The recent targeted killings of members of religious minorities in Kashmir have created widespread panic in the Valley, particularly among more than 800 families of Kashmiri-speaking Hindus, locally called Kashmiri Pandits (KPs). These families chose to stay when the majority of the KPs fled for safety to Jammu and other places in 1990 when armed insurgency was at its peak in the Valley.
Though civilian killings are nothing new in Kashmir, selected targeting of Makhan Lal Bindroo, a prominent Pandit businessman, a Pandit school teacher, a Sikh principal of a government school and a non-local street vendor last week give a frightening reminder of the early years of the conflict when such incidents were common.
After 1994, attacks on minorities became episodic, but not without periodical outrages such as the Wandhama incident of 1998, when 23 Pandits were shot dead, Chittisinghpura killings of 35 Sikhs in Anantnag in March 2000 and Nadimarg killings of 20 Pandits in a Pulwama village in 2003.
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However, such horrendous killings almost vanished post-2003 till October 2019 when 11 non-locals, including truckers, were killed in south Kashmir. Dim prospect of seeing leftover Pandits leave Kashmir has left the majority of local Muslims sad and dejected. From social media spaces to private conversations in offices and other places, these attacks have been condemned unequivocally.
In some mosques of Srinagar, during the weekly Friday sermons, the imams (priests) have asked the Muslims to protect and shield their non-Muslim neighbours as per the teachings of Islam. Common Kashmiri Muslims know that the incidents of targeting minorities would make their lives miserable not only within the Valley but outside as well where lakhs of them are either studying or working.
The killings and exodus of minority communities in the 1990s led to a gulf between Muslims and Pandits, and this has still not been bridged. And in times of social media and 24/7 TV news bulletins, the divide has got worse. The fresh killings have dented even faint hopes of early return of the migrant KPs to the Valley.
Nobody can say with authority what led to the latest spate of killings of members of the minorities. But Satish Mandir, a Kashmiri Pandit and chairman of Reconciliation, Return and Rehabilitation of Migrants, says the genesis of recent attacks lies in the government’s initiative of making a web portal for the migrant Pandits to register their complaints of alleged distress sale and encroachment of their properties. A migrant Pandit, who sold his property years ago, can today claim that `it was a sale made in distress’.
The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, which claimed responsibility for the killings, said: “these people were killed for working with the RSS, intelligence agencies; everyone other than indigenous Kashmiris would be treated as “occupiers” if they purchase property in J&K”.
After the abrogation of J&K special status under Article 370 in August 2019, changes in land and domicile laws have generated apprehension among local Muslims, who fear that the BJP government aims to bring about demographic change in the region. Even two former chief ministers of J&K – Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti – have gone on record to say new domicile and land laws were aimed at changing Kashmir’s religious composition.
The raging debate about the “changing demography” in the region seems to be behind the militants targeting members of minority communities and non-locals. In addition, in the last two years, over two dozen BJP workers, mostly Muslims, have also been killed by the militants to spin a narrative about “demographic change.”
The killings have also once again reminded that the Central government’s ‘normalcy narrative’, after the revocation of the special status of the erstwhile state under Article 370 in August 2019, is far from the reality. The killings are a reminder that in the absence of a comprehensive political settlement that involves all parties, no coercive measures can bring peace. Promises of early elections and restoration of statehood continue to be a distant dream in the erstwhile state.
Taliban fears
With the Taliban in control of Afghanistan, fears of terror activity getting exported from that country into Kashmir especially in the context of the growing alienation of Kashmiris can bring more devastation in the Valley. The possibility of the Pakistani army and its spy agency ISI taking advantage of the prevailing chaos in Kashmir cannot be ruled out.
Such apprehensions are fuelled by the general consensus that Pakistan, aided by China, is expected to control the Taliban regime. Though the regime appears unwilling to support any terrorist activity on foreign soil explicitly, its effortless takeover of Afghanistan has led to apprehensions that it may not only embolden militants in J&K but boost the confidence of pan-Islamist terror groups in the region, which have gained ground in the Valley in recent years.
Like always, Pakistan has been waiting for an opportunity to trigger unrest and chaos in Kashmir. Just a few days after the revocation of Article 370, Pakistani President Arif Alvi openly called for “jihad” against India in August 2019. In October that year, Pakistan premier Imran Khan on his return from the US said that those standing by Kashmiris were doing “jihad.” However, despite such provocative statements, the neighbouring country failed to achieve its aim of creating trouble in the Valley.
After the latest killing of non-Muslims, Pakistan would have been waiting that Kashmiris living in various parts of India are targeted in retaliation by extremist elements much like they were after February 14, 2019 fidayeen (suicide) attack on a CRPF convoy in southern Pulwama district in which 40 paramilitary personnel were killed.
However, the mature statements coming from top brass of the army and police in Kashmir again dented hopes of the neighbouring country to trigger unrest. J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh termed the killing of non-Muslims as a conspiracy to defame Kashmiri Muslims and target communal harmony. General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, Lieutenant General DP Pandey remarked that some elements were trying to divide the society into communal lines. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said the killings were part of a well-thought-out conspiracy to stall tourist influx and planned industrial investment in Kashmir.
Now, the onus of beginning a fresh process of confidence-building among Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits rests on the leadership of the two communities. There is an urgent need for a dialogue at the civil society level between the two communities which could ultimately pave the way for the dignified return of the Pandits. While it is the democratic right of politicians in Kashmir to oppose the constitutional reforms of 2019, they should, at the same time, ensure that their statements don’t give justification to the militants for attacks on minorities.
The government also needs to get engaged with political parties and civil society organisations. The iron fist policy of New Delhi in the last more than two years has not achieved any results nor will it achieve anything tangible in future. The Centre must also ensure that Kashmiris living in different parts of the country are not harassed or intimidated by right wing elements. Peace has to be given a chance as violence is not in the interest of anyone.
The killing fields
Total civilians killed this year till Oct 16: 30
This includes 21 from the J&K majority community - Muslims, 4 Kashmiri Pandits (KPs), 1 Sikh and 4 non-locals
Civilians killed in 2020: 33 2019: 36
21 of the 28 civilians killed in 2021 were from the majority community
Currently, over 800 KP families are living in Kashmir (they didn’t migrate in 1990)
Also living in Kashmir are about 4,000 KPs recruited under Prime Minister’s package aimed at ensuring Pandits’ return to the Valley
Hundreds of Sikh families are living in various places in the trouble-torn region (they stayed put in Kashmir in 1990)
The killer
The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be a frontal organisation of LeT, claims responsibility for the killings
The Taliban factor
Though the Taliban appears unwilling to support any terrorist activity on foreign soil explicitly, its effortless takeover of Afghanistan may boost Kashmir-based pan-Islamist terror groups - they have gained ground in recent years
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