As the situation in Kashmir threatens to go out of control while the governments at the centre and the state twiddle their thumbs, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has a few a smart ideas on how security forces can improve their performance in controlling the angry mobs in the valley.

"Instead of allowing themselves to resort to firing bullets that can kill people, security forces should be using non-lethal technology for crowd control,”  Aiyar said at a round table conference organised by Begum Khalida Shah, President of the J&K Awami National Conference (ANC), in New Delhi on Tuesday.

He said modern technology has allowed security forces in democratic countries to deal with public demonstrations and display of discontent with greater forbearance, such as by using non-lethal technology to control and quell violent mobs. It was unfortunate that security forces in India had not caught up with the modern times, he added.

"People have a right to protest... to express their discontent and anger. You don't deal with their anger by using lethal weapons," Aiyar said.

“When our security forces are using the tactics adopted by the British, there is no stopping of such incidents in Kashmir,” he said, referring to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. 

Aiyar also said there had been widespread misuse of the security forces in the valley and criticised the government for not doing enough to control the situation. “There has been no great attempt from New Delhi to control the present situation which is building up for the last two months." 

The death of a teenage student in early June triggered the latest round of violence in the state and spread to several districts of the state. At least 41 people have died since then, mostly protesters shot dead by the police.

Aiyar, who was recently nominated to Rajya Sabha, said there was an urgent need to start uninterrupted and uninterruptible talks with various sections of the Kashmiri society. “Political leaders from all parties should go to the valley and talk to different sections in order to quell the unrest.”

Aiyar was critical of the Omar Abdullah government for not organising panchayat elections in the state. “For the last several years there has been no panchayat election in the state. When the present government assumed office in 2008, I wrote to the current chief minister to immediately organise the panchayat elections. He even replied to me that elections would be held shortly, but nothing has happened so far.”