Around the same time when a beleaguered Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti met prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday to discuss mayhem created by stone-pelting Kashmiris, around 100 CRPF personnel were being sprayed with bullets in Chhattisgarh’s deadly red bastion, Sukma.
From the Valley to the naxal-infested jungles of Bastar, the dissent quotient is ringing louder. One may not find uniqueness in the latest cycle of violence as naxalism in Bastar and separatism in the Valley have been a national security concern for the last several years.
However, the difference this time is that the Centre’s hard-line approach to deal with internal threats — unlike the UPA which toyed with long-roped carrot and stick route — is under test. It is obvious that lashing will invite backlashing. But is the government equipped to deal with the recoil?
The Centre has not shared the details of meeting between Mufti and the prime minister but the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister did inform the media that talks with separatists cannot resume until stone pelting and violence ends.
There seem to be no climb down in the Centre’s approach even though the relationship between the government in New Delhi and coalition partner People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Srinagar is facing test of time.
By backing incidents like army’s use of human shield to tackle stone-pelters, the Centre has shown its intent of backing the soldier on the ground. Keeping the morale of the armed forces high is only one aspect of the problem in Kashmir. At the other end is the people who have come out in streets against the men in uniform with some sort of vengeance not seen even in the worst days of unrest in the past. The government is addressing one end of spectrum while the other is left out, allowing adversaries like Pakistan to steal advantage.
Amidst the nationalistic fervor favouring firm dealing with Kashmir insurgency there are voices advocating initiation of some dialogue before the situation reaches point of no return.
Even former northern army commander DS Hooda, who was the man incharge of the counter-insurgency operations till very recently, has sought a political approach to deal with the situation. Army can only be an enabler, it is the political establishment, which has to take a lead and reach out to the people. As has been his style, the prime minister has not spoken on the issue and his call for the people of Kashmir to choose between tourism and terrorism seem to be a rather simplistic view of a far more complex problem. The justification of army’s human shield tactic or BJP leader Ram Madhav’s remark that all is fair in love and war is not going to help the matters.
The narrative that India can control Kashmir but not the Kashmiris should be tackled by reaching out to the people. Some dialogue has to get underway. A similar lack of clarity is visible in the jungles of Bastar where an impression was created that the Centre’s decision to ban high denomination currency had blocked fundings of the naxals. It was claimed that the left wing extremists were struggling for existence. But the naxals demonstrated that they have overcome the hindrances if there were any. Two deadly attacks in as many months killing around 40 security forces personnel is a chilling reminder that Bastar and the adjoining areas remain red spots. There seem to be no radical difference between the UPA and the NDA governmrnts’ approach to deal with naxals. NDA is more vocal about crushing the movement but has not shown the metal on ground. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) continues to take high casualties which is unacceptable. The morale of its men has taken a hit. All sorts of suggestions like raising a Rashtriya Rifles like force to tackle naxalism have been floated from time to time. But these are long term plans. What is needed is immediate short term strategies to contain the casualties. The internal security matrix looks shaky at the moment.
