Stand in solidarity

The spectre of selective killings of minority Kashmiri Pandits, migrant workers and employees from other states has once again resurfaced in the Kashmir Valley after October 2021 when a dozen migrant labourers and officials including two school teachers were targeted by the hardened Islamist elements in the valley almost as if in response to the appointment of hundreds of "returnee" Kashmiri and other people to government jobs under a Central government initiative.

Since May 2022 there have been more than a dozen such incidents involving three off duty cops and remaining all civilians. Lone militant attacks by the sleeper cells or newly termed neo terrorists or hybrid terrorists have accounted for government employees, migrant labourers and a female Kashmiri Muslim TV actor in daring daylight attacks.

It seems small arms like pistols are freely available to perpetrators of these militant acts in south Kashmir which has remained the hotbed of Kashmiri terrorism for over three decades commencing in the late eighties. The militant organisations may have lost teeth to foment large scale raids and attacks, but their capacity to inflict damage, panic and fear in unsuspecting citizens and soft targets remains intact as of now. It is only a matter of time before the state machinery will learn to turn the tables on this last vestige of the militant apparatus.

A little-known outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group and Kashmir Freedom Fighters (KFF) have claimed responsibility for multiple recent attacks. Surprisingly, these groups have evaded early detection and response after coming to light in October 2021. Their avowed agenda is to scuttle any attempts by the central government to populate the union territory which they claim will alter its demography. Owning responsibility for the murder of the bank manager in Kulgam, the outfit threatened that "anyone involved in Kashmir's demographic change will meet the same fate."

The number of terrorist incidents and the presence of militants has registered a southward trend. Trade and tourism are flourishing in the union territory with nearly a million tourists have already visited the state and another two lakhs registered for Amarnath Yatra. For militants and their handlers, normalcy in the valley and prosperity of Kashmiris is an anathema. People of Kashmir must realise that this is the time to consolidate the peace dividend rather than allowing the fringe radical groups to push them again to the sordid period of the peak of militancy and unrest hampering their day to day lives.

After the regime change in Pakistan, ISI seems to have upped its ante in Kashmir. Ethnic cleansing in the valley still appears to be on the minds of the groups operating there. If mass murder, rape and arson were the tools in the 1990s, the hardliners have now adopted a more sophisticated modus operandi of killing one and terrorizing thousands. After a series of lone militant attacks in May and early June 2022, there has been a widespread clamour from the minority Hindu groups and employees' bodies to relocate such employees and ethnic minorities to safer places. Another exodus of minorities from the valley will expose the soft underbelly of the Indian state which is something the enemy will be gleefully expecting. Another exodus, minor or large scale, will also definitely raise questions about the majority community in UT about their acceptance of Kashmiri Pandit on their return to their homeland.

The callous murder of Amreen Bhat, the TV actor and performer has escaped comment from most. Artists, particularly women, will now be scared of stepping out of their homes fearing meeting the fate of Amreen. Will the militants next target girls pursuing sports and other performing arts poses a grave challenge to the state police. Will the Kashmiriyat with its beautiful culture, music and folk dances be trampled upon by the ultra puritanical jihadi agenda?

The majority of Muslims of the valley are peace-loving. But their deafening silence lends an indirect encouragement to such anti-national elements who are hell-bent on destroying the peace and prosperity in the paradise of Firdaus.

The mainline political parties of the valley and their leaders generally transact their business from their fortified residences in Srinagar, Jammu or Delhi. They are no longer mass leaders having credible sway in rural areas. Situations like these present opportunities for these leaders to voice public sentiments against militancy and the role of our dirty neighbour by organizing protests and holding public rallies. Their credibility is at its lowest ebb.

There is a need for the majority community in the valley to show their solidarity with the stoic minorities that have continued to live or returned to the valley to protect normal trade, tourism and other activities for the overall benefit and prosperity of all sections of society.

After the October spate of such killings, the J&K police had rounded up a good number of suspects that provided immediate relief from such incidents till the reemergence of such killings in May 2022. The J&K police has to maintain continuous surveillance on such youth, sharpen their intelligence at the beat level and work closely with the central intelligence agencies to pick up "chatter" pointing to such nefarious arrangements. No security system in the world can watch every window and door and monitor all citizens. There is a need to create a database or likely recruits and suspects and continuously upgrade it.

Support of local communities, political parties, NGOs, women groups, etc. should also be enlisted in creating local defence and brotherhood/goodwill committees in every vulnerable area to instill a sense of security and build trust in the minorities.

Running away from the situation will not solve this problem. It will rather help the intolerant hardliners and agenda of Pakistan in achieving monotheism and ethnic cleansing in the valley. In the last few years, thousands of Kashmiris have returned to the union territory. The significant gains made to strengthen the multi-cultural and plural fabric of Kashmir should not be lost in the face of the recent dastardly militant acts. It is heartening to know that the government has decided against relocation and the ethnic exodus of minorities from Kashmir.

Our wily neighbour has tried its best in disturbing communal harmony, but India has shown uncanny resilience and maturity by maintaining calm. The onus rests with the government of the day and the people of J&K to measure up to the occasion by thwarting the machinations of the invisible enemy.

The writer is a retired Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh. Views expressed are personal