Days after The Resistance Front (TRF), an infamous offshoot of dreaded terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), issued threats and released a so-called ‘hit list’ with the names of 56 Kashmiri minority persons (non-Muslims) employed under the Prime Minister’s Rehabilitation Package (PMRP) in the Kashmir valley, an FIR has been filed and an investigation has been initiated. However, this hit list has surfaced some of the very crucial questions of a data privacy breach and the connivance of government employees with TRF.
Later, another hit list of ten more people belonging to the same minority was released, warning of targeted attacks on them. This comes days after the same terrorist outfit issued threats against the eight journalists working in the newspaper Rising Kashmir. TRF does this through its online mouthpiece called Kashmir Fights. What makes the latest hit list particularly worrisome is the brazenness with which the list has been posted on the outfit’s blog, suggesting absolutely no fear of the law, and the leak of the information relating to the minority employees from the education department where they are presently deployed has once again made it clear that terrorists have deep penetration in the administration. Since the list has been released, several Kashmiri migrant bodies like Jammu-Kashmir People’s Forum, Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti and Panun Kashmir have voiced concerns to demand the safety of their people. In the aftermath of the targeted killings by terrorists, several PMRP employees have shifted to Jammu and are sitting on a protest for over 200 days outside the rehabilitation commissioner’s office in Jammu, demanding relocation. They have not even received their salaries for the last almost eight months. It’s time to take serious cognizance of the open threats from terrorist outfits like TRF, identify their operators and bring them to law.
People aspire to thrive in a safe and protected atmosphere where they have the freedom to pursue daily activities without fear of motivated, persistent, or large-scale violence causing danger to their life or limb. Hence, it is both the responsibility and the priority of the state to ensure their safety. If the displaced Kashmiris are forced to flee from the valley, then the designs of the terrorists and their handlers will succeed. In fact, these threats are a well-planned conspiracy to sabotage the efforts of the central dispensation in normalising the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Instead of leaving the field and succumbing to the hysteria created by the terrorists, attention must be paid to ensuring the safety of displaced Kashmiri people and meeting their demands. Although the Central government, Lieutenant Governor’s administration and all the security agencies are working in tandem to make the situation in Kashmir normal, the way this list has been released and the kind of confidential information it contains, is enough to prick the ears. Thus, the terror ecosystem comprising elements that aid, abet and sustain the terrorist campaign to the detriment of the well-being of the common man requires to be immediately dismantled. Coordinated efforts through meticulous and well-planned counter-terrorism operations to wipe out terrorism and ensure the safety of the Kashmiri minorities are required.
More than three years have passed since the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A. During this period, enough changes have been made on the ground to make the situation normal. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been marching on the path of development as a result of the government’s initiatives, which included various developmental schemes executed under the Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP) focusing on individual beneficiaries and reviving long-pending projects lying dormant for several decades by removing the obstacles, through ensuring effective and transparent administration. However, the need to do some surgical operations to normalise the condition and eliminate this menace of terror violence and reinstatement of the peaceful right to life and liberty, once and for all, cannot be ignored. Still, the ordinary resident of J&K continues to fight long and arduous battles to avail the rights as an Indian. Merely providing jobs to Kashmiri migrants in the valley or making them return home is not enough. They are the real minority and have so far been crushed like the tongue between the teeth.
The provision of safe shelter to all is one such attribute of utmost importance and is vital for the all-round development of the minorities in the valley. On the lines of the Uttar Pradesh Housing Development Council and Haryana Urban Development Authority, J&K Development Authority should be formed which will ensure the construction of well-equipped residential and commercial complexes in every district of Jammu and Kashmir. Plots in these complexes should not only be allotted to displaced Kashmiris but also to ex-personnel of armed forces and paramilitary forces, at concessional rates. Any Indian in the valley should be given the right to buy a plot in these complexes at subsidised rates. Similarly, loans and subsidies should be granted at reduced interest to shopkeepers, street vendors, etc. which will enable them to start their own employment by setting up small and big businesses. Apart from free business insurance, they should also be ensured full life cover benefit. Arms should be made available swiftly, at lower prices. As a result, the common man in the valley will not have to depend solely on the security forces for their safety. There was a time in the mid-nineties when terrorism was at its peak and innocent people were being mercilessly killed. At that time, with the efforts of LK Advani, Village Defence Committees (VDCs) were constituted (by connecting with local civic authorities of villages) in all districts of Jammu province, with arms to counter terrorism. Revival/re-establishment of the empowered VDCs by fully equipping them with means, resources and facilities in the present scenario will not only boost the security grid in the UT of J&K but will also form the basis of confidence-building measures for the minorities and migrants in the state.
Infiltration from across the border has been greatly reduced owing to the promptness of the Indian security forces. The government has also broken the back of hawala funding. But the last months have seen an emergence of a new problem in J&K. Thousands of youth in Kashmir are slipping into the dark alleys of drug addiction as the valley has been flooded with huge quantities of heroin usage. The drug trade is brewing day and night in the UT from Pakistan via Punjab. The strings of this drug trade are connected with the terrorists. It’s a sinister design to ruin the next generation and escalate criminal and terror activities in J&K. With the ever-increasing number of drug addicts and contraband seized, the matter is serious enough and requires an all-out effort to weed out this menace from the UT, otherwise, days of ‘Udta Jammu & Kashmir’ are not far away.
In J&K, democracy has always been hampered and thwarted by the families who made it a fiefdom. The few with premium surnames have hijacked the political process. They have ensured democracy is stifled, corrupted and the power is vested in the hands of very few. It is time, efforts should also be made to establish a political leadership other than the Abdullah-Mufti dynasty. Both these families are experts in tricking and provoking people. Politics of lies and loot is their real agenda. For the last 70 years, J&K has been a victim of their politics of fear, confusion and corruption. The old and seasoned leaders of the UT are extremely machiavellian and the alliance of many top leaders with terrorists and separatists is well known. Mehbooba Mufti is the biggest sympathiser and supporter of terrorists and separatists. It’s time to move away from traditional politicians towards the young leadership dedicated to development and change. This type of alternative and development-oriented leadership must be fortified by identifying people early from among Gram Panchayats, Block/District Development Councils and Municipal bodies. Positive thinking is the driver of development and change. There is a dire need for this in the context of Jammu and Kashmir. The lesser participation and cynical response from citizens and public representatives, especially during the ‘Back to Village’ and ‘My Town, My Pride’ programs is a matter of grave concern. This response shows a lack of faith in the existing system. The Administration needs to set a new benchmark of accountability and transparency in its work and has to be particularly sensitive, prompt and result-oriented to rebuild the trust in the local populace. Over-reliance on bureaucracy creates alienation in society.
The passing of the Jammu and Kashmir Public University Bill – 2022 is yet another example of this. The manner in which the bill has been proposed and passed by the Administrative Council without bringing it into the public domain and without taking the stakeholders; the students, the teachers etc, into confidence has resulted in a deep sense of disappointment, anguish and heart burning in them. Further, the people who are rooted in the system are still not allowing Indians from other states to buy residential plots/houses despite the law permitting the same in existence. There are many disguised snakes in the system willing to fail the government in its efforts.
The initiative of naming schools, colleges, squares, roads, bridges, bus stands, railway stations, etc. after the actual heroes and heroines of Jammu and Kashmir, who lost their lives for India’s independence, unity, and integrity, is commendable. These people, perhaps, should be the icons of the young generation of Jammu and Kashmir. Previous governments have contributed enough to make terrorists like Bitta Karate and Burhan Wani local heroes. Let bygones be bygones. Now presents an opportunity to correct the history and present it properly, so that the misconceptions of society can be addressed and connected to the national stream. Slowly but surely, the local people have started accepting the truth that peace and prosperity will come to the valley only by being a part of the national stream.
Lakhs of displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and China-occupied Kashmir are still waiting for justice. Their problems and demands must be considered sympathetically. To date, they are not only deprived of civil rights but also basic human rights. It is necessary to hear them so that they too can lead a happy, peaceful and dignified life like the rest of the Indians. Their proper participation in governance, administration and the legislative assembly should be ensured. There should be no haste to hold assembly elections until each and every Kashmiri displaced person safely ‘returns home’. Real democracy can be restored only by creating confidence in the minds of every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir to vote fearlessly.
The author is the dean, students’ welfare, Central University of Jammu. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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