Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo
There are four strong pillars of terrorism in Kashmir:
* Fundamentalist religious education and training,
* Supply of moral, political, social and administrative support by the Kashmir centric political parties and political personalities in rest of India,
* Huge and unaccounted-for money baggage and supplies from within and outside Kashmir through legal and illegal sources and
* Constitutional justification of Muslim majoritarianism and secessionism under the garb of Article 370 and Article 35A.
In context of the activism of the Government of India relating to what happened at Pulwama, Kashmir, the limited or unlimited strategic and defense options are important, so are important the diplomatic moves throughout the world. It needs to be kept in mind while any move is made in respect of Pakistan that it (Pakistan) is the epicenter of global terrorism.
On the one hand, Pakistan allows all kinds of terror operatives to operate from the soil under its control and considers terrorism as a strategic asset as a part of its foreign policy against India and on the other hand, it wants to be a global partner taking responsibility to fight against global terrorism. It has a doubleheader State policy which is aimed at to create confusion among the comity of nations fighting terror. There is no case talking or pleading to Pakistan on an important issue like terrorism when it, Pakistan, is deeply entrenched in the process of growing and sustaining terrorism for the last four decades. Pulwana massacre is a firm policy decision of the terror outfits under the leadership of Jaish-e-Mohammad and ISI guidance and the Pak military involvement is absolutely assured. There is no possibility to acquire such a huge quantity of RDX/IED/Ammonium Nitrate material (that was used in the Pulwama attack) without the direct involvement of Pakistan Army and its State apparatus. Taking an action based on strategic information and important intelligence, the Government of India and the J&K Government have initiated making efforts for strong options including the diplomatic, strategic, security related and other necessary moves.
The use of Mughal Road and the Sinthen Bypass in J&K State by the terror outfits and the other criminals for carrying arms, ammunition, drugs, bovine animals and rich assets of the forests over the last few decades, in particular, is an additional dimension of the terror concerns in the Jammu and Kashmir state. The important message carried over by various nationalist quarters to the government in this respect for the last two decades, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears. It needs to be mentioned that the main culprit involved in the Pulwama terror attack followed the convoy of Army and CRPF from Jammu region without any check throughout the busy National High Way. The Mughal road and the Sinthen Bypass are developing into a serious source of security headache for the Government and the security apparatus.
While we, as a nation, are supposed to take all necessary actions having internal and external dimensions, with a focus on Pakistan, it becomes important to review the whole political thinking on Kashmir as a whole. It is imperative to make the political narrative straight in letter and spirit. The 70-year old narrative on Kashmir that ‘Kashmir is an integral part of India’ needs to be translated into action on the ground as early as possible.
As it has been clarified at the outset that there are four important pillars of Islamic terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, so there is not much left in this context to debate around than to directly make it sure that the pillars are smashed and destroyed once and for all.
Terrorism is not only a military operation but is verily a psychological warfare as well. Playing “bad games” on someone’s soil, using men and material of others, exploiting surprise element as a major strategic operative, choosing timing of its choice, and killing innocents are essential part of the psychological warfare. In this way, the internal important dimensions need to be taken into consideration at all levels. Being in a denial mode on this account is simply giving more life to terrorism on one’s own soil. Terrorism in Kashmir is not the militant rebellion of the North-East region nor is it the Maoist violent strife for the so-called class equality. It is essentially “Jehad” against anything and everything that comes in its way. The Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir were the first impediments who needed to be eliminated as the first major task since they were the indigenous people and the primary stakeholders of the land. The rest followed because all the four pillars of the Islamic terrorism were ensured to be protected by those who should have demolished them at the very first opportunity since the last four long decades.
It was from 1977-78 that the political bosses in Kashmir allowed Madrassas as the mainstream education pattern and also appointed Moulvis and Mullahs in the Education system to impart the religious education and training to the young children in the Jammu and Kashmir state. They, with due care, made all attempts aimed at indoctrination and radicalization of the society in Jammu & Kashmir on religious lines. Everything in the state is done at the expense of the public exchequer and with the active support of the Kashmir centric political mainstream leadership of the state.
Administrative support came in to play its role seeing the political leadership toeing a concerted and fixed line despite all checks and balances. Reports after reports by the agencies, private individuals and organizations are being put into the nearest dustbins by the Delhi regime. Thus an order is set which makes things easier for the terror network to operate with the help of the government machinery. A huge and unaccounted-for money baggage(s) reached and are reaching Kashmir from within and outside India through legal and illegal means over the last several decades. This piled up wealth is not hidden from the public gaze but can be seen in every aspect of life in Kashmir. Terrorism in Kashmir over the last several decades destroyed the economics of Kashmir but the continuous supply and availability of funds did not allow Kashmir to become Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan. It (Kashmir) sustained the economic scars and wounds without any direct impact on its economic edifice. In fact, Kashmir continues to be one of the prosperous zones of the country despite destruction, mayhem and large scale killings spanning over the last four decades. While it is a fact that almost one hundred thousand people (including security men, terrorists, civilians and also foreigners) were killed in Kashmir over the last three decades, the Kashmiri Muslim society remains virtually unaffected primarily because of heavy bounty of money and material. This also facilitates the path of perpetual terrorism in a big way regardless of its economic negatives.
The unfortunate constitutional justification of secession based on Muslim majoritarianism draws its strength from Article 370 of the Constitution. In addition, the piece of amendment in the shape of Article 35A in 1954 simply consolidated the justification to an extreme point. It paved a way to bypass the Parliament and the Parliamentary procedures as enunciated in the Article 368 of the Constitution. The Presidential Order of 1954, called the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 1954, is a challenge to the very existence of the Constitution. This Article is a challenge to the Article 14 and Article 16 of the Constitution. The government needs to review the whole scenario now particularly after the Pulwama unfortunate episode. Terrorism is a long driven process and will need time to get eliminated but the elements that support and strengthen terrorism and secessionism could be demolished at the given opportunity.
The Governor of J&K assumes the powers of State Assembly during the tenure of Governor’s / President’s rule and he can lift Article 370 with a reference to the President of India for ultimate sanction. The Union Cabinet can also scrap the Article 35A with the same Presidential Order of 1954 that brought this piece of amendment without any approval of the then Parliament. Both these political initiatives will have to be put before the Parliament within 6 months and in between the nation will go for the general elections. This will be the best opportunity to get the RESOLVE approved by the people in the Elections before the constitution of the 17th Lok Sabha. The Parliament can later take up the issue once the elections are over and the 17th Lok Sabha comes into existence.
Let it be done finally besides the other diplomatic, limited and unlimited strategic operations, global initiatives to contain Pakistan and the other military options. Internal dimensions are more strategic and result oriented since they have a broader message not only for Kashmir but also for whole of the nation, Pakistan and the world. This will be the biggest and the richest Tribute to the martyred soldiers of Bharat Mata who laid their life for all of us. They will simultaneously become an important and sacred part of the history that will assert the correctness of the 70-year old national narrative that “Kashmir is an integral part of India”…..!
It is time to do it and take the nation along with, for a formal burial to the mindset behind terrorism in Kashmir. We can do it, the nation has a will to do it. This time we see towards the Prime Minister to take this nation to the level of aspirations of our great nationalists and patriots who made supreme sacrifices over the last seven decades with the tricolor in hand in Jammu and Kashmir. Let the foundations of the Islamic secessionism and terrorism in Kashmir be destroyed and demolished once and for all, for the generations to come, to breathe in a healthy socio-political environment in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
(feedback: ashwanikc2012@gmail.com)
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