Confused adhocism in the valley
The cold blooded murder of Lt Ummer Fayaz after his abduction from a wedding function while he was unarmed on Tuesday in Shopian, is truly a “watershed” moment, as officially described by the Army.
The incident has pushed the situation in Kashmir Valley to the early nineties when the valley saw eruption of militancy and large scale violence that turned the people a scared lot for fear of gun.
The grisly saga in the Valley goes on, as recently three soldiers were killed and one mutilated by Pakistan after it crossed the Line of Control in the wake of the cancellation of the Anantnag election.
A senior Army official undertaking his second tenure in J&K says with utter disbelief: “Have you seen what it is to see young kids turn feral? That's what this is. These kids none older than 16 despair of their lives, seem to crave for deadly fight with the weapon holding security men. Please tell me how do you expect the Indian Army to fight school children? Does any honourable Army do that?”
His question is fundamental, and yet Fayaz's murder will ensure that reprisals are inevitable as the Army, and rightfully so, extracts retribution. However, even before the unprecedented abduction and murder of Fayaz, decisions had been taken by the Centre to clamp down hard on Kashmir and to “clear and level the ground” in south Kashmir – now seen by the Centre as the “nursery of Pakistan-sponsored militancy”.
The fact is that south Kashmir has always been turbulent and after the PDP/BJP alliance came to power, things became worse. It has not helped that CM Mehbooba Mufti has ensured that her party cadre get sensitive jobs in the local administration in the area.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi brusquely brushed aside her suggestion that talks be started when he met her recently in Delhi.
Mufti and her government's legitimacy are increasingly under question in Kashmir and by a watching world after elections to Anantnag had to be cancelled. To a watching world, India's moral legitimacy as a vibrant democracy is a question mark now in J&K.
Tension between India and Pakistan increased after the September 18 “surgical strike” last year, which was hugely publicised by the government. The “surgical strikes” inside PoK came ten days after the Uri terror attack, in which 17 soldiers were killed and 19 injured in a strike on an Army camp.
Unfortunately, in this time of studio warriors and keyboard generals, soldiers are a weapon to be deployed to score political points.
