During his two-day visit to the valley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh conducted marathon meetings with a cross section of civil society to take stock of disturbances that have hit the Valley after the police action in which a wanted Hizbul Mujahideen commander was shot dead in an encounter on July 8. The HM met with 15 delegations including those from Sikh community, Kashmiri Pandits, Imams, youths, horticulture, tourism, hospitality, industry and entrepreneurs besides some individuals. The HM elicited from them their views on the current turmoil in the state and sought their cooperation in restoring the situation to normal.
The Home Minister has categorically stated that external elements have been instigating misguided Kashmiri youth to disrupt peace and challenge law and order situation by indulging in stone throwing and mob attacks on the camps of security forces thereby compelling the men in khaki to take necessary steps to protect life and property in the State and thwart the attempts of the miscreants who are resorting to violence on the behest of their mentors from across the border. Needless to remind that when Pakistan sensed violence and disruption of law and order caused by the activities of terrorists, it launched a massive attack on Lal Masjid to flush out the terrorists and maintain the sanctity of the mosque. How come that a country that uses force to undo the designs of the terrorists is recommending and encouraging the Kashmiri youth to resort to terrorism and challenge the Government’s authority. As such, the Home Minister is right in conveying a message to Pakistan that India is not going to compromise on terrorism notwithstanding how much pro-terrorism propaganda Pakistan unleashes at home and abroad. Reflecting on the role of the security forces to contain disorder and lawlessness, the Home Minister made it clear that while he had issued strict instructions to the security forces to use minimum force against the threatening mobs, he, at the same time, appealed the youth to stop provoking the security forces either by pelting stones on them or by making any effort to assault their camps.
The Home Minister was satisfied with the State Government handling the situation as it developed and headed towards crisis of sorts. It has to be acknowledged that the Home Minister spent two full days in Srinagar to meet as many delegations and representative bodies as was possible including political leaders. A free and frank exchange of ideas and observations must have helped the HM to frame a clear picture of what ails people in the valley and its youth in particular. We know that the current disorder is the machination of external elements that are using local conduits. This is the reason why the HM has not talked to the separatists and secessionists and instead has decided to have direct dialogue with the people of the Valley. This is indeed major deviation from the traditional policy of New Delhi. What we have to be careful about is what we are doing in Kashmir to dispel the impact of false propaganda unleashed by our adversary. Some precautionary measures had to be taken like imposition of curfew or restrictions on the use of mobiles. These measures are meant to keep the people safe from nefarious designs of the adversary and not to give them a handle.
The crux of Home Minister’s visit is that he has made an appeal to all sections of people to help the Government in restoring peace. Talks would be held for resolving issues like AFSPA, but peace is a pre-condition. The Home Minister has met with the Governor who apprised him of his assessment of the situation and he said that he had kept the Prime Minister fully informed of the situation in Kashmir. PM was pained at the loss of precious lives and had issued instructions that restraint has to be observed in the use of force against the mobs. We think that the segments of civil society and political leadership that have met with the Home Minister will play their positive role in restoring normalcy in the State. We are pained to say that Congress, which is a premier national level party declined to send its representative to the meeting of the Home Minister. It would have been in the interests of the people of the State and the Valley in particular if Congress, too, had made its input. At the same time, we are happy to know that National Conference, the principle opposition party in the State did participate in the meeting of the HM and presented its viewpoint of the situation. This was the time when leadership has to rise above petty local party interests and work in the larger interests of the people of the State. We hope that with a slew of promises made by the Home Minister, and with his ardent appeal to the people of the Valley, peace will be restored and life will return to normal.
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