Even before t proceeds on ground, the Centre's decision to appoint an interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir lies caught in a swirl of confusion over its intents and purpose. Could it merely have been a ceremonial rug rolled out ahead of the visit of India by Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of State? Could it be a winter comforter for the chief minister Mehbbooba Mufti , who has struggled for political space and talking points, and no more? Could it merely be a dummy roll of the dice to exhaust an option for further talks- someone was appointed and authorized to talk but nobody was willing, so what was the point? The most robust doubts over the objectives of the mission of the interlocutor, Dineswar Sharma, have been cast by the Prime Minister , P. Chidambaram, advocated and cast by the prime minister Narendra Modi , himself When the Congress leader and former Union hone minister, P. Chidambaram , advocated the autonomy of for Jammu and kashmir last week, Mr Modi was quick tp ounce on the statement and label the Congress anti national, a party that speaks the same language as Pakistan. That could be crafty pulpit rhetoric, especially at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying t shower upon the blessings of the Gujarat battle, but it does not take away from the fact the Prime Minister has purposefully twisted Mr. Chidambaram's position to stroke his favored his ultra nationalist traits. Autonomy, after all, is nothing that lies beyond the realms of either of the Constitutions or the territorial map of India. There exists, in fact, an autonomous relationship duly endorsed by the Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly when the national conference was in power, Successively governments have overlooked it, but none has called it unlawful. The notable irony, is in fact, that Mr. Modi's government and the party run a power alliance in jammu and kashmir with political forces that have articulated far more aggressive ambitions than autonomy.