Bharat Bhushan: A year after 370, realities in Kashmir belie Modi govt hopes
On September 23, the chairman of a Block Development Council in Budgam was shot, becoming the seventh political functionary to be killed by militants this year. His death prompted the President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference to declare, “It is quite unfortunate that film actress Kangana Ranaut was granted Y-plus category central (security) cover within a day despite the fact that she has done little for strengthening democracy. On the other hand, elected panchayat members who have been sacrificing their lives for the nation are being deprived of security.”..
Despite having a free hand for nearly a year to politically turn around Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian government continues to lose the support of local populations even as the India-China military stand-off continues in Ladakh. If Farooq Abdullah is to be believed, Kashmiris are so angry with Delhi that Chinese rule is more acceptable to them. In an interview to Karan Thapar, Abdullah claimed that Kashmiris do not feel Indian, do not want to be Indian and “would rather have the Chinese coming in.” His statement should have shaken the Indian political class. Instead, it sank like a stone.
If residents of the Kashmir Valley were already opposed to
the majoritarian agenda of the BJP, now even the people of Ladakh have become
restive. They threatened to boycott local hill council elections due on October
16. In a desperate rear-guard action, a convalescing Union Home Minister Amit
Shah, persuaded them to withdraw the boycott call promising negotiations on the
protection of land rights, jobs and Ladakh’s demographic composition.
Surely the people of Kashmir know that Chinese policies
towards Muslims in Xinjiang are far worse than those of India’s ruling party in
the Valley. Their professed preference for China is probably no more than a
perverse statement to rub in India’s political discomfiture at the hands of a
strong neighbour. However, the utter hopelessness that triggered such
perversity must be recognised. After the withdrawal of J&K’s special
status, in August 2019 Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had painted a glorious picture
of the development to be expected in the bifurcated Union Territories of
J&K and Ladakh. Thirteen months later the situation is bleaker than
earlier.
Despite the extensive presence of the armed forces in the
Valley the lives of ordinary Kashmiris are more insecure. The State is unable
to protect even those elected to panchayats and local bodies, with whom it
hoped to prime the political process. Panchayat members are targeted by
militants as ‘collaborators’. Up to now, 21 panchayat members have been
assassinated with each killing followed by a spate of resignations. The state
administration has been forced to offer the rest safe residences near Army and
paramilitary camps.
On September 23, the chairman of a Block Development Council
in Budgam was shot, becoming the seventh political functionary to be killed by
militants this year. His death prompted the President of the All Jammu
and Kashmir Panchayat Conference to declare, “It is quite unfortunate
that film actress Kangana Ranaut was granted Y-plus category central (security)
cover within a day despite the fact that she has done little for strengthening
democracy. On the other hand, elected panchayat members who have been
sacrificing their lives for the nation are being deprived of security.”
According to local lore, only a shortage of weapons was
holding back more youth from joining militancy. This may be changing as arms
are being air-dropped from across the Pakistan border by drones. On September
22, the J&K police seized a cache of arms and ammunition including two AK
assault rifles, a pistol and 90 rounds of ammunition from a village in Akhnoor
in the Jammu region. The police claim they were intended for militants in the
Valley. Media reports suggest that Chinese weapons, currently in issue to
Pakistan’s border forces, are also being dropped across using Chinese
hexacopter drones. Since January this year, Indian security forces have made 15
seizures of Chinese-made arms from individuals and locations near the Line of
Control.
Such drone-sorties are also occurring in the adjoining state
of Punjab. Media reports, quoting intelligence agency sources, claim that
between September 9 and 16, at least eight drone sorties carrying a total of 80
kilogramme of arms and ammunition were sent across the border. Only one of
these was detected by the police when the drone crashed two kilometres from the
international border at Rajoke village of Tarn Taran district. Arrests of arms
smugglers resulted in the recovery of five AK-47 rifles, four pistols, 9
grenades, Rs. 10 lakh in fake currency, 1000 rounds of ammunition and two
electronic receivers.
Arms drops like these could refuel militancy in Kashmir and
potentially devour another generation of youngsters. Despite the frequent
discovery of cross-border tunnels by the security forces, most of the militants
are still local – up to March 2020, according to the South Asia Terrorism
Portal, 87.5% of the militants killed in the Valley were locals. Thus the
Indian government’s tall claims that revoking the special status of J&K
would end terrorism may amount to nothing.
The BJP expected better political outcomes for its
trifurcation policy in Ladakh where Buddhists had welcomed the scrapping
of Article 370 and the splitting of the state into three
UTs. For the first time, the common fear the Centre will bring a domicile law
as it has done in J&K allowing “outsiders” to settle in Ladakh has united
the Buddhists and the Kargil Muslims. As the threatened boycott of Autonomous
Regional Hill Council elections on Oct 16 showed political trouble can flare up
unless these fears are allayed and erstwhile protections are restored. And if
special status is given to Ladakh, how can it be denied to J&K?
The Modi government remains caught up in fire-fighting operations
and has been unable to proceed with a development plan for the region. Even the
Hindu majority UT of Jammu is not happy over the government’s Kashmir policy.
Not everyone may look forward to the Chinese coming in, but there is no
systematic attempt by the Central government to recognise or address the root
causes of local anger.
‘Everyone's Darling’: Merajuddin Shah, The Kashmiri Killed At A
Checkpoint
BHARAT BHUSHAN: Cracks appear in Kashmiri political class as govt seeks
middle ground
Quratulain Rehbar: A Year On, Kashmiri Man’s Family Despairs His
Continued Incarceration Under PSA
Yoginder Khandari on the plight of Non-Migrant Kashmiri Pandits / Hindus
living in Kashmir Valley
Dhrubo Jyoti - 30
years of Pandit exodus: Night of terror that prefaced years of exile
We Fear For the 400
Kashmiri Pandit Families in South Kashmir: Sanjay Tickoo
Mansoor Anwar on Comrade Abdul Sattar Ranjoor
Superflous people - review of 'Our Moon has blood clots'
Kashmir - 16 yrs on, Wandhama victims ...
Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti Press Release ...
Kashmiri Pandits Stage Protest March in Srinagar
Sualeh Keen on the exodus of Kashmir's Pandits
SIDDHARTHA GIGOO - To Die While Dreaming of return ...
Communist Party of India Report (1950) - Imperialist aggression in
Kashmir
Sanjay Tickoo's Open Letter to Omar Abdullah ...
Kashmir - 16 yrs on, Wandhama victims await justice
Rahul Pandita -
There are no goodbyes
Two articles on the
Pathribal fake encounter case
Samar Halarnkar
demands justice for the victims of Pathribal
Mohammad Yousuf
Tarigami, CPI(M) MLA, J&K: ‘Serious dialogue need of the hour’
Comrade Satyapal
Dang: Lessons of Punjab have Relevance for Kashmir
Can democracy be
defended by alliances with communalists?
Sanjay Tickoo:
‘Given the political backlash, no Pandit can or will return to Valley’
India’s Citizenship
Emergency: Interview with Professor Niraja Jayal
