Don't Blame Pak for Resurgent "Terrorist" Attacks across J&K: Lalit k kaul

 Don’t Blame Pakistan for Resurgent “Terrorist” Attacks across J&K

Lalit K Kaul

Entire region of J&K has been experiencing “terrorist” attacks since the declaration of Lok Sabha election results from Kashmir and these “terrorist” attacks have increased manifold post declaration of J&K Assembly election results. The JKNC-JKCONG alliance has returned to J&K Assembly with a very comfortable majority and what’s more important in that is that the JKNC has got a majority on its own. In addition to their collective numbers some independents (4) have joined them and AAP MLA has declared support for the alliance. The PDP had offered to surrender all its seats to the alliance if it’s conditions were met with; before the conduct of Assembly elections. So, it is a safe guess to make that the alliance has implicit support of PDP MLAs. This is not surprising because they all are the members of PAGD. The ratio in the Assembly is 29(pro-India): 61(anti-India).

In order to understand the reason(s) for escalation in “terrorist” activities it needs to be remembered that those who have been voted to power once again were instrumental in subverting administrative machinery of the erstwhile J&K state that eventually facilitated the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandit Community forcing them into exile to various parts of India. The PDP which was formed at the instance of the Vajpayee-Advani duo was essentially born out of the then JKCONG. It’s a well known fact that erstwhile JKCONG was not pro-India, but harboured same political object as the JKNC. Therefore, all these political outfits were and continue to be the birds of the same feather that covertly flocked together. Though labelled as “mainstream” their character was no different from those political outfits which came to be labelled as “separatists”. The binding force being the Two Nation Theory which had evolved out of Muslim separatism voiced first time in the year 1920. This theory’s fundamental basis was that Muslims can’t co-exist with Hindus.

The Content of JKNC JKCONG and PDP Election Campaign:

The greatest favour that the BJP did to these outfits was to refrain from contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Kashmir; it was a huge favour because there remained no political outfit in the arena to challenge their election campaign narrative. The bigger question is: had the BJP remained in the fray, did it have the capability to counter their narrative and bring out their obnoxious double standards? The answer is NO. As became evident in the BJP campaign in Kashmir during Assembly elections.

It's amazing that the election strategists in the BJP don’t know that elections in Kashmir cannot be won on the agenda of development and growth and the promise of providing a corruption free governance. Kashmir in comparison to other parts of India was not under(un) developed and Kashmiris in comparison to residents of Eastern UP, Bihar, Assam etcetera were richer and not poorer in pre-1986 era.

The BJP ought to know that since decades the Kashmiri Muslims have been continuously fed by their political and religious leadership that India had not kept her word with them and, in fact, had deprived them of their political rights. This rhetoric gathered huge momentum post abrogation of non-existent Art 370 through an Act of Parliament.

Therefore, in the election speeches of the leaders of the “mainstream” political outfits, the Kashmiri Muslims (because Kashmir is 99.999% Muslim) were promised restoration of their dignity and identity by restoring Art 370 and 35A, if voted to power. They went to the extent of exhorting Muslims to be ready for Shahadat for redeeming their dignity and identity. “Shahadat” is a very powerful motivating factor for Muslims across the Globe as it relates them to their religion and it’s a well known fact that in all Muslim/Arab Nations the politics and religion are not two disjoint sets.

The failure of the BJP leadership was that it couldn’t challenge the narrative of “loss of dignity and identity” and, therefore, couldn’t make its point with the electorate that abrogation of the Articles 370 and 35A would not lead to trampling upon their dignity and identity. Had the BJP’s counter narrative succeeded in making some tangible impression on the minds of a cross-section of the electorate, it, possibly, could have made some dent in the “mainstream” vote bank to register victory in a few Assembly segments.

Secessionism in Kashmir- Reason Articles 370 and 35A!

The degenerate political system prevalent in our country is such that any government backed by a political outfit will never appreciate the schemes/works of its predecessor government backed by some other political outfit, no matter how beneficial the schemes were. This the theorem of Indian political system. Therefore the initiatives of Sri P V Narasimha Rao’s government were never to be appreciated and, in fact, opposed. The classic example is BJP’s opposition to implementation of Aadhar card and Sonia Congress opposition to digitization schemes introduced by the BJP led government at the Centre.

Since Article 370 (though necessitated by the Instrument of Accession and for a certain political object) was the doing of the then Indian National Congress, all the blame for secessionist movement in Kashmir was to be attributed it. And not to be spared was Art 35A which, in fact, had been in vogue since Maharaja Hari Singh’s rule in the princely state of J&K. Its implementation was the outcome of a joint movement launched by the Dogras of Jammu and Pandits of Kashmir! The BJP coined this narrative and found widespread support among the uninformed “educated” class across India.

Ask any Kashmiri Pandit Community member whose friend circle included Muslims with Jamaat-e-Islami affiliation, the inquirer will be told that creation of Bangladesh spurred the secessionist movement and for which preparations began around 1973/74. In 1975 the educated unemployed (Muslims and Pandits) launched an agitation asking the government to create avenues for employment and sought a meeting with the CM, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah. The meeting was granted and held in CM’s office in presence of Mirza Mohammed Afzal Beig. The CM told the representatives of agitating youth that it was not the time for seeking jobs, but for preparing for Jihad against India! This coming from the CM as it did gave huge impetus for planning secessionist movement against India.

The porous border and availability of JKLF and Jamaat-e-Islami cadres enabled border crossings and arms training.

Therefore what happened in Kashmir starting 1986 was not due to Articles 370 and 35A. In fact the relegation of Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq to the Chair of CM from PM on March 23,1965 and subsequent first time Lok Sabha elections in the erstwhile state of J&K buried Art 370 for good.

SAS Geelani had the following to say: Article 370 buried by NC in 1975: Geelani by Muhammad Raafi, 6:33 pm April 28, 2014, KL Report SRINAGAR

“Terming the statement of National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah about the article 370 as ridicules and politics of deceit, chairman Hurriyat Conference(G), Syed Ali Geelani Monday said that the article 370 is recorded only in papers and the father of Farooq Abdullah has buried this article in 1975, when he accepted chief-ministership instead of Prime-ministership and surrendered the plebiscite movement which was nourished with the hot blood, merely for the chair”

What remained was Art 35A.

Don’t Label them Terrorists They are “Mainstream” Political outfits Cadre:

“Kashmir will become Gaza”, roared Farooq Abdullah. “Agar Art 370 hataya toh khoon ki nadiyan bahengi”, declared Mehbooba Mufti! “Kashmir muddhae ka hal nikalnae kae liyae Pakistan sae baat karna zaroori”, Farooq Abdullah on record. Such statements invigorate their “soldiers of Azadi movement” and, in fact, are very provocative. Combine these statements with their election speeches and the picture is complete. The Muslims in Kashmir voted overwhelmingly in favour of JKNC-JKCONG alliance and that gave immense confidence to the “soldiers of Azadi movement” in that they shall be provided protective cover and logistics for carrying out their secessionist campaign against India. It’s no coincidence that attacks on army, para military forces and pro-India elements started immediately after the declaration of LS and Assembly elections results; it was all planned in anticipation of a decisive win in the Assembly elections. They have a government that’s sympathetic to them. That’s why one sees the hearts of PAGD gang cry out for a “terrorist” who is eliminated by the security forces.

This cadre of “mainstream” political outfits chose gun and other types of arms and ammunitions as the instrument for achieving Azadi. So they are not “terrorists” but avowed secessionists whose political object is to free Kashmir from “Indian Occupation”.

Therefore, it’s no use attributing the “terror” attacks to cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan. For, all the media claim that ISI-on seeing the grand success of Assembly elections in J&K which endorsed people’s faith in Indian democratic dispensation- got busy facilitating cross border terrorism, it doesn’t hold any water in the local context. In fact, attributing it all to Pakistan creates a security cover for local bred and nurtured “soldiers of Azadi”.

No purpose is going to be served by conducting surgical and air strikes across the border. Because the indoctrinated cadre is within J&K and is responsible for all kinds of anti-India activities. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct surgical strikes on institutions, politicians and such people who raise such cadres who are indoctrinated to strike against India interests.

The question is: does the BJP led government at the Centre has the political will, capability and conviction to do such surgical strikes within J&K and other parts of India?

Present Political Situation in J&K and the Role of BJP:

Before Aug 5 2019, no political outfit in Kashmir talked about Art 370 as vociferously as is being done today. Farooq Abdullah- when out of power- talked about pre-1953 status and consigned it to the dustbin of history on assuming power. The “mainstream”-“separatists” duo never talked about it as they were engaged in secessionist movement against India and therefore Art 370 was of no concern to them.

But the BJP for its own reasons kept Art 370 alive. Like, when Sri A B Vajpayee was engaged in putting in place the NDA, he promised that the BJP wouldn’t have abrogation of Art 370 on its agenda. When Sri Arun Jaitly, through the Act of Parliament, implemented GST, he stated that it was not applicable to J&K because of Art 370. Yet gave the then government of J&K the choice to implement it. If Art 370 was in vogue, how could this choice be available!

Post Aug 5 2019, the BJP led government at the Centre gave the “mainstream” outfits a handle to beat it with. Since BJP claimed that it had abrogated Art 370, the cry for its restoration acquired high pitch. The abrogation of Art 35A was declared by the “mainstream” political outfits as trampling upon their identity and they set up a narrative that demographic change was round the corner which would drown Muslim identity in to deep seas.

All these narratives about “loss of dignity”- abrogation of Art 370 and “loss of identity”- abrogation of Art 35A were/are intended for Muslim and Arab world to convey to them that Muslims in Kashmir were being oppressed! And it has paid dividends as every political commentator in Pakistan does this propaganda that Muslims in Kashmir are being persecuted!

So, a dead horse-Art 370- came alive to challenge India’s political jurisdiction over Kashmir.

The failure of the BJP lies in the fact of its total inability to counter this obnoxious propaganda.

The coalition that won elections on the promise of restoring Articles 370 and 35A, in a democratic dispensation, asserts the will of the people. That Muslims in Kashmir don’t want Kashmir to fully integrate with India.

So, it won’t be out of place to say:

Turbulent Times are Here Again for pro-India elements and Happy Times are Here Again for anti-India elements.

If “coming events cast their shadows” then paying tributes to SAS Geelani in the first session of Assembly is the event that has the potential to reset the Clock to 1986 for such socio-political dynamics to evolve that shall be inimical to India’s interests. However, paying tributes to SAS Geelani has proved beyond debate that for all their exterior, the “mainstream” political outfits were acting in unison with the “separatists” for challenging the accession of the then princely state of J&K to India.