​Renewed terror: on the attacks in J&K

In an escalation of terrorist violence towards the end of October, 10 civilians and two soldiers were killed in a series of attacks across Kashmir. Many of the civilians killed were non-local workers in the Valley. Clearly, these attacks were aimed at creating a sense of fear among the non-local worker population in the Union Territory and to provoke a disproportionate response from the security forces — oft-used tactics by militants in the conflict-prone province. The administration, which includes the office of the Lieutenant-Governor and the newly elected National Conference-led government, must ensure that security forces do not fall prey to this ploy by militants to invite the “state repression” of local communities in order to target militants. The entire cross-section of the Kashmiri polity, including separatist figures such as Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, have condemned the attacks on civilians and this should send a message to those harbouring militants. While it is quite clear that there is still disenchantment and despondency with the Union government’s moves in Jammu and Kashmir, this has, thus far, not descended into a repeat of the chaos of the 1990s when militancy and terrorism were rampant. With a new government in place, the administration is even better placed to isolate militants and all efforts must be taken to do so. Ensuring a safe environment for non-local workers in the Valley by conducting thorough security audits would be one such worthwhile effort, even as persuading civilians to isolate the militants and bring them to justice would be another.

Insurgency in Kashmir was largely restricted to attacks on the security forces and armed forces’ establishments. But it is only in the last few years that civilians, who include non-local labour and Kashmiri Pandits, have been chosen as targets by terrorists. This shift in the terror strategy indicates a desperate attempt to polarise Kashmiri society on communal lines and to use the dismay with the Union Government’s measures to garner recruits for the militant cause. There is no doubt that the dismay and the anger against high-handedness by the security forces, in what are admittedly difficult operations for them, have provided a rationale for the militancy to go on, also sustained by cross-border support. But it is to the credit of the Kashmiris’ forbearance that this has not resulted in a full-blown insurgency as past experiences of militancy have made them wary of extremism. This was evident in the recent Assembly elections where candidates favouring extremist or hardline views or were proxies for forces fostering them, were rejected by the electorate. Ultimately, the sure shot way of ending militancy is to find a way to address the grievances of the people and to win their confidence.