The ferment in Kashmir

By HL Shishoo
Nearly half a century back, the then Prime Minister of the Jammu & Kashmir State was asked about the density of pro-Indian people in the valley. Without any effort he said that along with him every body was pro-Indian and without him every body was anti-Indian.

Nothing much has changed since then, for those in power every person is for India and for those opposing the present status quo every person is a separatist. In broad perspective all leaders claim to be one with the people and for the people but the essence of all political activity in the State is firstly power, secondly, power and thirdly power, animated of course by covetousness and ambition.

However great leaders the State may have produced they were not great enough to forgo lust for power, voluntarily for the sake of pride of their people, because self-interest was the operating force of their political thought. The power equation between power holders and power seekers kept changing like an orchestra in the auditorium but music remained unchanged.

The most puzzling thing is that Kashmiris could not produce a quality leadership bound by the rules of honor, representing the wave of the future and dedicated to the cause of building a sense of dignity in local politics. In absence of leadership of excellent abilities and honest intentions, people are left hanging on a trembling and doubtful balance.

A number of factors may have contributed and even conspired tg bring the common man’s state of mind to the present stagnation but the most obvious cause is inaction and lack of positive attitude towards building a stable political system. The harsh reality of the political equation in Kashmir is that people are neither honest to themselves nor to others, even in the pressing times they are scheming and fighting for personal advantage.

They have no doubt become articulate by showing faith in the political realism that offers something to every body without seriously offending any body. By shedding the very genius and spirit of political morality they are trading larger interests for individual prosperity, one good result being that the specter of separatist politics disappears in the final tally of profit. The consequences are that in spite of illusory quest, most of the people want to retain the present status quo to preserve their privileged economic and social status.

The crudest understanding is that the mental backup of common man in Kashmir has been bolted by revenge killings and overwhelming social pressure but Kashmiris posses amazing adaptability and disposition born of self-preserving instincts. Violence, intimidation and fear are no doubt integral part of daily life but even in the most unrewarding circumstances people’s creative energies are intact and very active. For most of their common day problems people find answers on the ground of pure logic and pure mathematics and having intensely inert intellectuals on their side is an added advantage that helps a great deal to dull the political advantage of the separatists.

People committed to the dignity of work have since disappeared from the scene, displaced in physical sense by the people who make gains from the benefit of delayed task of finding a solution to the political issues.In order to make a strict distinction between the separatist tendencies in Kashmir and rest of the State, the picture presented by the separatists must be corrected by more balanced perception of reality. There exists a different position in Jammu and Ladakh where separatist intentions did not get the support to proceed beyond the first stage.

Despite Violence, separatism looks more or less a surface phenomenon to most of the people but on the grounds of pure logic they have assumed a mask to supersede inner expressions and emotions. On the one side people’s immersion in separatist politics is shallow and tenuous and on the other side their interest in the elected Government is need based and transitory.

Let us be very honest that the secessionist movement is not a revolution by common consent but it is the fear that stands between slave impulse and in the way of freedom of expression, accommodation and reason.Inability of the main political parties, Congress and the National Conference to satisfy the political aspirations of the people undoubtedly led to the eruption of pent-up forces whose intention is to break through the status quo.

The movement instead of working through legislature and parliament relies on rigorous and ruthless programme of implementation and has worked two ways, one by paralyzing the will of the people and another by giving respectability to the separatists who were desperately trying to gain recognition among the masses. Militancy worked like a juggernaut rolling on regardless of innocent people crushed beneath it but it failed to clean the Augean stables or solve the political problems.

The greatest good that has happened to the common man is the economic reconstruction, the impetus of which is towards development of infrastructure and creation of jobs for the educated unemployed. Separatists are using intoxicating phrases in political sense to influence the political understanding of the common man who is paying heavy price for the contradictions in their fundamentals.

Separatist conduct does neither make them the prophets of a new era nor do they hold the winning edge but they are definitely working against the future. Separatism will survive in the State as long as it receives indirect support from legislature and the bureaucracy, former by consistent wavering and later by running a State within the State. It is not surprising that bureaucracy works at various levels in most intricate ways that is difficult to detect, to strengthen the separatist movement in the State.

A strong current of thought works in the bureaucracy that fixes jobs for separatist cadres within the police and administration, strengthens its finances by arranging economic assistance, helps in securing Government contracts, facilitates loans from Banks and Financial institutions, manipulates financial relief on flimsy grounds and ensures striking of work in Government institutions to compliment the separatist propaganda.It will be absolutely disastrous for India if any attempt is made under the influence of political turncoats to roll back the history of the State.

Militancy will stay long even if a solution is found but a strong will is needed to blunt its potency and base because the people of the country particularly the armed forces have accepted enormous sacrifices in the spirit of service to the nation. In local politics rational and irrational forces are so intertwined that these cannot be separated and whatever the script of the authors of self-rule and demilitarization, their real intention is to lay the snares for the desperate souls in Delhi to strengthen the separatist agenda.

The think-tank of Government of India should not fall prey to self-deception and irrationality in view of delay in finding a solution. They must understand the political mechanism in the State, grasp the dangers posed by organized deceit and hypocrisy of the politicians professing high principles and public interests but in practice contributing to evil imaging and evil doing fraught of course with dangerous consequences.

The most obvious fact is that there exists a peculiar relationship and diversity between the three regions of the State and this introduces great complexity in managing the solution to the present conflict. The task would be simpler if the separatists and the nationalist employ the vocabulary of reason and realism, harmonize the conflict of interests to make reconciliation a potent reality. Self-patting and chest thumping leaders, who claim exclusive right to the political wisdom, literally demanding a place in the Sun, give the impression that the solution to Kashmir issue is in their brief.

Many a desperate soul believes unwittingly in these diverse and heterogeneous elements that cultivate and cater to foreign interests. Peace is undoubtedly a beautiful dream but two widely divergent views of political thought and action can neither produce unity nor solution but only perpetual conflict.

The problems that seem so simple to the men of ludicrous self-importance seeking headlines in the local media are highly complicated, as no alimentary canal can be a substitute for the stomach. With the loosening of the social bonds people are without a shepherd, they need a real regenerator at some space and time, the man who can hold their emotions as Sheikh Abdullah did in 1940’s but unlike him, who works for permanence and fresh efflorescence in the concept of politics. Let us be clear that Jammu and Kashmir is politically fluid and Geographically fractured State and any new concept cannot be founded on the ideology of terror. The people may be contributing to the collective paralysis of will under threat but they have not completely surrendered their faculty.

Separatist must accept that the participation of the people in the Hurriyat is not voluntary and without their interior and natural cohesion of a pervading sense of homogeneity there can be no solution. We cannot ignore the strong lay elements of the State and its intellectualism in the long run, without whom solution to the conflict is impossible. The real issue to be addressed by people, their leaders and the Government should be what degree of autonomy can be pressed for keeping in view the diverse social, political and economic interests of the three regions of the State. Government of India must stop political gaming for temporary relief, understand and accept the tremendous reverberations in the changing political thought and prepare the ground for granting reasonable degree of self-expression on domestic policy not only to Jammu and Kashmir but also to other States in addition to reasonable degree of decentralization in the economic matters.

Militants hold cabinet meeting in Poonch

Jammu /
Poonch May 6--Amidst the clamour for demilitarization and reduction of troops in the state, the militant outfits and their mentors across the border have decided to reinvigorate the rank and file in order to give a fillip to the terror activities.
In order to take advantage of the movement and relocation of troops in Poonch district, an executive meeting of militant commanders was held on April 30 at Sheen Darrah, to discuss new strategies and operational matters.
In this meeting, new appointments were also made to ensure that communication with local people is improved and they are taken into confidence. Seventeen terrorists which include locals as well as foreigners were made responsible for the entire Poonch district and adjoining Mendhar and their area of operation was also demarcated.
As per highly placed sources, Abu Asif, Saiful Rehman, Mohd Mushtaq and Abdul Ghani son of Mohd Hussain, all belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba have been assigned the area of Sheen Darrah, Kalai, Khanetar and Manjari.
These men will be responsible for receiving operatives from Pakistan, providing them shelter and helping them in carrying out the actual operations against the security forces.
Dawood of LET has been made incharge of Salwa and Mendhar, Abu Arsalan of HMPPR has been made responsible for Khanetar and Mendhar, Abu Vida and Abu Salma of LeT has been made responsible for Fazalabad and Mastandarrah, Sarfaraz of JeM has been made the incharge of Sangla, Parmote, Ghunthal and Kalar, Abu Kadal of HM and Mast Gul of HuM have been made responsible for Lassana, Sanai, Bachianwali gali; Abu Bilal of HM, Wahid of HM and Maqsood Hussain of HMPPR, son of Mohd Shafi Mustafa resident of Hari Budda has been made in- charge of Seri Chouhana; Mohd Yakoob son of Mohd Azam is responsible for Paleira Mandi, Chaktroo Andharwali; Sitar, resident of Marhote has been made the incharge of Kalaban, Jagti Toti and Hari Budda; Abu Mafiya of LeT has been made the incharge of Adai alongwith additional charge of Hari Budda.
According to sources, Inter Services Intelligence of Pakistan has asked the new operators to tap the unrest among the people which has been caused by reduction of troops as well as some incidents of high handedness by the Army men.
These men have been assigned the task of tapping new youth and recruiting them to get training across the border. Infact, the top commanders of the terrorist outfits have decided to work in close coordination to ensure that youth of the area join the militant ranks in large numbers.
Another important task which has been assigned to this new team is to take action against Village Defence Committees and break the confidence of the local people.
In a startling revelation it was also discovered that a team of locals has also been constituted as recruiting board to identify the local youth, who can be lured successfully into anti-national activities. This team will move with the top militant commanders of the area and motivate the local youth for crossing the border.
Here, it must be mentioned that people living in and around Hill Kaka particularly the VDC members have repeatedly expressed apprehensions of retribution by the terrorist groups.
The residents of these areas had helped the Indian Army during the Operation Sarp Vinash in 2003.

Recruitment on for terror ranks in Poonch, Mendhar

Jammu, Poonch, May1—Lashkar-e-Tayyba and Jaish-e-Mohammad plan to recruit around 200 youth from the border districts of Poonch and Mendhar in order to augment the shortage in their ranks.'
According to highly placed sources, the top commanders of the two terrorists outfits are working in close coordination to ensure that youth of the area join the militant ranks. In order to lure the youth of Poonch and Mendhar, sources said Saiful Rehman, divisional commander of Lashkar-e-Tayba and Saiful Qari, divisional commander of Jaiesh-e-Mohhammad have promised a monthly salary to these youths for three months and after that they will be taken to Pakistan for training.
In a startling revolution it was also revealed that a team of locals has been constituted as recruiting board to identify the local youth, who can be lured successfully into anti-national activities. This team moves with the top militant commanders of the area and motivates the local youth for crossing the border.
The impressionable youth are made to study literature and watch CDs containing inflammatory speeches of militant leaders which exhorts them to seek revenge for the atrocities being committed against the Muslims across the length and breadth of globe.
As per the militant plans, these youth would be first indoctrinated with militant ideology and thereafter taken across the border to Lashkar-e-Toiba camps spread across Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The camps and recruitment centers are spread across the length and breadth of Pakistan and PoK in Muzaffarabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Multan, Quetta, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gilgit (in the Northern Area of PoK), etc.
LeT reportedly has 2,200 offices across Pakistan These youth would be taught in handling sophisticated weapons which includes AK series rifles, LMG/HMG's, Hand Grenades and sophisticated communication systems. As per reliable sources, the movement of the terrorists have been facilitated to a great extent due to the reduction of troops in the areas as a number of army pickets have been recalled on the pretext of a fall in militancy in the area.
Local, however, opine that militants are waiting to spread their wings as they have spotted an opportunity in the demilitarization move of the army. People, who have worked with the army are particularly perturbed as they feel that they would be targeted by the terrorists.
A local official on the condition of anonymity said that they are keeping a close watch on the situation and every effort would be made to thwart the designs of anti-national elements.
The LeT’s professed ideology goes beyond merely challenging India's sovereignty over the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Lashkar's ‘agenda’, as outlined in a pamphlet titled Why are we waging jihad includes the restoration of Islamic rule over all parts of India.
Further, the outfit seeks to bring about a union of all Muslim majority regions in countries that surround Pakistan. Towards that end, it is active in J&K, Chechnya and other parts of Central Asia. Hafiz Saeed, a scholar of Islam, has said that the purpose of Jihad is to carry out a sustained struggle for the dominance of Islam in the entire world and to eliminate the evil forces and the ignorant.
He considers India, Israel and US to be his prime enemies and has threatened to launch Fidayeen (suicide squad) attacks on American interests too. The Lashkar-e-Toiba does not believe in democracy and nationalism.
According to its ideology, it is the duty of every 'Momin' to protect and defend the interests of Muslims all over the world where Muslims are under the rule of non-Muslim in the democratic system. It has, thus chosen the path of Jihad as the suited means to achieve its goal. Cadres are drawn from the Wahabi school of thought.