These are not ordinary times

Kashmir is back on the map of violence.  Back to back terror attacks in Gagangir and Gulmarg  in  a week’s time  after the formation of the duly elected and popular government in Jammu and Kashmir had Pakistani fingerprints all over it.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said it in plain words, while warning perpetrators of these gruesome incidents in which nine civilians and three soldiers were killed  that they would have to pay a very heavy price for spilling the blood of innocents. This sentiment has been echoed by the political and military leaders in the region.

These are not ordinary times. A popular government has been formed  after highly successful Assembly polls from September 18 to October 1, results of which were declared on October 8. The mandate is an absolute victory of  democracy. Absolute, because of the peaceful atmosphere and  enthusiasm of  voters. This mandate  as such has a sanctity of its own. Pakistan, as analysed by LG Sinha, has not been able to stomach success of these elections and victory of democracy, that’s why it has resorted to terror tactics; something that  show its anger and frustration.

A clinical analysis  of these attacks  brings into focus the old game-plan of Pakistan in keeping violence on in the Valley, as it serves several purposes for it, and the biggest of all is an attempt to tell that the elections is not an end itself. Pakistan has always termed elections in J&K as “ fake” or manipulated exercise. However, this time there was an irony. While it continued to use  the age-old theory of  “sham” polls but  read in the vote a genuine rejection of the abrogation of Article 370. How can both the theories be correct, is beyond comprehension.

As the  LG, who is handling all the security affairs in the Union Territory, and the security forces are preparing to refine and improve upon the counter-terrorism strategies to neutralise the terrorists, their ecosystem, there is another thing that needs to be looked at and studied in its thoroughness. The enemies of peace are seeking to draw a wedge between the  Raj Bhawan and the elected government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. The government  is having civil administration with it sans powers to transfer   all-India service officers, in particular IAS, and all the security related matters are under the authority of Lieutenant Governor.

This also has created a peculiar situation. It gets magnified in  a place like Jammu and Kashmir, a witness to the political and armed conflict since 1947 dating back to Pakistani invasion of the princely state, that cannot and should not be seen  through the prism of security needs like all parts of the country. Its history is ridden with conflict and its geography is bloodstained. Graveyards in every neighbhourhood bear a testimony to that.

This land  also has seen an unprecedented spell of  central rule for 14 years, eight months and 16 days since 1977  that  Delhi was ruling  directly for  nearly one-third of the time   in the past 47 years. Twice this spell was more than six years at a stretch – from January 1990 to October 1996, and from June 2018 to October 2024.

The spell between June 2018 and 2024  also saw Jammu and Kashmir’s special status being done away, with the  abrogation of Article 370  in August 2019, and dramatic improvement in the situation with  a new kind of confidence evolving  among the people. They started looking for  better times and one of their urges to have their own elected government was also fulfilled  with the Assembly polls. They knew that they were voting under a particular status – the Union Territory- and the majority of the voters across Jammu and Kashmir, whether they were in one region or the other wanted change in the status. They wanted statehood back.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared in all his election rallies  in J&K, and prior to that  on June 20, on the eve of the “international  yoga day”  that J&K will be  given back its status of  statehood. There were two parts  of the  statement – (a) UT status for J&K is temporary, and  it will be given back  its “puran rajya” ( full statehood ) status, and (b) this is the government’s commitment in the parliament.

After the terror attacks in the Valley's tourist resorts, this issue has come into sharper focus. Before that, it needs to be understood that post elections LG’s office and the elected government inherited  a particular system in which the powers of the elected government and that of LG were clearly defined. In the current arrangement  as it is  as of today, LG has exercised his powers what have been  notified under the J&K Reorganization Act , and he has exercised the same. It so happened that its demonstration came into spotlight or sharper focus in the aftermath of the terror incidents.

There is something more which needs to be done and understood in the right perspective. A high-grade counter-terrorism strategy should be devised. Terrorists come from across border and they are helped by local elements, traditionally hostile to the system. The anti-infiltration grid needs to be strengthened more, though given the terrain and climate it may not be possible to plug every inch of the LoC and the international border. Second, the neutralization of such elements within J&K – the intelligence gathering system is there and it is doing its work. There is a fundamental in counter terrorism – forces have to be successful all the time, while terrorists just need one chance. Third is who will  do the actual work in bolstering confidence of the people – here comes the prominent role of the elected government and the political leaders.

The vote was not only for basic amenities but also consolidation of peace  and progress. Again PM has promised that the Centre will work hand-in-hand with  the CM and his team to make J&K progress. Peace is fundamental to progress, and this also includes all what has been achieved so far. The political faces have to be the narrators. Farooq Abdullah, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and all major political leaders, Mehbooba Mufti, Altaf Bukhari, Sajad Lone have condemned these acts of terror in one voice. APHC chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also came out with the statement of condemnation  against killing of innocents. But can the politicians be restricted to condemnation alone. No. They have to be involved and integrated into the counter-terrorism strategies. If the electorate voted for peace, they voted for their faith in the elected government to deliver on this.

Statehood is the way out – apart from the mandate which is having its own sanctity and the elected assembly is going to  be Sanctum Sanctorum, there is a commitment that Prime Minister Modi has made. J&K is looking up to that. This gains extra  urgency as there is a widespread apprehension that the enemies of peace  are not done as yet with the attacks which they mounted in the Valley. To fight against the violence needs full public support and  the representatives they voted. The mandate is at stake and those who made the historic elections possible – the Centre and LG  - should give it a thought with all seriousness which they are known for. The historic elections cannot be seen an end in itself. There is a bigger task ahead before the alarm bells start ringing loudly.