“With the intensification of Killings India is losing grip over Kashmir and so are the regional parties, who have been maintaining an authoritarian tone on the Kashmir conflict,” feels Ghulam Hassan Dar one of the mourners gathered at the house of 19-year-old Rayees Ahmad in South Kashmir’s Shopian District. He was the third victim after Javaid Ahmad and Suhail Ahmad were killed in the army firing when youth demonstrated against the Government forces for taking off the posters of a local slain militant in the area. The convoy of 10 Garhwal Regiment of Indian Army on Saturday fired mercilessly at the boys killing three of them. The Government Forces later claimed that the boys were shot at in ‘self defense’ and also filed a counter FIR against the FIR that accused the Forces of ‘Murder.’
The year 2017 turned out one of the bloodiest year in Kashmir Valley. 207 militants including Abu Dujana, Qayoom Najar, Bashir Lashkari, , Majid Zargar, Junaid Matoo, Noor Tral, Jaish Chief Khalid Bhai, Sabzar Bhat, Umar Khatab, Muza Molvi of Sopore, Abu Surag of Pakistan, Adil Ahmad Reshi of Bijbehara, Abid Ahmad Sheikh of Saktipora and Masood Ahmad Shah of Bewoora village, Abu Musaib, Qari Anas Abu Ali, Azaharuddin alias Ghazi Umar, Sajad Ahmed alias Babar, Mudasir Ahmad Tantray alias Asim, Wakeel Ahmad Thokar, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, Younus Lone, Mushtaq Ahmed, Ayub Lehari, Muhammad Shafi Sherguri and Jahangir Ahmed Ganaie from different militant outfits were killed this year.
The Government Forces too suffered casualties, 93 armed personnel lost their lives during different militancy related operations which include 52 Army soldiers, 33 Policemen, 05 CRPF personnel, 02 BSF men and one security man from Sahastra Seema Bal.
Here Militants or anybody killed at the hands of Government forces is seen as a hero; however Militant funerals attract large crowds than that of civilians, which is a worrying factor for the state agencies. Thousands of people defying restrictions reach the Militant funerals from all the nearby villages and towns. It is not an amazing factor that people from up north in Trehgam reach to Khudwani Kulgam to show their support to militancy. There have been incidences when youth from down South Kashmir have been arrested during encounter site protests in North and Central Kashmir. The very fact is irking the Government agencies as well as the pro establishment people who believe that their space in Kashmir is shrinking fast.
A recently contested Law maker, Fayaz Ahmed (Name Changed) from South Kashmir’s Islamabad believes that it is getting tough for them to move out of their congested and limited spaces, not for the fear of being killed or being shot, but nobody is willing to listen to them, he says. Wishing to be not named, the lawmaker told The Kashmiriyat that the pro establishment parties are optimistic that people will forget every killing and come back to them, but I personally believe this situation is like none before. “People are losing faith in a political system and anarchy is dangerous for any system,” he said.
In the year 2017, A total of 384 casualties were reported this year, while it was militants as foretold who topped the casualty list, 73 civilians were killed in different parts of Kashmir Valley in one of the longest standing dispute between neighbouring India and Pakistan who have fought three wars over the Himalayan region of Jammu Kashmir. Both the nations claim Kashmir in totality to be their integral part.
A new year has started but there are no signs of normalcy anywhere close by, in the month of January this year at least 5 youth were killed in the last week of January alone.
Three youth were killed in firing by army in Shopian district of South Kashmir, while five days ago a teenager was shot dead by security forces in Shopian district only a week back.
On Wednesday, January 31, a teenager boy succumbed to his injuries at SKIMS Hospital here in Srinagar after battling for life for around five days.
The deceased youth identified as Rayees Ahmad Ganie son of Mohd Yousuf Ganie had received critical injuries on January 27 when Army opened fire in a village in Shopian district of South Kashmir. The incident had earlier resulted in two civilian killings.
19-year old Rayees Ahmad, of Narpora village of Shopian succumbed to his injuries at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).
On January 27, Army shot dead two youth in Ganowpora village of Shopian district in South Kashmir. The slain youth were identified as Suhail Javaid, son of Javaid Ahmad Lone of Ganowpora village. Another slain boy was identified as 23 year old Javed Ahmad of of Balpora area of district Shopian.
Pertinently on January 23, a17 year old boy identified as Shakir Mir, resident of Qalampora village of Pulwama district was killed in army firing during an encounter between militants and security forces in Chaigund village of South Kashmir’s Shopian.
Here in Shopian, Mourners gathered at the house of Rayees Ahmed are in utter disbelief of Rayees being murdered. Many even claim that Rayees had never been a part of stone throwing gatherings. “The Government Forces fired at us indiscriminately after tearing apart the banners of militants in the area,” claims an eyewitness who wished to maintain anonymity for the fear of being tortured or even killed. “Before questioning our ways, why do they not look into their actions, who turned us into stone throwers?” he asks.
He claims that people in nooks and corners of Kashmir, who over the years had never participated in the Freedom movement are getting involved in it and the movement at this time is growing widely and the sole reason to it is, the Indian state and it’s authoritarian Government who impose laws like Beef ban and book every other Kashmiri under the charges of stone throwing, leaving them with no option but to take up arms.
“It is just a matter of availability, If arms were easily available in Kashmir, tens of thousands of young Kashmiris would pick up Arms,” he claims. “All of them including the Police, Army, CRPF and Regional parties have made us violent, we have also wanted to be educated, to learn and to cherish the good in life, enjoy, go on tours, travel across the world, but all we have been subjected by the state to, is; Gloom” he says.
“The trend is definitely worrisome and militancy cannot be answered with a Gun, because it (Gun) comes with a sentiment, it may be easy to kill the person, but we have to work on addressing the sentiment, rather than containing it momentarily,” Says Fayaz. He believes that Politics needs to come back to Kashmir and some seriousness on part of all the stake holders including Hurriyat needs to be shown to stop the bloodshed. “Nobody is happy to see the blood of young men being spilled on the roads,” he says. “We are losing the battle of narratives, we are losing a battle that we never contested, we cannot move out,” he claims.
Another Boy, Danish barely 17 years of age claims that Kashmir has been gripped by Political extremism which is later termed as Religious extremism by many who have vested interests in using such a terminology and licenses them to get Kashmiris shot at by their trigger happy forces. “In Kashmir, more number of people are gathering for militant funerals than the innocent civilians which is a testimony to the fact that Indian narrative has no takers here,” Danish says.
“If protesters and Militants are dealt in the same way, why should we not pick up Guns?” he asked.
On 28 May post the killing of top Militant commander, Sabzar Ahmed Wani, last year the Indian Government forces announced ‘Operation All out’, vowing to wipe out militancy they said 'Terrorists in Kashmir will not live to see this winter' Operation All-Out has in no uncertain terms been a success but Has the killing of militant leadership stopped new youngsters from joining militancy?
Figures reveal that at least 117 local youths have joined various militant groups this year. And many more are waiting for the right time and opportunity. Will killings solve the Kashmir Issue? If it was so, then officially More than 8,000 militants have been killed in Kashmir since 1988. Has killing them brought peace to the region?
As many Army officers and Jammu Kashmir Police chief SP Vaid have said, that they can tackle militancy but not end it. It is a high time for the Centre to take a brave political shift that can end the cycle of violence in Kashmir for once and all.
“Kashmir needs a serious Political approach; Kashmir needs peace rather than an enforced definition of Peace, which often is, the gap of time from one death to the other,” the pro Establishment man says.