Abhishek Bhalla
There are no stone-pelting mobs on the streets of Kashmir, no ugly scenes of pellet guns being fired by security forces, and no reports of women and children among those left with injured eyes due to the pellets. This should have been a sign of things getting better in the disturbed region, more so after it being a Union Territory directly under the control of the Centre.
But there is something more sinister brewing, targeted killings. Yes, targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and outsiders working in Kashmir have brought back the horror of the late 1980s and early 90s—the exodus of the Pandit community.
The migration of those who had returned to the valley, fulfilling their dream of being back to their roots, is a bitter reality. For many, it's living with the haunting past.
Just back from a reporting assignment in the valley on the recent killings of the minority community and their plight where I saw fear in the eyes of those who are still there, uncertain and gripped with anxiety: could they be the next target?
Most Pandits I met were apprehensive and scared to speak on camera or willing to be quoted.
One family in Mattan town of Anantnag said they returned to live in their ancestral home, which is over a century old. The couple, government school teachers and their son in the tenth standard, live in fear. Like many others, the couple got employed under the Prime Minister's employment package in 2008, a scheme meant to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits in the valley.
But with the recent spree of targeted killings, a reverse migration has started.
Government quarters meant for these employees have no takers. One such facility I visited wore a deserted look with only two employees staying back.
For many, their long-cherished dream of being back to their roots was fulfilled, but only temporarily, it seems.
Targeted killings of local Pandits and those employed under the scheme have sent shivers. Among those targeted were also those employed under the scheme and living in Kashmir, mostly coming in from Jammu.
Those who have still decided to stay back only for the sake of living in their homeland are scared to even step out of their homes—most not even attending work, while many have fled and returned to Jammu.
Some complain of having to live in cramped-up spaces, as against an employment of 6000 accommodation could cater only to only a thousand. Many others lived in rented accommodation for the sake of living in what they call their homeland.
The most recent of such killings were not of a government employee though. On August 16, Sunil Kumar and his brother were attacked in their apple orchard in the Chotigam village of Shopian. While Sunil died, his brother is battling for life. In April, their neighbour Balkrishna was also attacked but he survived. These are the only two Pandit families living in the village, but scarred after two back-to-back attacks within months.
Balkrishan's brother Anil Kumar told me he is ready to go to Jammu and beg there but cannot continue to live in Kashmir. Anil says, it could be his turn next.
Many like him are demanding answers from the government but there is little explanation to douse their fears.
The security forces grapple with meeting the challenges of hybrid terror, where amateur terrorists not trained have carried out these attacks in what gives complete deniability to Pakistan-based terror outfits. At the same time, the central government finds itself pushed in a corner after the high-pitched narrative of normalcy returning to Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave special status to the state. The big decision of the Narendra Modi government in 2019 also turned the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories—J&K and Ladakh. The move was aimed at better administration of the region under the control of the central government.
Security officials maintain its terror groups like Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba responsible for the attacks to keep the pot boiling.
This year, 21 people including policemen, Kashmiri Hindus and labourers from outside Kashmir have been killed.
The trend has caught up since 2019 after the abrogation of article 370.
The government has always been in an overdrive to prove a point—that things are getting normal in Kashmir. Even if they are, it should be communicated and dealt with in a subtle manner. It's been a disturbed region for decades, a message of victory and normalisation being a trophy could lead to further turmoil with targeted killings like these. Normalisation shouldn't be seen as the end– it's a process or rather a journey to a destination. As has been seen, things could be perfectly normal one day, but one spark and it gets derailed.
Even post removal of Article 370, there was a thrust on how things were normal in Kashmir, downplaying the anxiety of Kashmiri Muslims and local politicians.
I happened to be covering the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 reporting from the valley and facts became the biggest casualty in telling the Kashmir story then. There was an exaggerated push to set a narrative of normalcy and another aggressive agenda that the region has turned into a battlefield.
That situation hasn't completely changed even now after three years. So yes, if stone pelting has stopped, local recruitment in terror ranks come down, no doubt these are signs of success but to couch the long-term ills of these targeted killings and its impact on the ground would not help address the problem.
A post-mortem needs to be done—what's led to these killings? Only an honest dissection will give the right answers to deal with the problem. Courtesy: Indiatoday
