Engage with J&K, it needs a helping hand

With the killing of three Rashtriya Rifles jawans in the Shopian area of South Kashmir in a militant attack on their convoy in the pre-daylight hours of Thursday, a disturbing trend of attacks by extremist terrorist groups appears to be firming up. Two officers, a lieutenant-colonel and a major, were reportedly seriously injured in the ambush. The three deaths have taken the tally to 20 in the past fortnight alone. Altogether 29 militants have also been killed. But the loss of armed forces personnel appears to be way too high for such a short period of time. This is suggestive of the rising frequency of militant strikes on the Army.

Evidently, the past wariness of militants about directly engaging the Army is ebbing. This is far from being a happy state of affairs and speaks of a psychological escalation. The Rashtriya Rifles unit was returning after a cordon and search operation when its convoy was fired upon past midnight. It is possible that the militants had escaped the search and set up an ambush. At any rate, the militant outfit involved — Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility — had precise information on the movement of the convoy.

Less than a fortnight ago, Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat had warned in a public statement that those coming to the aid of militants by obstructing the work of the security forces by engaging in stone-throwing against them, or in any other way, while an operation was on, would be deemed “anti-national”, and appropriate action would be taken against them. Clearly, the warning is yet to have any effect.

The principal reason seems to be that the new generation of Kashmiri youth feels shut out. Unemployment is high for educated as well as uneducated young men and women. They become easy fodder for the propaganda of the extremists. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the numbers coming forward to join the ranks of militancy has grown rapidly.

There has also been virtually no effort by the Centre to give the youth an opening, no political initiative to take them into confidence. The impression has grown that the Narendra Modi government in New Delhi regards the people of Kashmir with suspicion, principally due to the religion of the majority there.

This is an unhelpful badge to wear as it narrows the scope for lessening of tension. Cordon and search, as a routine process of activity by the security forces, has returned to the Valley after over two decades. The pity is this happened after a sustained interregnum of relative peace. The government must think hard about how to turn things around and reflect on what has led to the current state of affairs. It’s simply not enough to blame Pakistan alone.