Col J P Singh, Retd.
Currently Kashmir Valley is passing through a serious secessionist uprising. A small section of society has resorted to the use of gun for attaining Azadi from India. They are the ones who do not accept Indian Constitution and call 1947 accession fraudulent. Religious radicalism and Pak unleashed terrorism act as force multiplier to their armed struggle. Persistent unrest / protests, anti-India & pro-Pak sloganeering, displaying Pakistani – ISIS flags, young girls’ jumping into the fray, continuous stone pelting, another beheading of our soldiers & killing of five policemen & flaying with their weapons and bank cash and above all abysmal polling and violence in Srinagar by-election are a serious cause of concern because they are the footfall of the armed struggle. Islamisation of the valley is going on rapidly as was evident from a viral video of a local Hizbul Commander exhorting youth to pelt stones as soldiers of Islam. But the state and the central govts continue to be in status-quo syndrome. Except sounding tougher nothing concrete spelled out despite many high level meetings held in Delhi. Nor even BJP national president said a word about the valley unrest during his two days Jammu visit. The situation will be graver, infact irretrievable, if nothing is done about it soonest.
It is no more a political problem and nor is it a law and order problem anymore. We will be blundering if we still categorise the unrest as such and continue expecting something tangible from the ongoing review meetings in Delhi and perceived farce and disguised dialogue with political parties. It is a serious insurgency against the state and calls for a serious action. It is an armed uprising. It is not my presumption. Armed struggle for Azadi by hundreds of gun wielding local jihadis was legitimized by lakhs of Kashmir people in Idgah ground Srinagar on 30 March 1992. Thereafter rabble rousers and the gun culture have been ruling the streets. In a border state like ours, armed insurgency is a political messaging because it gets impetus from across the border. Today Pakistan with its strategic confidence on a new high, with China backing, is sensing that ever since the killing of Burhan Wani, it has the upper edge. ISI continues supporting secessionism in the valley successfully. Unless the infection is treated, Kashmir will ultimately fall to armed septicemia.
No lessons seem to be learnt. Kashmir is in turbulence whereas Jammu is peaceful but restless. People in Kashmir have turned aggressive & violent whereas people in Jammu are tolerant and accommodative. Valley people defy democracy and the rule of law. Jammu people are submissive and nationalist. Separatists don’t accept Indian & J&K Constitution. Majority of Kashmiris don’t pay taxes and power bills, Jammu carries their financial burden. Kashmiri businessmen don’t deal fairly with Jammu businessmen. They do not pay their dues justly. Jammu is much larger in area with almost same population as Kashmir yet deprived of political, social and economic gains. Although there is no direct confrontation between Jammu and Kashmir, (because BJP is in the govt) the pressure of insurrectionary movement is being felt in Jammu. Demographic changes in and around Jammu are adding to Jammu’s anxiety. Intelligentsia and political parties are raising these issues to no gains. Otherwise also Jammu is feeling the heat of Azadi agitation because of rise of anti-nationalism in the valley. Jammu’s representation in govt jobs, (just about 5 % in the Secretariat) abysmal %ages in new enrolments, ignoring Jammu officials for important administrative posts are indications suggesting that Jammu is not being treated fairly by Kashmiri dispensation. It is ironic that Jammu is caught in the grind under the circumstances because it happens to be a political part of J&K and suffers at the cost of Kashmir.
Delhi must stop chasing the mirage of securing changes in people mindset by giving Rs. 80,000 crore prime minister package, jobs and controlling an armed insurgency with the police forces. Just two years down the line under this coalition govt, we have lost the narrative, with public physically blocking anti-militancy operations, 7 % polling, 8 killings and over 200 persons injured on a single polling day. Situation was equally bad in 1992 and 2010. But after that normalcy had returned and elections were held. But today return of normalcy is nowhere in sight because no Track II interaction is underway and no silver lining is visible in the dark clouds. Hence Jammu must be excluded from Kashmir quagmire lest parts of it get engulfed in religious radicalism. It must be administratively separated so that the troubled valley is segregated, unrest localized and seriously dealt with on all fronts.
Coming back to Jammu, it is restless because there is continuous immigration on all its sides. Jammu is almost surrounded. Its fears are genuine because Pak ISI can easily enter these migrant colonies and create a Kashmir type situation in Jammu to weaken counter insurgency measures in the valley. The fact remains that the turbulence in Kashmir will always sway the imagination of people in Jammu both ways because it is a secessionist movement. Not only Jammu is vulnerable, it involves threat to the integrity of India.
Interlocutors have clearly stated that UN Resolutions of 1948 and 49 have lost their validity as also stated by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2004. They upheld the special status of J&K as stated in instrument of Accession as well as in Articles 353 and 370. Their report states that, “state’s economy is inextricably linked with the economy of India especially on the strategic, economic, technological, and cultural fronts”. They have made a cogent point stating that people of the state in their capacity as Indian citizen would immensely benefit from Indian democracy, laws and autonomous institutions. Therefore demand of Azadi is malicious and unacceptable but it is endemic. Thus picking threads from where the Interlocutors left, a mediator (s) can start a dialogue process with the dissenting voices with an objective of containing the secessionist movement. Simultaneously Jammu needs to be drawn out of the quagmire by the following initiatives:-
(a) Jammu and Ladakh be made autonomous Regional Councils as recommended by Delhi appointed Interlocutors in their report of November 2011. One recommendation of far reaching importance was “create three regional councils with legislative, executive and financial powers”. They stated this ‘as the most feasible way to remove the sentiment of victimhood that has dogged the people over past six decades’.
(b) Delimitation of the constituencies must be undertaken as recommended in Interlocutor report. They reported, “iniquitous limitation of constituencies is a raw deal to the people of Jammu. It doesn’t adversely affect only the representation of the region in the Legislature and the Govt but also embodies numerous ramifications that lead to economic disadvantage of the region”.
(c) Rotation of reserved constituencies be done in every election because it keeps certain communities deprived of constitutional and democratic rights for too long and breeds social unrest.
(d) Civil Secretariat must be functional at both the places throughout the year like the High Court
(e) Illegal immigrants such as Rhongias and Bangladeshis should be deported forthwith.
(f) More Thannas (police stations) be created in Jammu region to keep an eye over illegal movements, migration, immigration and surveillance. Population data registers be introduced in Thannas and Gram Panchayats and they should be periodically checked by SSPs and BDOs and authenticated.
(g) Jammu bureaucrats and officials be put in important positions, both in Jammu & Kashmir to restore Jammu’s faith.
(h) Constitute a separate Service Selection Board for Jammu to bring transparency in the selection system.
(j) West Pakistan refugees be declared state subjects.
Needless to say that valley is gradually, perceptibly and almost inexorably slipping out of control. Therefore army should be the security force in charge of counter insurgency operations because the motive behind the agitation is separation and change of geography which must be prevented at all costs. Army, as I know, is best trained, well equipped and ably led and hence most suitable for the job. Police force is not trained for armed insurgency. That is why it lost 75 men in Sukma in 2010 and 26 now. It is high time to employ army to tackle insurgency lest it is too late. Track II be given a chance before appointing a mediator(s) to mediate between the dissenting views. And take Jammu out of the Kashmir quagmire administratively to save it from the Kashmir fallout.
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