The Defence Services, especially the Army, are rightly considered the “instruments of last resort” of any nation. While the Defence Services primarily exist for safeguarding the territorial integrity of a nation and, while each nation has specific civil organs to deal with every facet of administration, emergencies and calamities, it is the Defence Services that the nation turns to if its primary services fail. Any essential service of the government, be it railways, power supply, water supply, etc, may go on strike but the Defence Services ensure these essential services continue to work till the government resolves the problem administratively. During natural or manmade calamities, the Defence Services shore up the resources of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire department, medical services, et al. A flag march by the army in a riot-torn area instils confidence among the masses. In short, a nation looks up to its Defence Services with hope and assurance and feels secure.

The recently released movie, “The Kashmir Files”, on the January 1990 genocide and consequent exodus of Hindus from the Kashmir Valley, has churned the nation’s conscience and awakened Indians to the long-forgotten plight of “Kashmiri Pandits” and the systemic denial of justice and compensation to them for over three decades. Most movie audiences were shocked about the secrecy ensured around this carnage that prevented its coverage in the news. The lack of news about massacre of hundreds, rape and torture of thousands and eviction of lakhs of Hindus is astounding and mind-numbing. While the Internet and social media was nascent at that time, these events were not covered by any newspaper or TV news channel. The magnitude and complicity of the number of agencies involved in this cover-up is monumental. India has always had a free press, except during Indira Gandhi’s Emergency period. The perpetrators of this genocide evidently had friends in high places and connections in low places to effectively muzzle the Fourth Estate.

“A fraudulent intent, howsoever carefully concealed at the outset, will ultimately betray itself.”
– Titus Livius

Doubtless, the plot was hatched at a political level and abetted and supported at the administrative level from Srinagar to New Delhi. One has to applaud the planners for the astuteness that ensured not only the success of their diabolical plan, it also ensured the availability of fall-guys on whom fingers could be pointed. The actual culprits not only escaped scrutiny, they were lauded by prime minister Manmohan Singh and interviewed by pro-establishment TV channels as heroes. The genocide and exodus were painted as a self-induced “migration” of Hindus from the Valley, disillusioned by lack of work opportunity in Kashmir. The fact that they left their homes with only the clothes on their back was never highlighted.

First, the date of the operation was decided (January 1990) and then the chess pieces were put into place. The strategy was to execute the plan in such a way that the real culprits had strong alibis while innocent incumbents were blamed for the carnage. The initial planning seems to have started in late 1986, when Farooq Abdullah became the chief minister and his dear friend Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister. The idea was to rid Kashmir Valley of Hindus, called Kashmiri Pandits, secretly without the outside world getting wind of it. Gagging the spineless and career-minded IAS, IPS and state police was no problem. The press, most of whom had received their licences during the Congress raj and so owed their allegiance to the Gandhi family, seemed to have agreed to turn a blind eye.

It was necessary to have absolute loyalists in critical positions for the success of the heinous plan. PV Narsimha Rao was replaced by Buta Singh as home minister. It was Buta Singh, along with Zail Singh, who had proposed the name of Rajiv Gandhi to succeed Indira Gandhi as prime minister, despite Operation Bluestar and the gruesome genocide of the Sikhs. So, they were proven loyalists.

Just before D Day, 19 January 1990, the mastermind, Farooq Abdullah, resigned as chief minister and Governor’s Rule was imposed with an unsuspecting Jagmohan installed to take the blame. It is interesting to note that Governor’s Rule was imposed for six months during the crucial period of the genocide and once the dust had settled, President’s Rule was imposed for six years from Jul 1990 to Oct 1996 to safeguard Congress leadership from any blame.

The other chess pieces who were juggled around make for an intriguing study. MK Narayan, a staunch loyalist was Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director from Apr 1987 to Feb 1992 but was replaced by a nondescript RP Joshi from Jan 1990 to Dec 1990. CBI Directors are never appointed for short periods but one R Sekhar was made CBI Director from 11 Jan 1990 to 14 Feb 1990. Another loyalist, Ved Marwah, was placed as DG National Security Guard, just in case.

Though VP Singh was the prime minister during 1990, the home minister was Mufti Mohammed Sayeed (Dec 1989 – Nov 1990), the only time in India’s history a Muslim has been a home minister. It was during this time that abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, his daughter, was craftily stage-managed on 8 Dec 1989 to extract release of five deadly terrorists, on 13 Dec 1989. These terrorists were essential to execute the planned Hindu genocide in Jan 1990. In this drama, Farooq Abdullah pretended as “opposing” the release of terrorists to further absolve him of any mal-intent.

Jan 1990 saw (or rather did not see) the world’s worst genocide and eviction based on religion, after the holocaust of the European Jews during World War II, when hundreds were killed, thousands were raped and lakhs were evicted from their homeland of Kashmir, merely because they were Hindus. The stark truth of this massacre would have remained a secret but for Vivek Agnihotri’s film The Kashmir Files. The fallout of this watershed movie is obvious in India.

What about the instrument of last resort – the Army – in all this tragedy? The Army has a fairly dense presence in Jammu & Kashmir. Unlike army units in other locations on Indian borders, the units of XV Corps, Srinagar, are actively fighting infiltration and terrorism even today. The situation in the 1980s and 1990s was far worse and the army was not only defending the borders, it was very alert against attacks on itself as well as on innocent civilians from anti-national elements. There was and continues to exist a wide network of intelligence units and informers keeping a sharp eye on terrorist organisations and their activities. Even if cooperation from civil intelligence agencies to the army was withheld, the Army could not have been totally unaware of loudspeaker announcements from mosques, asking Hindus to convert, flee or be killed; of infiltration of high-end automatic weapons for the jihadists; of marking of Hindu houses; of sporadic killing, rape and eviction of Hindus. Surely the Army does not rely on TV news and newspapers for such information in their area of responsibility. The jihadists must be using walkie-talkies and other radio equipment for communication, which could be intercepted. Situation reports (Sitreps) are initiated by all sub-units that report all unusual activity. In short, the genocide could not have gone unnoticed by the Army, especially since four officers of the IAF were brazenly killed in broad daylight by Yasin Malik, a prominent figure on TV news channels.

It raises the obvious question – Was the Army also complicit in this deplorable act? Circumstantial evidence certainly points to this horrifying conclusion. While his complicity is highly conjectural, it is crucial to note that Lt Gen Mohammed Ahmed Zaki was positioned as the tactical commander in charge of the Valley, as GOC of XV Corps from Oct 1989 to Jun 1991. It was up to him to accept or discard intelligence inputs and to furnish relevant information to HQ Northern Command. It is inconceivable that the GOC of XV Corps was not aware of the happenings in the Valley. Was Zaki also one of the chess pieces put in place for the success of the “operation”? The author contacted Lt Gen Zaki for his comments, but the retired general refused to offer any.

Indeed, Indian Army is irreligious and there are any number of Muslims who have laid down their life for defence of India. Alas, it is equally true that some senior officers have traded military secrets or otherwise betrayed India for personal benefit. “All soldiers are patriotic” is as much an axiomatic myth as “all teachers are knowledgeable” and “all doctors are caring”. Even if, for sake of argument, one deems Zaki as compromised, being a Muslim, what did the other senior officers do about it?

GOC of 19 Infantry Division, Commander of 31 Sub Area, officers in military intelligence sections at all levels, commanders of subordinate formations and units located in hotspots like Srinagar, Awantipora, Sopore, Kupwara, Pulwama, Doda, Poonch, Anantnag, etc, all seem to have failed in their national duty. Of course, safety of citizens in peacetime is primarily a police responsibility, it cannot absolve the local army units of inaction when racial cleansing of some scale was being done in their den.

“There is something drastically wrong with one`s character if opportunity controls one’s loyalty.”- Bhavna Arora

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Notwithstanding statements from mainstream political parties and separatist organisations condemning the violence, many Kashmiri Pandit and Sikh employees abstained from work or took leave temporarily, worried about their security. This is an unfortunate outcome. News reports suggest serious attempts to target businessmen, aimed at sending a message to non-Muslims who have been staying here peacefully for decades. Targeted killings of prominent citizens belonging to the minority communities in the Kashmir valley during October created an atmosphere of panic and fear.

The Resistance Front (TRF), which draws its cadre from the Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In Kashmir, 25 unarmed and innocent people have been killed in a similar pattern this year including off-duty policemen and security personnel on leave. Of them, ten were in Srinagar and four each in Pulwama and Anantnag, with the rest being spread across the valley. Six of the seven killed in October were from the minority community, adding to concerns and triggering debates on migration.

More civilians than security forces’ personnel have been killed in terrorist-related incidents this year in Jammu and Kashmir, reversing a six-year trend, pointing towards concerted efforts by Pakistan-backed Islamist terror groups and handlers to create a communal situation that could trigger an exodus of Hindus and Sikhs.

Despite the intelligence inputs, it is once again proving difficult for the state in Kashmir to provide protection for minorities.
The purpose of these attacks is to draw a response from the state. There can be two responses. The first is a wider and deper combing for terrorists inside Kashmir. The second is to go after groups supported by Pakistan and inside Pakistan.

Enemy Tactics

Pakistan’s ISI has been compelled to devise a new approach. J&K Police describe these targeted shootings as ‘hybrid warfare’, a new approach adopted by militants who according to the police are employing overground workers to kill ‘soft targets.’

This form of killing is gaining ground as, in comparison, known terrorists are identified, located and eliminated at a fast pace. With few successful infiltration attempts, Pakistan-based terrorists are reduced in numbers. With better human intelligence and electronic monitoring their locations are being detected, resulting in successful encounters. With local support waning, Pakistani terrorists are forced into hiding in jungles and hills. Locals who join militant ranks lack training and motivation; hence they have very short life spans once they pick up the gun.

In this changed strategy the weapons employed would change from long range AKs to pistols and grenades.

Current attacks in cities are based either on shooting from close range or throwing grenades on security force pickets or in crowded areas. An added aim is that such incidents could enhance communal divide, initially in the valley, subsequently spreading across the nation. For such operations, the modules created would be small with limited inter-connectivity. In case one is neutralized, others continue. Finally, India cannot blame Pakistan directly as incidents involve locals, mainly Over Ground Workers (OGWs).

Pakistan is exploiting the current Indian security policy in the valley, where security forces hesitate to act arbitrarily, to prevent youth from going astray and joining militant ranks. While crackdown on OGWs continue, there are many who remain below police radars. These are now being employed as killers.

This change in strategy necessitates a change in approach by security forces. The intention should be to locate and break these modules. The first stage must include increased monitoring including enhancing local intelligence networks. Secondly, random patrolling must be increased. Third should be to exploit informational space to convince the public of Pakistan’s designs and also seek inputs on possible suspects with promises of rewards. This needs care as in some cases individuals would pass information based on personal grievances.

Operations in such scenarios are intelligence driven and led by the police with other forces acting on tip offs. Human intelligence will play a critical role.

Every new approach by terrorists succeeds in initial stages. They possess the advantage as they have chosen the direction as also the date, time and place of killing innocents. With passage of time, these networks will be located and broken down.

Reactions from Administration and Society

Beyond the condemnation from the polity, civil society in such situations must take the initiative to foster communal amity and to mobilise people across communities against hatred. Appeals by some masjids in Srinagar requesting the public to show solidarity with the victims and to prevent the furthering of fear among Kashmiri Pandits is a welcome step indicating an intention to not let the situation deteriorate to what happened in the early 1990s.

The UT administration followed up with a strong crackdown on the insurgency seeking to isolate and quell the militant network that is allegedly responsible for the attacks. While the reactions from the polity and civil society and the administrative actions by the Government are necessary, they are not sufficient to restore normalcy in the Valley.

The suspension of the polity with the absence of an elected Assembly, and the stasis and alienation that had set in since the abrogation of J&K’s special status, its bifurcation and designation as a Union Territory would make the job of administration even more difficult. An immediate renewal of political dialogue to address this along with the restoration of Statehood and the complete resumption of political and press freedoms will help create the environment to isolate and tackle terror in the region.

Comments

The security establishment and the civil administration have a huge task on their hand to instil a sense of security and calm. Amid the gloom, the strong condemnation of the brutal acts of violence, cutting across political, religious and ideological lines, is the balm Kashmir needs badly. Kashmir has seen too much blood and tears to allow any repeat of the horrors of the past.
As there is a reset on strategy to hunt down the terror groups and a review of the threat perception of the vulnerable, there is a paramount need to involve political leaders, community representatives and the civil society to ensure communal harmony, and dispel anxieties. A political dialogue — difficult as it surely is after the scrapping of Article 370 and the events that followed — may still be a work in progress, but active engagement can be quite handy in effective public messaging, given the circumstances.

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