'A triumph of democracy" was my first thought when I read the news last week that a government finally was being formed in the once-troubled state of Jammu & Kashmir in India.
The bigger surprise, though, was that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), known for its Hindu fundamentalism, was the key player supporting the new government in the Muslim-majority state.
Given the sad history of Jammu & Kashmir, the fact that people came out to cast their ballots in the December chill was a feat in itself. Even more impressive was the voter turnout of more than 65% despite the threats by various terrorist organisations against the population.
I don't think any of us would have imagined that a party considered almost militantly pro-Hindu would play a crucial role in forming a government that will manage the affairs of nearly 12.5 million inhabitants in a state just emerging from decades of conflict that has claimed 45,000 lives.
Lasting peace and reconciliation may still be a long way off in Jammu & Kashmir. That's a feeling people know all too well in Thailand, home of endless protests by Yellow and Red shirts and their various incarnations (all of them claiming to be "democratic"), topped off by coups as a last resort. Why was the coup necessary? Sorry, I've forgotten.
The grievances of the various groups in Thailand are diverse and some people fear reconciliation will be impossible. But many of these grievances are really quite petty compared with the life-and-death struggles we see in other countries.
People with far greater differences can and do end up reconciling for the greater good and the benefit of all people. Jammu & Kashmir is one great example of how two sides have joined hands to form a government that aims to help restore the beautiful but strife-torn state to the glory days it used to enjoy.
The BJP and its new coalition partner in the state, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), are ready to form an administration even though their political platforms heading up to the election were literally poles apart. It has taken two months, but negotiations have created a breakthrough being hailed across India.
What led to a party that was shunned by Muslims gaining a foothold in Jammu & Kashmir? We may never know all the details, but BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was involved in the talks in the home stretch with PDP patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. Maybe both men agreed that a touch of "Modinomics" might help provide a much-needed lift in the northern state.
India may be regarded by some as a basket case when it comes to doing business — the Licence Raj and infuriating red tape will not go away overnight despite what Mr Modi says or does — but it can be a shining beacon where people and politics are concerned. This was also evident from the polls in Delhi, the capital state where the nearly 17 million inhabitants gave the anti-corruption crusader Arvind Kejriwal a massive mandate.
Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (Common People's Party) won 67 out of the state's 70 seats, leaving the BJP with three and the once-mighty Congress (which had ruled Delhi for the 15 years) with nothing.
What prompted the wipeout of Congress in Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and in the central government? That is something that its leadership is continuing to analyse, but one thing is certain: the vast scale of Congress-linked corruption that resulted in losses to the state of around $90 billion has to be one of the main reasons for the downfall of the storied Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
These developments are very instructive for Thailand as well. Maybe we in this country could take our cue from the rise of Mr Kejriwal and vote in real anti-corruption crusaders the next time elections take place. Or maybe the partnering of two rivals in Jammu & Kashmir could be a lesson for the two major political factions here to stand up and possibly fight military rule — or even a lesson for the government to look at ways to bring some peace to the strife-torn southern provinces of this country.
But maybe I am just daydreaming here, for who am I kidding? Everything that happens in Thailand happens because a vested interest is involved somewhere or other, so what incentives do these people have to look for real reconciliation? Perhaps it is our fate to live with problems that are unlikely to be sorted out in the near future at least.