Kashmir's targeted killings: The costs of un-wrinkling history?

The militants aim may be no more than to frighten Kashmiri Pandits trying to reclaim properties and to challenge official position of normalcy after the revocation of the provisions of Article 370.

Has another exodus of Kashmiri Pandits begun from the Kashmir Valley? The first wave of migration took place in the 1990s when about 60,000 families left the Valley. Since last Friday, several Kashmiri Pandit and Dogra families have reportedly left. Roughly 554 families of Kashmir Pandits and other Hindus had stayed back in the Valley after the turmoil of the 1990s. Of these, 60 more exited since 2011, and now their numbers have fallen further.

It appears that some of the 3,800 Kashmiri Pandits who were brought back to the Valley under a rehabilitation scheme have also left. The migration this time around is apparently triggered by the recent targeted killing of minorities by terrorists.

What explains the sudden spate of killings of Hindus (and a lone Sikh) by militants in Jammu and Kashmir?

Anonymous officials have been reported in the media as saying that Kashmir-centric Pakistani militants buoyed by the Taliban victory in Afghanistan are responsible for these attacks. At no time can anyone claim that Pakistan is not an actor in the internal situation of J&K. But as of now the evidence of intensified Pakistani interference seems meagre--limited largely to sporadic supplies of arms using drones or couriers.

There are, however, other proximate factors that could explain the spurt in violence against Hindus. The J&K government order to revoke ‘distress’ sales of properties by Kashmiri Pandits since 1990 is one. Another possibility is the desire to counter excessive official propaganda that normalcy has been restored in J&K.

On September 7, the Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha, launched an online portal to redress the grievances of Kashmiri migrants regarding the immovable properties sold in a hurry or abandoned in the 1990s. The portal was inaugurated a month after Sinha ordered the implementation of the Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997. Deputy Commissioners were given the authority to undertake surveys/verification of the migrant properties and report their status within 15 days.

“It is the responsibility of the present to rectify the mistakes of the past”, proclaimed Sinha, citing it as “a new example of Brotherhood”. If any property sold in the 1990s is now claimed to be a “distress sale” by a migrant, it will have to be returned to the previous owner at the price paid 30 years ago. There has been an avalanche of applications for return of immovable property by Kashmiri Pandits after the portal was launched.

News reports suggest that in Srinagar alone, within the first three weeks the portal received 660 complaints. Of these 390 concerned alienation of land by fraud or distress sale and 129 with encroachment. The complaints have resulted in 20 eviction notices already. Interestingly, not all complaints are against the majority community. Many are about pending rents from the security forces and unpaid compensation by the Public Works Department. In South Kashmir, Anantnag has reported 22 evictions from migrant properties and in Shopian, 113 complaints were disposed of against the 307 received.

Un-wrinkling history is fraught with consequences. The official attempt to undo the distress sale of migrant property has created considerable ill-feeling amongst those who had purchased it. The properties have since appreciated in value and whether justifiable or not, returning them at original value has led to anger. Superimpose this discontent on larger apprehensions of impending demographic change and the fragile situation becomes even more unstable. It puts one more issue in the hands of Islamic militants to deepen polarisation with targeted killings of minorities.

The recent killings have also called out the heightened official narrative of “normalcy” that has been propagated by frequent VIP visits. About 70 Union ministers visited J&K between September 8 and October 5 as part of the Centre’s outreach programme. In January 2020 also, 36 Union ministers had made similar visits.  In the last two months, more than a dozen Parliamentary Committees have held their meetings in J&K and Ladakh. These included the Public Accounts Committee, the Standing Committee on Home Affairs, on Energy, Commerce, External Affairs, Subordinate Legislation, Urban Development and on Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, among others. One more, the parliamentary committees on Textiles is due to visit on17 October. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also expected to make his maiden visit after announcing the new J&K policy on 5 August 2019, later this month.

The highly publicised official visits and massive inflow of tourists--one lakh in Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg between July and August 2021 preceded by 76,880 during the winter months of January to March 2021--have lent credence to the narrative of the ground situation returning to normal. During the pandemic, Kashmir emerged as the premium destination for high-end domestic tourists with occupancy in starred hotels reaching beyond 70 per cent. “Golf-packages” launched for tourists, according to J&K government, figured 572 non-local golfers coming to play this year as opposed to just 35 last year.

Sporadic groups of Islamic militants--“The Resistance Front” and another calling itself “Geelani Force”--have claimed responsibility for the killings. These may be the remnants of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and other similar outfits. However, their use of small arms and random killing of individuals of the minority community suggest that their aim may be no more than to frighten Kashmiri Pandits trying to reclaim properties once sold or encroached upon and to rebut the propaganda of normalcy after the revocation of the provisions of Article 370.

The danger is that they may find support for such interventions amongst the larger population. The people of J&K have had no say in redrawing the political map of their state. They have been subjected to prolonged communication blockade, unofficial media censorship and the presence of security forces in their daily lives continues to be overwhelming. And they have no political representation and in its absence any channel to the administration under President’s Rule. They are isolated and outside the margins of democracy. The tinder is dry. Islamic militants are attempting to provide the spark.