The legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar turned 41 last Thursday and cast his vote in Mumbai on the same day. According to NDTV Sports he said: “Every run counts in the game of cricket and every vote counts in an election”. How different this is from Kashmir.

On the same day Channel News Asia reports that “millions cast ballots in the teeming financial capital Mumbai” but “voting was light to non-existent at heavily guarded polling stations in areas of Anantnag constituency after a campaign of intimidation by local militant groups, who killed three people this week and warned locals not to take part.” As an outsider it seems that the militants in Kashmir use every high profile opportunity whether it be a Concert in the Shalimar Gardens or a national election to draw attention to their ambition for a ‘Free Kashmir’.

Narendra Modi

Who will be the next Prime Minister? Narendra Modi, a right wing Hindu and RSS member, stands for the BJP and makes much of his record in Gujarat. He looks like a certainty. The Economist (April 5th) reckons he is the lesser of two evils. 5000 Sikh families were threatened recently with eviction from Kutch in Gujarat. Yet Modi claims he restored their famous Gurudwara in Lakhpat. That was done ten years ago and received a UNESCO award. The election results are due on May 16.