A NEW RAY OF HOPE?

For the past week, Jammu and Kashmir has been rife with rumours of all sorts, ranging from Jammu being bestowed standalone statehood to New Delhi extending an olive branch to the mainstream political parties in the erstwhile state. But nothing has been confirmed yet. The rumours were fuelled by the arrival of new security forces in some districts, which police say are returning troops from recently poll-bound states. Liutenant t Governor Manoj Sinha has put to rest the rumours, but apprehensions remain. “We are not convinced,” says National Conference MP and retired justice Hasnain Masoodi. The people talk about the days before August 5, 2019, when then J&K governor Satya Pal Malik had ‘allayed public fears’ about the move to abrogate Article 370. “We can only hope and pray that there is no