Srinagar, Feb. 8 -- Last week of January witnessed visits of many a minister from New Delhi to Jammu and Kashmir, most of them going to Jammu than Kashmir Valley. And almost all of them pronounced the end of militancy in the troubled union territory and the beginning of the new phase of peace and development.

Clad in Kashmiri pheran, the communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad visited the North Kashmir town of Baramulla and inaugurated an indoor stadium. However, in their meetings in the Valley, the ministers were generally kept away from the common people. The functions they attended were largely confined to government employees. In Sopore town in Baramulla district, an entire area was sealed off to facilitate Prasad's visit.

Out o...