Shootings raise tension in region

AS JAMMU and Kashmir (J&K) prepares to observe Black Day on October 22, a fresh wave of violence mars the region.

Black Friday marks Pakistan’s invasion of Kashmir in 1947.

According to Wikipedia.org, the day remembers Maharaja Sir Hari Singh’s surrender of Kashmir to Indian forces.

The maharaja was the last ruling king of J&K.

After India’s Independence in 1947, he wanted J&K to remain an independent kingdom.

He was still required to accede to the dominion of India to get the support of Indian troops against an invasion by Pakistani forces.

Recent violence

According to reports by AFP, two labourers were killed by gunmen in India-administered Kashmir on Sunday, the latest victims of a fresh outbreak of violence that has sent jitters through the disputed Muslim-majority region.

The labourers were Hindus from Bihar, a state outside the Himalayan territory.

The killings came a day after a street vendor and a labourer, also from Bihar, were killed in separate shootings. One was Muslim and the other, a Hindu.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the four deaths.

Tension has risen in Kashmir since August 2019 when Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government scrapped the region’s semi-autonomy and brought it under New Delhi’s direct rule.

This was accompanied by a huge security operation and communications blackout with tens of thousands of extra soldiers joining the estimated half a million already on the ground.

Modi said the change was to end decades of violence and bring prosperity to Kashmir.

But locals said the laws favoured Indians from outside the territory.

The latest killings come on the heels of a series of street shootings last week that left seven more civilians dead, among them three members of the local Hindu and Sikh communities.

Those shootings were claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF) rebel group, which accused them of working for India’s security agencies.

This year, 32 civilians, mostly local Muslims, have been shot dead.

Clashes between insurgents and government forces have claimed roughly 30 lives – including soldiers and rebels – in the past two weeks.

Increased security

According to Economictimes.indiatimes.com, a mass crackdown continued in the Kashmir Valley last week with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the armed forces simultaneously launching operations in which the NIA arrested nine persons for their alleged involvement in militant conspiracies.

The website said the situation continued to be tense in Kashmir with militants being killed and hundreds of youth detained or questioned.

“There is a sudden shift in the security scenario. The recent targeted killings have made almost everybody, including officials, vulnerable. Srinagar becoming a hot spot, is a major concern for everyone in the system,” a senior official told India’s Economic Times.

According to a report on www.greaterkashmir.com the director-general of the NIA, Kuldeep Singh, who is also the director-general of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), has asked security forces to be tough against militants and those supporting them.

Unity

The Hindustantimes.com reported that Farooq Abdullah, chairman of the J&K National Conference, addressed a prayer ceremony for the slain civilians in Srinagar last week when he appealed for unity.

“All of us have to stand strong – Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians. Whosoever we are, we have to stand together to fight them (militants). And this politics of division needs to be stopped,” he said.

Criticism

Indiatoday.com reported that Mehbooba Mufti of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party, who served as the last chief minister of J&K as a State, took to Twitter to criticise the handling of the attacks on minorities.

“J&K admin had prior information about attacks on minorities. Yet they chose to ignore these inputs. Instead they were busy providing security to union ministers who were brought to Kashmir to amplify BJPs (India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party) fake narrative and propaganda of so-called normalcy in J&K.

“Not taking responsibility and arresting 700 civilians shows their intention to shift blame and absolve themselves. Collective punishment and humiliation of an entire population has become the one-size-fits-all approach to resolve problems caused due to GOI’s (Government of India) punitive policies,” she reportedly tweeted.

According to a report on www.greaterkashmir.com the divisional commissioner reaffirmed the government’s resolve to ensure safety and security of all, especially minority communities.

OCTOBER 22 is deeply etched in the minds and hearts of every Kashmiri and the world needs to know what happened on that day in 1947 when Pakistan set loose its troops and armed tribal militia on innocent people.

It is a day remembered as Black Day. On August 12, 1947, when the Indian subcontinent was divided, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir wanted to remain independent of India and Pakistan.

Maharaja Hari Singh sought an agreement with both countries. Pakistan initially agreed but within a month went back on its promise. First came an economic blockade to pressurise and blackmail the maharaja into joining Pakistan.

When that didn’t work, Pakistan launched an armed attack on the state with the help of tribesmen it had trained, armed and commanded. Women were raped and taken as slaves.

Many people, including young children, were massacred. Thousands became homeless. It did not matter whether those under attack were Hindu or Muslim.

The goal was to annihilate Kashmir and the culture of that area.

For four long days the destruction continued. Eventually the maharaja turned to India for help. Within hours, Indian forces landed in Srinagar and began to restore law and order.

By November 7 the militia had been forced to retreat into Pakistan. What was once a paradise on earth had been turned into hell on earth. Over 35 000 Kashmiris, including Muslims,

Hindus and Sikhs, were dead. Since then, Pakistan has done its best to try to undermine the region. Hundreds of thousands more have died since Black Day.

Today, in a world awash with false news, historical facts have been distorted. Pakistan, the aggressor, now tries to portray itself as the champion of the people. But, Black Day is a reminder of exactly who is the aggressor. It is a reminder for Kashmiris all around the world of the day Pakistan started a process that fundamentally changed their lives. Sadly, it is a process that Pakistan even today refuses to end.

DEEPAK KUMAR Researcher and lecturer University of KwaZulu-Natal