The recent wave of killings of Hindus, non-locals and security personnel particularly those not on duty and their relatives, though not the first time, has caused considerable concern and outrage in the country. It is opined that the killings are in wake of the delimitation, Amarnath Yatra scheduled to start on June 30 (Ashaad Chaturthi) and in the run-up to the anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 that falls on August 5. But it must be noted that Pakistani terrorists are being killed periodically in J&K while back-channel talks are reportedly ongoing to resume India-Pakistan trade.

The usual slogan “terrorists are getting desperate” is doing the rounds. Those in government jobs facing threats want to get out of J&K with many having left already. Ravinder Jain, BJP’s chief in the Union Territory of J&K, has called for people to not leave J&K because of the targeted killings since the government is determined to defeat the “Pakistani conspiracy”. The security forces are doing what they can but closer examination is needed for issues that are glossed over by design or default. Some of these are discussed in succeeding paragraphs.

The movie ‘Kashmir Files’, particularly the timing of its release in the run-up to the general elections in 2024, has generated plenty of heat. The events shown in the movie were known to all (less perhaps some gory details) but what have successive Union and State administrations done about this national shame? Weren’t some of the J&K politicians criticizing the movie behind the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pundits (KPs)? The Supreme Court declined petitions to probe the genocide of KPs in 1989-1990, terming the event too old albeit there are 4.7 crore judicial cases pending in Indian courts (the oldest one since 1878), which means that the culprits are free until the case is settled. But what stops the government from ordering a time-bound parliamentary inquiry – vote-bank politics? Why are J&K politicians involved in the genocide, not behind bars?

Using the ED against corrupt politicians (white-collar terrorists included) is a farce; which hardly hurts them even financially. In his article ‘Conviction Rate: A Reality Check’ published in the Indian Police Journal Apr-June 2010, Shatrujeet Kapoor wrote that even though 144 out of 275 accused persons prosecuted for ‘criminal acts’ (during 1980-1984) were convicted, fewer than 4 per cent actually spent time in prison. The average sentence awarded was 13 per cent less than the maximum prescribed; 86 per cent of criminals were given three years imprisonment allowing them automatic bail. The average time for deciding appeals was nine years and 11 months, and after 20 years plus of criminal proceedings, 66 appeals and five revisions were still pending.

Poor Justice System

The justice system could not have become better, if not worse. Isn’t this encouragement for terrorists and politicians supporting them, particularly in J&K? Isn’t it galling that Yasin Malik, who boasted about killing four IAF personnel on BBC, is sentenced to life imprisonment 30 years later? And, yet we say that we are NOT a soft state?

There has been a talk of returning KPs to the Valley in the past few years and putting them in gaited colonies but how are they supposed to earn their livelihood and shop for their daily needs? How about identifying their original properties and restoring their properties first; whether they want to live there or sell the same?

We need to ‘Act First, Brag Later’ rather than doing the reverse. Pakistan has demonstrated time and again that it can undertake terror attacks directly or in conjunction with hybrid terrorists. There is little point in claiming that normalcy has been achieved or ‘X’ number of terrorists have been killed because Pakistan has thriving terrorist factories and its launch pads are full. Addressing the Swarnim Vijay Parv celebrations in New Delhi on December 13, 2021, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that Pakistan-promoted terrorism will be eliminated from its roots.

Above is empty rhetoric because the roots are in Pakistan and one surgical and Balakot strike makes no difference to Pakistan. We need Israel-type capabilities of instant reprisals. When will we acknowledge that both China and Pakistan only understand power, Pakistan would be laughing at our claim that demonetisation would finish off terrorism, as also the clichés of ‘Kadi Ninda’ and ‘Ghor Ninda’ by Rajnath Singh as the home minister in response to every Pakistani terror attack or cross-border raid.

There is no doubt that we need to improve the ground-level intelligence in J&K, monitor terrorist communications including their over-ground supporters, and infiltrate terrorist organisations. The same goes for countering Pakistan’s information war, which must be reviewed periodically. As important is a holistic de-radicalisation programme dealing with every segment of the populace individually and collectively. In addition, a progressive job creation programme needs to be publicised, not just announcements of investments.

Religious Polarisation

Finally, is the religious polarisation being done by all political parties in India, which is aggravating as the 2024 general election is approaching? Within India, any politician can talk any s**t and get away but when it has international ramifications, the ruling party, in particular, must be careful. The recent case is of the comments made by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. Paid stooges are shouting hoarse in the media that these spokespersons said nothing wrong but if that is the case why were they sacked? Have we thought of the adverse impact this has on our de-radicalisation efforts in J&K?

We talk of forming a second Quad with Saudi Arabia and the UAE but what is the reaction of these countries now? Are we happy with Indian products being removed from markets of Gulf countries? Have we forgotten that delegates representing 33 companies from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong visited Srinagar in March this year to initiate progress in the Rs 3000 crore memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed earlier this year? Why are we getting on the wrong side of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries like Iran?

Are we not inviting more terror attacks, not from Al Qaeda alone, through such statements? A rising India need not indulge in religious bigotry, especially when our diplomacy is strong towards the West. We must remember that the West does not want a strong India and we should not provide them opportunities to use their proxies to destabilise us. Remember that the US is looking for a Ukraine in the Indo-Pacific to fight its war with China and India could be the prime candidate in the eyes of the POTUS Joe Biden.

(The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.)