possibly more - which is now gradually being harnessed against Pakistan's desperate efforts to stall all progress on political grounds by raising untenable objections under the 1960 Indus Treaty.

(An abridged version of a paper presented at the J&K Government and IPCS Conference on 'Jammu & Kashmir - Where do we go from here?' held on 4-5 April at Jammu)