It’s The Islamism, Stupid: Govt Finally Realises The Root Cause Of Current Unrest In Kashmir

As the saying goes, better late than never.

The Central government has finally realised that the current unrest in Kashmir has little to do with the demand for more autonomy for the state. It is driven primarily by a desire to establish an Islamic theocracy.

This has been apparent for quite some time now. Muzaffar Hussain Baig, a Member of Parliament from Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, had recently acknowledged that there is now a strong strain of “Pakistaniyat” in the Valley, with some of the strains of “azaadi” merging with ideas of global jihad and Islamic State (or ISIS). He was essentially saying that attempts to start talks on greater autonomy within the Indian constitution and dilution of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) may not be enough to bring peace.

The government in Delhi has also realised that and now has decided not to give any concessions because it thinks doing so will achieve little at this stage.

The Economic Times reports today (9 September) that the Centre is in no mood to blink in the face of violence. Going forward, the government will likely toughen its stand as it believes that the current round of unrest in the valley is fuelled in order to overthrow a democratically elected government, and install a Wahhabi theocracy in its place.

This is exactly what R. Jagannathan had noted in one of his columns in Swarajya after the killing of terrorist Burhan Wani which precipitated the current unrest.

The Economic Times report tells us that the government is dispatching PAVA shells, the chilli-based substitute for pellet guns, in bulk, at the rate of 1,000 each day to Jammu and Kashmir. The paramilitary troopers deployed in the state for Amarnath Yatra won’t be pulled out and there is no question of diluting the AFSPA.

The possibility of the government holding talks with Hurriyat leaders also looks bleak, not least because they are unreasonable and parrot the line of Rawalpindi. The government no longer thinks that the separatists are in control. Their movement was for the autonomy of Kashmiri people (or that’s what they told us) but the present crisis is fuelled by a new generation of self-radicalised youth who want to usher in Islamism in the valley.

So, there is no use talking to separatists when they have become irrelevant. They fear for their own lives, so much so that they couldn’t even muster up the courage to talk to politicians like Sitaram Yechury and D. Raja who don’t even belong to India’s mainstream parties. The Hurriyat is a paper tiger, and real power now rests with the jihadi mob.

It is a welcome move that the government has decided to toughen its stand because there can be no solution when the state is in retreat. First, it has to gain the upper hand and enforce order.