Let’s not alienate Kashmiris further

A spike in violence only adds to a deep political freeze that the state has been pushed into since the November 22 dissolution of the state assembly.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It is back to President’s rule in Kashmir with all parties seeking another round of elections. Kashmir is again on the edge following the killing of seven villagers last week in firing by the army in the hinterland of South Kashmir. The Pulwama incident fits well into a now-familiar but fearful pattern of protesting locals swarming the sites of gun fights between security forces and militants to disrupt the operations so as to help the trapped militants flee.

Army soldiers during an encounter with the militants at Sirnoo in Pulwama district of south Kashmir, December 15 (PTI)

But, a high civilian toll, the highest in a single such incident in recent years, underscores a dangerous drift in Kashmir that is not only fuelling the popular rage, but also calls into question the government’s claims about dwindling public support for militancy. In fact, the violent clashes between security forces and locals have emerged as a key trigger for young people to join militant ranks, radically changing their complexion in favour of the locals vis-à-vis foreign militants.

Alarmingly, it may negate whatever little gains that have been made by the completion last week of a multiphased polls to local bodies and panchayats in the state. The two-month-long exercise, though marked by a low turnout in the Valley, was by and large free of violence despite ominous threats from militants. It was an audacious gambit by the Centre to revive and empower the stalled politics at grassroots level after the BJP pulled the plug on its coalition government led by Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party in June.

But Saturday’s setback represents a heightening of the alienation of ordinary Kashmiris while strengthening a negative narrative on excessive use of force in dealing with civilian protestors. This was clear from the outrage articulated both by Kashmir-based mainstream political parties and secessionists. The secessionists went beyond the customary shutdown call by asking the people to march to the Badami Bagh cantonment, the Srinagar-based headquarters of 15th Corps that is in the vanguard of the anti-militancy grid in Kashmir. Such exhortation, last seen in the tumultuous 1990s, is seen as a part of Pakistan’s sinister strategy to pitch the local people against security forces.

Already, 2018 is turning out to be the bloodiest since 2012 , with 587 terror-related incidents till December 2, according to the home ministry’s annual report. It put the number of militants and security personnel killed at 238 and 86 respectively — the highest in six years. Even more disconcerting is the rise in civilian killings by 167% in the last two years.

A spike in violence only adds to a deep political freeze that the state has been pushed into since the November 22 dissolution of the state assembly which was a precursor to the imposition of President’s rule. The government has hinted at holding the J and K assembly elections along with the Lok Sabha polls next summer. Before that, however, halting the civilians’ killings in anti-militancy operations and stabilising the security environment will be the biggest challenges