Col Ajay K Raina
“Never reinforce a failure” is a phrase that is rubbed in repeatedly during the training of future combat commanders across the globe. And this is something that applies almost in every situation in life-be it a family issue or the one that concerns the nation. Those who refuse to draw meaningful lessons from a failure, whether own or someone else’s in a given situation, end up creating a bigger mess than before. The handling of Kashmir by successive governments is a case study material for any management school since every attempt to reinforce a failure has only led to more trouble. Let’s see how!
Terrorism is not an alien phenomenon to us. It has been in existence in various forms and shapes since independence and our institutions have been combating it right from 1947 when Nagas raised a red flag while a new republic was taking birth. Some of the insurrections have been controlled and some have been put down too. But the fact remains that this disease has been around for quite a long period of time. Getting back to Kashmir, a lot has been written about the genesis and escalation of trouble in Kashmir across other parts of the State. Here, the focus is that we have refused to learn our lessons and have repeatedly tried to do things that follow the beaten paths to disasters.
There are four major layers in Kashmir when it comes to terrorism that draws its inspiration from a fundamental religious ideology. Pakistan has been at its root, and terrorists are the most visible manifestations. In between these two layers exist two more layers-politicians, including the overground separatists, and civil society in Kashmir. It is, thus, logical that all four layers are dealt with sternly to uproot the problem. Over past decades, our governments and dealing hands have invariably dealt with one or two or three layers at any given point in time. So, while Pakistan has been tackled through diplomatic manoeuvres and some military ones in recent times, terrorists have consistently been kept on their toes, barring a few brief periods of political interference. The so-called mainstream politics in Kashmir is nothing but a refined form of Hurriyat ideology; they are similar, if not exactly the same. These politicians speak different languages inside the Valley and elsewhere. If we, for a moment, ignore Pakistan being an externality, the indigenous root cause of the Kashmir problem is a skewed sense of Kashmir politics. In more than one way, such politicians who spew venom every now and then and send warnings to Delhi are as dangerous as the ISI planners operating from their HQ in Aabpara in Islamabad. Gupkar and Aabpara gangs are two sides of one coin for all practical purposes.
Our focus, thus, has always been on these three layers when it comes to stern actions. Pakistan has been hit and humiliated. The average life of a terrorist in the Valley is less than six months. In the recent past, most of the politicians (including the Hurriyat separatists) have been behind bars. However, civil society, also referred to as awam, has always been offered a velvet glove. Be it Operation Sadhbhavana or the astonishingly high number of scholarships offered to students from Kashmir, or developmental activities and promotion of tourism in Kashmir, the population has always been treated differently by the successive powers in Delhi. The so-called human-centric approach has been adopted by all the Governments with the aim to have the majority population onboard, and rightfully so. But there is a catch that seems to have been missed by the same decision-makers.
Whatever one may say and feel about treating the general population well, the fact remains that the same society also serves as the nursery that throws up such youngsters who pick up weapons against the state or, if nothing else, pelt stones while wearing the school uniforms. Many teachers, civil administration employees, and such officials are quite vocal about azadi on social media. If one takes an impartial view, it is seen that the civic society behaves as per the writ and power equation between the security forces and any or all of the other three layers. So, the Valley remains shut for days when a headmaster’s son gets knocked out, or it simply carries on with life when the senior most Hurriyat functionary dies a natural death. The fluctuating response by the populace, thus, illustrates the fact that whatever the intent of the government, Kashmiri society remains one of the main tools in this dirty game. This fact doesn’t need a rocket scientist to see and realise it, but no one wants to call a spade a spade, and the drama continues. We have been missing this catch, whether intentionally or through a blinkered view of the problem.
Just to cite an example, the Valley has been overwhelmed by an unprecedented tourist footfall this year. So many tourists mean prosperity for hoteliers, houseboat owners, casual hands working in the hospitality sector, transporters, fruits and handicraft vendors, carpet manufacturers, etc. While the populace is enjoying the bliss, there seems to be no concern in the same people when their sons and wards pick up weapons to shoot a Kashmiri Pandit working in a government office or a banker from Rajasthan or a labourer from Bihar. It appears that they are having the cake and eating it too. But then, who is to be blamed for such a situation? Again, no rocket scientist is required to tell us that it is the Government of the day, like all its previous ones, who need to take the blame.
By sending in defence less employees into troubled areas and that too into the far-flung regions, the administrators have displayed a very high level of incompetence, and no one has ever been held accountable. Further, while hunting terrorists and cursing Pakistanis, the government allows the politicians to spew venom as it did before, all in the name of freedom of expression. And as has been done for decades, the Government is still focussing on getting more funds and projects for Kashmir (another fall-out of such a K-centric approach has been the feeling of neglect in the minds of Jammuites). In a nutshell, nothing has changed beyond a constitutional amendment in 2019. In other words, we are again doing what we have been doing for decades-reinforcing the failure!
The ongoing spree of the targeted killing of non-Muslims in Kashmir has been happening for a few months now. A logical remedy for such a situation should have involved taking out all such vulnerable people from the Valley or the countryside and moving them into safer zones. At the same time, instead of scoring some meaningless brownie points by declaring that so many tourists have visited Kashmir this year, South Kashmir should have been locked down to flush out the weapons and those who see their future through the barrel of a gun. Instead, we have been trying to get Arabs and Chinese (read Hongkong citizens) to invest in Kashmir. Haven’t similar attempts been made in the past? Didn’t our country’s top leaders take the bait of ‘Kashmiriyat’, knowing well that Sheikh Abdullah had invented this term to soften up the crude reality that one could live in Kashmir only after accepting the major itarianism of that land? But what has been the result? Nix, to say the least.
It is high time that the government fulfilled its prime responsibility of protecting its citizens. Since every single vulnerable individual can’t be protected, it will be logical if they are taken out from such spots. Secondly, by cracking down on the populace, especially in south Kashmir, a message needs to be sent to other parts of the Valley. Someone has to pay for producing, nurturing and sheltering such sick elements inside homes, lanes and bylanes. Any town or village that allows such an incident needs to be cleansed of its weapons and its miscreants. We have had enough of a lovey-dovey affair with those through whom come out terrorists and over ground workers. Whether such an approach will get us dividends or not will only be seen in the future, but one thing is clear-by adopting such an approach, we shall not be reinforcing the failure.
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