A series of shutdowns and curfews has put the state in a strange logjam, with an escape nowhere in sight. Khursheed Wani reports.

In many attributes, the situation in Kashmir Valley is back to early 1990’s. The killing of civilians, near-total collapse of official machinery, disappearance of pro-India political leadership from the public domain, incarceration of the separatist leaders and prevalence of unending sequence of protest strikes, are quite a few indicators that show the situation is back to square one. However, there are some uncommon elements also between the two scenarios. In 1990, it was Governor Jagmohan’s regime installed after dismissing Farooq Abdullah, but two decades down the line, it is Omar Abdullah’s elected government that came to power by ending six months of governor’s rule following 61 per cent voting in 2008 elections.

The normal life in Kashmir has come to a grinding halt for past two months as a result of a showdown between separatists and the official machinery.  Notwithstanding the chicken-and-egg puzzle of who is hampering the public movement, the fact is that a population of six million is subjected to a virtual house-arrest. The separatists issue calendars and schedules for long drawn strikes and protest demonstrations, and the authorities counter it with imposition of curfews, section 144 of Ranbir Panel Code disallowing assembly of four persons and deployment of heavy contingents of police and paramilitaries. Even the Army is on a stand-by mode in capital Srinagar. “The leaders are caught in a dark tunnel and the people held between devil and deep sea. The separatists do not go beyond issuing calls for strikes and the authorities are stuck in curfews and shooting civilians,” sums up journalist Haroon Rashid.

There are feeble murmurs and whispers on the prevalence of this state of affairs but effective voices to manoeuvre the log jammed state are absent. By July-end, the Valley completes 40 days of protest strikes in 2010.

The series of strikes began in the aftermath of civilian killings on Line of Control in Machil sector and Srinagar city. Both factions of Hurriyat Conference issued calls for the initial strikes while JKLF’s Yasin Malik adopted a somewhat distinct method of courting arrests. When security forces killed a participant of a funeral procession at Dana Mazar in old Srinagar on June 19, there was a spontaneous protest strike in the Valley. The stone-throwers rained rocks on the paramilitaries and normal life came to a grinding halt in the city for several days.

On June 25, Masarat Alam, a senior leader of Syed Ali Geelani led Hurriyat Conference faction, called a selected group of journalists to an unknown Srinagar location to address a press conference in a style akin to early 1990’s when militants were ruling the roost in the Valley. He announced launch of “Quit Jammu Kashmir Campaign” and asked the people to prepare for a “long-drawn resistance against occupation”.  The main theme of his campaign remained protest strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins involving all sections of the society. Interestingly, 34-year-old Masarat was released after serving two year jail term for involvement in alleged “anti-state activities” during the 2008 Amarnath land row, just two weeks before he went into hiding to launch “Quit JK campaign”. Police has launched a manhunt to nab Masarat, a former Hizbullah commander, but he is evading arrest.

“He (Masarat) is the main trouble-monger who has held the Kashmir Valley to ransom. We are trying to track him down to end his dictations on people,” a senior police officer told Kashmir Life.

Masarat’s campaign coincided with killing of two civilians on June 26 in Sopore, which extended the domain of unrest from Srinagar to north Kashmir. The subsequent killings in Baramulla, Islamabad and Batmaloo deepened the public resentment that resulted into effective protest strikes in the Valley.

“The strikes have definitely affected the functioning of the government. We understand the resentment of the people and the government is doing its bit to undo the wrongs,” says Law and Parliamentary Minister Ali Muhammad Sagar. “The people should adopt most democratic methods of dialogue and reconciliation to vent their feelings. Violent strikes and stone pelting is not the way-out”.

Since June 25, Masarat Alam has issued three calendars of protests, allowing only two-and-a-half days of normal life for the people to “store essential commodities”. Surprisingly, his faction also claims that they are not willy-nilly following the strike track. “We are constrained to issue calls for strikes. This is the only peaceful method to express our resentment against occupation and human rights violations. If the journalists, intellectuals and thinkers have any other option, they should come forward and educate us,” said Ghulam Nabi Sumbji, acting Hurriyat Chairman and former legislator. Interestingly, his method of protests is not supported by other stakeholders in the separatist camp including JKLF and Mirwaiz Omar Farooq led Hurriyat Conference. Even, United Jehad Council chief Syed Salahuddin and largest politico-religious organization of the Valley Jamat-e-Islami resented the style of ongoing strikes and pleaded for a “more adaptable and sustainable way of protest”.

“The Hurriyat leaders need to be united and for a prolonged movement. Hartals and curfews would not help. The leaders formulating the resistance programme should keep in mind that their programmes and calendars should not affect the economy and education of the people and simultaneously should be against the Indian presence in the Valley,” Salahuddin said in an interview to a local news agency KNS.

Jamaat-e-Islami warned that overkill of strikes would be counterproductive. “The planners (of strikes) should know that the strikes affect common masses who are dependent on some needs for their survival. For fulfilling their needs, it should be known that people can sometimes break any law,” Jamaat spokesman Zahid Ali Lone said.

But, unlike in the past, when militants’ dictates on any situation would end a debate, Salahuddin’s remarks evoked resentment from several quarters. Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi, accused him of being unaware of ground situation while masked youngsters in Sopore and old Srinagar dismissed his suggestion of ending prolonged protest strikes and demonstrations.

While as the hartal has become oft-repeated word in Kashmiri vocabulary, the debate on effectiveness and relevance of hartals has been raging for years. There is hardly any militant or separatist outfit, which has not issued a strike call.  The Valley has witnessed longest spells of shutdowns in the aftermath of incidents like Shabir Shah’s arrest in 1990, Hazratbal crisis in 1994, Chrar-e-Sharief arson, Chattisighpora massacre and subsequent Panchalthan and Brakpora killings. Even some longest spells of hartals have been specific like 39-day strike in Shoipan following the alleged rape-and-murder of two local women.

The separatists don’t possess the records of the strikes they sponsored during the two decades. However, the police claims that they have compiled a record of how the strikes have jammed the wheels of Kashmir Valley. Between January 1990 and October 30, 2009, they say, the state has witnessed 1,536 shutdowns, mostly sponsored by separatist militant and political outfits. This is apart from approximately 1,900 processions and demonstrations.

The records reveal that maximum number of 207 hartals were organised in 1991 when militancy was at its peak followed by 198 hartlas in the year 1990. Interestingly, soon after formation of Government by Dr Farooq Abdullah in October 1996, which was the peak of anti-insurgency movement and rise of counter-insurgents, the number of protests and hartals declined and the final tally witnessed a sharp fall during the corresponding years.

As compared to 95 days of shutdown in 1996, the State witnessed only 24 hartals in 1999. A year after, the figure suddenly jumped to 122 in 2001 at the fag end of the six- year term of Farooq Abdullah. A curious observation indicates that after 2001, Abdullah regime was disconnected with the people and the state was virtually ruled by the Special Operations Group of Police, which observers say was the major cause for Farooq’s downfall and PDP’s rise by default.

The change in government also had an impact on the pattern of hartals. In 2002, the Valley recorded 76 hartals. The state during Mufti regime witnessed 58 and 25 hartals in year 2003 and 2004 respectively. By 2005 when Mufti Mohammed Sayeed handed over the baton to Congress Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the figure had already touched all time low, 18 hartals in year. After the transition of power happened in the winter of 2005 and Azad took over the charge Kashmir witnessed only 26 strikes in 2006. A total of 72 hartal calls were given by separatist outfits during his term in office. However, the Amaranth land row, which polarized the state on religious lines, witnessed the worst phase of strikes in both regions of the state. While Kashmir Valley witnessed two phases of the strikes in June and July (against the controversial land transfer order), and August and September (against the economic blockade of the valley), the Jammu areas staged protests in June and July against the revocation of the land transfer order.

Omar Abdullah’s regime is in process of setting up new records of the protest strikes. It has already witnessed prolonged localized strikes in Bomai Sopore (on killing of three locals by Army in 2009) and Shopian.

Even as privately a debate is raging on whether the protest shutdowns should continue or not, the people in Kashmir are so far following the schedules issued by the separatists. The government is unable to find an effective tool to break the cycle.

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