Prof. Hari Om
Developments which have unfolded in Kashmir, particularly after March 17, have only lowered the morale of the Army, which have been fighting splendidly and making supreme sacrifices since October 1947 to defeat the evil machinations of expansionist and aggressor Pakistan and maintain territorial integrity of India. These developments suggest official collaboration in terms of taking steps which smack of abdication of authority and accommodation of secessionism.
On March 18, J&K Governor, NN Vohra, directed the Army Commanders to vacate four strategically-located camps at Tatoo Ground, Srinagar; High Grounds, Anantnag; Kargil and Jammu city latest by March 31. Almost at the same time, the authorities constituted a high-powered committee consisting of former Director General Military Operations (DGMO) and former Director General border Security Force (BSF) to identify areas in J&K from where the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) could be withdrawn. The Army, which is involved in anti-insurgency operations in J&K, enjoys some legal immunity under the AFSPA.
Both were political decisions and perhaps were taken to induce People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti, to re-stitch alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) so that the latter could again come into power in the sensitive border state. Mehbooba Mufti had set many pre-conditions for forming coalition government with the BJP and two of her conditions were demilitarisation of and revocation of the AFSPA from J&K in a phased manner. Mehbooba Mufti called demilitarisation and revocation of the AFSPA as “confidence-building measures”.
As if all this was not enough to lower the morale of soldiers and send a wrong signal across the border, the powers-that-be in J&K and New Delhi conceded the sinister demand of seditious crowds seeking destruction of the strategically-located bunkers at Handwara in the militant and separatist-infested Kashmir Valley and register a murder charge against the Army.
Murder charge was slapped on 18th April despite the fact that the Army had to open fire in self-defence at Handwara and had the Army not opened fire, the seditious and unruly crowds would have burned down the bunkers and lynched our soldiers. And the bunkers were destroyed on April 19 in the broad day light in the presence of the seditious crowds, who celebrated the destruction of these bunkers as the crowning triumph of the “historic struggle”. There is nothing whatsoever in the horizon which could even remotely suggest that the bunkers were removed with the consent and concurrence of the security forces, especially the Army. The new government policy of destroying bunkers and pickets and declaring the places from where Army is removed as “peace parks” is nothing but an act of self laceration of the credibility of the institution of the Army. This policy has only made the international community to understand that the Indian security forces, particularly the Army, are instruments which have been disturbing peace rather than guaranteeing it.
A day before, these seditionists had attacked the Army bunkers to avenge the alleged molestation of a minor girl by a soldier – a charge vehemently denied both by the Army and the girl, who, according to her, was “molested by a local youth”. But the political establishment instead of considering the statement of the poor girl made before the police and the national media condemned our soldiers unheard.
On 5th May, Union Home Minister called an important meeting in the North Block to discuss the developmental-related issues in J and K. The meeting was attended by the Defence Minister, the National Security Advisor, Union Home Secretary and Governor N. N Vohra. The meeting of important persons asked the Army to restructure its requirement of land so that the “civilian land it at present holds for operational purposes” could be handed over to the J&K Government for “development projects”. The point is that the meeting focused primarily on the land under the Army.
And since 7th May, all the political parties in J and K, including “nationalist” BJP, pro-autonomy National Conference (NC), pro-self-rule PDP, pro-1975 Indira Gandhi-Sheikh Abdullah Accord Congress, ultra-secular Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M), all the separatist outfits and all the civil society groups in the Valley, which are actually extensions of the separatist outfits, have all joined hands against the ex-soldiers. They have been opposing the proposal for the setting up of two Sainik Colonies in Kashmir, one each in Srinagar district and Budgam district. The proposal was approved by the Rajya Sainik Board months ago and Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir province was asked to identify about 350 kanals of land for the establishment of two colonies for the ex-soldiers.
The separatists have been describing the proposal as a “conspiracy hatched by New Delhi to change the Muslim-majority character of Kashmir to weaken the ongoing separatist movement in the Valley”. They have also declared that “such colonies would be established only on their dead bodies”. On the other hand, the Kashmir-centric “mainstream” political parties have been terming the proposal as a “concerted attempt of the RSS-BJP combine and New Delhi to undermine the state’s special status and erode the identity of Kashmiri people” by settling in the proposed colonies “outsiders”. And by outsiders, the Kashmiri leaders of all hues mean not only the Indians other than permanent residents of J&K, but also mean the ex-soldiers belonging to Jammu province.
That the opposition in Kashmir, which is coupled with protests, is directed only against the ex-soldiers from Jammu province could be seen from the fact that the proposal categorically states that ex-soldiers belonging to J and K alone would be eligible for allotment of plots/flats in the proposed Sainik Colonies. It nowhere says that all ex-soldiers from all parts of India shall be eligible for allotment of plots/flats in the proposed colonies.
As far as the PDP-BJP ruling coalition government is concerned, both the parties have made their stand public. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on May 9 acknowledged in Srinagar that there is a demand from the ex-soldiers from J&K seeking establishment of Sainik Colonies in Kashmir Valley and reassured all others in Kashmir that her government has not allotted any piece of land for the purpose. She has charged the opposition with making out a big issue out of a non-issue to disrupt tourism-related activities. As for BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, he on the same day and at the same place very surprisingly feigned ignorance, saying he was not aware of any such proposal. At the same time, he also made it loud and clear to one and all that “no outsider will be allotted any plot in the Sainik Colony, if at all it is established in Kashmir”.
All these developments speak for themselves and unambiguously suggest that the authorities are soft-peddling with a growing multi-pronged seditious intifada in Kashmir Valley. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would do well to refashion his whole approach towards Kashmir and what has been happening in the Valley. The best thing for him to do would be to strengthen the institution of Army and not weaken it by allowing the subversives to reign supreme or dictate terms to the authorities. It is a must. For, reports emanating from the defence establishments in J&K clearly suggest that our soldiers are not happy with the official policy and that they want the Government of India to withdraw them from all the civilian areas.
Post Script: On 10th May, J and K Minister Mehbooba Mufti stressed upon “reducing the footprint of forces at various tourist places and airports so as to cause less inconvenience to the visitors and to welcome them with a sense of normalcy”. She was speaking at her maiden Unified Headquarters meet in Srinagar. It is hardly necessary to explain the meaning of what she told the Army Commanders, as each and every word that she spoke was self-explanatory.
