It doesn't get more ironic than this — when addressing the "most venerables", ignore the "most vulnerables" back home.

Speaking as the chief guest at the International Vesak Day celebrations in Colombo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the international community on the growing "arc of violence". In an apparent dig at Pakistan, the PM said the "biggest challenge to sustainable world peace is from mindsets rooted in hate and violence, and not necessarily from conflict between the nation states".

This is how he began his speech:

"Most venerable, Maha Naayakonthero of Sri Lanka

Most venerable, Sangarajathairos of Sri Lanka

Distinguished religious and spiritual leaders

Hon’ble President of Sri Lanka, Excellency Maithripala Sirisena

Hon’ble Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Excellency Ranil Wickremesinghe

Hon'ble Speaker of Parliament Excellency Kaaroo Jayasuriya

Most venerable Dr Brahmin Pandit, President of the International Council for the Day of Vesak

Esteemed Delegates

Friends from the media

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

Namaskaar. Ayubuvan.

Vesak is most sacred of days.

A day for humanity to revere the birth, the enlightenment and the Parinibbana of Lord Buddha, the Tathagatha. A day to rejoice in Buddha. A day to reflect on the supreme truth and timeless relevance of Dhamma, and the four noble truths."

There is no denying what the PM said was "nothing but true" and makes for great foreign policy address, but going by the developments back home, his own government's policy looks not quite the same.

Sample this: "The menace of terrorism in our region is a concrete manifestation of this destructive emotion. Sadly, these ideologies of hate and their proponents in our region are not open to dialogue and hence only open to causing death and destruction. I firmly believe that Buddhism's message of peace is the answer to growing arc of violence all over the world."

The above lines said by the PM in Colombo, sadly, fail to find any resonance in the government action in Kashmir.

The ongoing crisis in Kashmir calls for a serious initiation of dialogue now more than ever, yet the government believes it can touch the hearts of Kashmiris with muscle-flexing.

No amount of bloodshed for almost a year now, including the precious lives of our soldiers, has been able to convince the Centre to do a rethink on the Kashmir issue.

PM Modi keeps invoking Vajpayee's famous 'Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriat' from time to time.

Recently, an alliance of civil society groups, which visited Kashmir Valley, has in a report urged the central government to address the Kashmir issue by initiating a "healthy dialogue" and discuss the demand for the "right to self-determination" by Kashmiris.

The report though was released only yesterday (May 11), prominent members civil society members have been urging the BJP government for a dialogue on the issue ever since the troubled summer of last year.

That the government was never serious about its commitment to a dialogue is something that few in Kashmir doubt.

Despite explicitly announcing that dialogue was “a must” to find a permanent and lasting solution to the (Kashmir) problem”, the government has not done anything other than increasing troop presence in the Valley.

In the beginning of May, more than 4,000 troops were pressed into south Kashmir's Shopian district in the wake of the recent incidents of attacks on security forces.

According to various news reports, the operation to flush out militants re-introduced door-to-door search of houses, a practice stopped in the late 1990s.

Army officers admitted that the operation in Shopian was perhaps the biggest in more than a decade in the troubled Kashmir Valley.

Last month when CM Mehbooba Mufti, who leads the PDP-BJP government in J&K, urged the PM to initiate a dialogue to contain the worsening situation in the Valley, the latter remained non-committal.

"The prime minister has an intention of holding talks after the situation becomes normal. And thread should be picked up from where Vajpayeeji had left off- an apparent suggestion for talks with separatists. Talks with Hurriyat (Conference) had taken place when Vajpayeeji was the prime minister and LK Advani ji was the deputy prime minister. We need to start from where Vajpayeeji left. Talks are the only way out," she had said.

PM Modi though keeps invoking Vajpayee's famous "Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriat" from time to time. Yet incidents of gross human rights violation by the Army, including the event when a man was tied to the bonnet of a Jeep and used as human shield against stone-pelters, met with “in war and love, everything is fair” by the BJP.

The Centre must understand that only dialogue and not gag on freedon of speech will help contain the situation in the Valley, especially after failing to do so despite repeated bans on social media and internet services. So much so that now even the United Nations has urged the BJP government to withdraw the ban on Internet services in the state and "reinstate" freedom of expression.

"The scope of these restrictions has significantly disproportionate impact on the fundamental rights of everyone in Kashmir," David Kaye, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, was quoted by the EFE news agency as saying in a statement.

Modi g is that kind of person, if Mark Zuckerberg will send him frnd rqst on fb, modi g will visit USA 2 accept frnd rqst😂😂 #ModiInSriLanka pic.twitter.com/ZVbhKBkkTK — Mahjabeen Fatma (@Mahzu_Fatma) May 12, 2017

While Kashmir has been a "botched" case forever, the situation is no better for others outside the Valley who have been waiting for the PM to come to their rescue, speak up, speak for them.

It's difficult to understand what is stopping an excellent orator like PM Modi from using his words as balm to soothe the fears and woes of the minority in India.

Not even one incident of human rights violations and murders by rogue Hindutva agents could move the PM enough to speak up, extend his condolences and sympathy to the victims.

Even the much-mocked and otherwise reticent Manmohan Singh has had a better record than PM Modi.

India not just has a diverse culture, but has diverse people who make this country so unique. The government has to acknowledge the presence of minorities and protect their rights. Otherwise, eulogising over peace and dialogue will only remain that, yes dialogue-bazi.

Unless the Centre starts talking at home, all such dialogue-bazi on foreign soil would mean nothing but a farrago of distortions and pretentions.

Also read: Real tragedy of Kashmir is Modi government's policy