KASHMIR and IDPs

By K.N. Pandita

In its rally last week at Jammu parade ground, BJP top brass made very assertive statements on Kashmir.  Political observers did notice unusual fervour among local party workers as they prepared themselves for the rally, but most of them did not expect party leaders to be vehemently outspoken on Kashmir. As such, the situation merits dispassionate analysis.

If one recalls the stance of BJP leadership in their rallies in the town in last one decade or more, one will find that by and large, similar rhetoric used to be exuded with as much resolve as may be imagined in present case. Therefore pessimists would aver that this humdrum will die down shortly, and as usual, everything will be forgotten and forgiven.  Continue Reading…

By K.N. Pandita

Strategic landscape in a vast region spawning Pakistan westward to Central Asia, is changing fast once again. New elements and new forces are interacting in the turbulent area indicating the return of terrorism and its spillover to Pakistan and Kashmir. In all probability, Indian security planners are taking due cognizance of new nexuses and new strategies under adoption by major terrorist actors, Al-Qaeda and various affliates of Taliban.

A new militant organization in Pakistan, called Lashkar-e Jhangvi, an organization active for more than two decades in the past, has resurfaced with changed objectives. So far this organization has owned responsibility for almost all bomb attacks carried out against the Pakistani Shia’ community whether in their mosques or on the streets.  Continue Reading…

By K.N. Pandita

In the follow up action to the Prime Minister’s Package for Kashmir militancy affected victims, the State government has recently provide employment to nearly 1700 youth of Kashmiri “migrants”. In this connection, the government has laid down certain rules specifically for these recruitments.

The package may be ambiguous in some parts but it is categorical about six thousand jobs to be provided exclusively to unemployed Kashmiri Pandit “migrants” with three thousand being budgeted by the central government.

The first question in this context is what made the state government frame new rules of recruitment for this specific group when there are established rules and procedures of recruitment with the administration. Nearly eight hundred thousand recruitments made during past two decades in all the three regions were all covered by the existing rules and never was a necessity felt to frame and add new rules to the corpus of existing ones. Why discrimination.  Continue Reading…

By Kashinath  Pandit

The death of seventeen year old Tufail Ahmad Motto by tear gas shell fired by the security forces to disperse an unruly mob triggered large scale protests in Srinagar and other towns of the valley on June 11, 2010. This was the beginning of a four month-long chain of protests, strikes, and violence involving separatist organizations, their factions, and the youth against security forces.

Contrary to the claims of separatist leadership, protests were not peaceful but certainly the pattern had changed.  Pelting stones on police and security forces was the new strategy; profusely indoctrinated teenagers were made the vanguard. The objective could be manifold but more notably it was to give an impression that Kashmir separatism was an indigenous movement and not sponsored from outside the borders of the state as is repeated by the Government of India time an again.  Continue Reading…

By K.N. Pandita

Kashmir separatists and secessionists seem to have changed masters.  Ever since the US decided to be more assertive in war in Waziristan region, and in the process, Pakistan got more and more exposed in her double deal, Kashmir insurgency leadership is obsessed with the idea that looking up to Pakistan may bring only harm than good to their movement because of terror notoriety looming on Pakistan. Now they have begun to look to eastern option.

In recent past, there were some clear indications suggesting that China had adopted more belligerent stance on Kashmir, not only to boost the morale of Kashmir seditionists but also gradually to inch towards its ulterior motive of territorial expansion eastward.  Of late, China has changed its traditional approach to Kashmir issue and matters related to it.  Continue Reading…