The Militancy spreads
As they say…
“History portrays naked truth and it does not justify blindness in onlookers.”
It is rather unfortunate that the Government in Delhi, since independence and for more than Six decades, never considered the Jammu-Kashmir issue as an integral problem of the country. It had always remained as a vote bank tool to be appeased, to obtain power across the nation. The leadership in rule in Kashmir also kept changing their stance and donning various masks to gain sympathy. They (National Conference) would portray themselves as devout nationalist, when in Delhi and once they stepped into Kashmir, the pro-Pakistan separatism would come to the surface.
Thus, the Jammu-Kashmir, the crown on the head of Bharatmata has been wounded incessantly.
A large number of Muslim police officers and staff members began directly /indirectly supporting the terrorist outfits. The government decisions, before their official implementation reached the terrorists. Head Constable Abdullah Bangru played a prominent role in exchanging secret messages and strategies of terrorists. Similarly, many of the police officers based in Anantnag’s confidential affinity with terrorists came under the light.
Most of the officers in various administrative services also promoted terrorist activities. Many of the officers were prime controllers and the regional commanders of the terrorist organisations.
An inspector of the State Electricity Department worked as the regional commander of the Hijabulmujjahiddin. He remained absent for a long time from his duty, yet his entire pay and all the other facilities were imparted, as usual!!! He utilised services like telephone and the commutation provided on behalf of the Electricity department, for his terror-igniting activities.
The Prison authority of Srinagar looked away and thus lent support to twelve rapacious terrorists to escape. They provided the rope and the cloth to climb over the wall, and tools to break the wall. Exactly, on the dotted time, the power failed and the security guards on duty were absconding from the appointed place. A little far away, on Nagina Lake, the boats were waiting for them to disappear, depicting the direct involvement of the administration.
What was utmost shocking was, the news relay on Pakistani radio, about absconding imprisoned terrorists. The escaping prisoners never have the time to create news and send it to the other nation!!!
Several hospitals in the Valley had been turned into the safe haven for the terrorists. With the help of the government doctors, the terrorists would get admitted as the patient. He would live there comfortably, along with his arms and ammunition!!!
Outside the Maslan S M S hospital, the walls had been cracked at certain selected places and through those gaps, escaping in the populated by-lanes was comfortably easy!!!
Most of the terror episodes that transpired around the Medical institutes, like breaking free of dangerous terrorists Yasin Mallick and Hamid Shaikh and the kidnapping of Dr. Rubina Sayyed, definitely had the hidden hand of the hospital administration.
Dr. A A Guru, who had acquired commendable status among the local medical community, was the prime culprit behind these.
It is rather unfortunate to accept that the judiciary, which has been worshipped as the ‘Temple of Justice’, had also become prey to conspiracy. Sadly, the Legal Wizards and the intellectual society were also propagating ‘justice’ to the terrorists, based on so-called Islamic ideology and Islamic values.
The judicial system ‘danced’ to the tunes of the terrorists. The arrested terrorists could be set free without any enquiry or monetary bail. They were granted anticipatory bail spontaneously and their cases would be prolonged for an unreasonable time.
In some of the small villages of the Kashmir valley, the ‘Islamic courts’ were formed and the Mullah-Moulavi, fanatic Muslims and the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami began sanctioning its activities. The common citizens were instructed to seek justice from these unofficial authorities.
The newsletters provided undue support in spreading the separatist views, during the violent agitations. The defiant combination to abdicate their motherland for centuries was constantly given to Hindus through the statements issued by the terrorists in these newsletters. The call for ‘curfew’ or ‘bandh’ was also proliferated through the newsletters. They published this news free of cost.
Jagmohan Malhotra, the then Governor of the state has penned it about this sensational information. He mentioned that the involvement of local newspapers was a reality but hugely shocking was the involvement of the Srinagar Doordarshan Kendra. It had almost turned into the mouthpiece of the separatists.
“The ‘namaj – e – Janaja” was also relayed from Anantnag, Baramullah and Sopore.
These ignited the people and influenced the ones who had displayed the least concern about the ongoing insurgencies and separatist agitation.
Now, with such communal news spreading faster than the fire, the local Muslims in the Jammu region were enkindled and exhibited protest against the arrest of pro-Pakistan terrorist Shabbir Shah. On the 14th of October 1989, the furore full address and sloganeering in support of ‘separate Kashmir’ was done in the mosque at Doda along with the unfurling of Islamic flags. The present Muslim community extended their support to it.
Day by day, the situation in the state, was worsening. The orders of the terrorists prevailed in the routine lifestyles of the common Kashmiri. The people were strictly instructed to not deposit any funds in the Government banks, they were refrained from paying taxes to the central government and compelled to unfurl the green flag, symbolising Islam outside their homes. Muslim women needed to wear a burqa. The outsiders in the state were asked to deposit their passports with the terrorist outfits.
The Kashmiri Hindus, continually received reprimanding notes, rebuking them to quit the land.
” We are aware that You have been a resident of Kashmir, for a long time. You own a Flour mill in Babarshah and a house in Lalmandi. You are to immediately vacate Kashmir, or else we will explode your factory and home. We will explore your home and hotel in Delhi, too. It is our strict order to leave Kashmir immediately otherwise your children would be hurt. It is in our knowledge, regarding where they study. We also have the information that one of your daughters has just got married. Shut your business and quit. We are not admonishing You but this land belongs only to Muslims as this is Allah’s land. Hindus are forbidden from residing here. If You refuse to agree and fo as told, we will begin with your children. Independence of Kashmir Zindabad.”
Terrorism was spreading its wings rather rapidly. The callous conduct of terrorists did not give any ‘concession ‘ to women or children. It did not even consider if a few innocent Muslims were victimized, in their mission to generate terror.
On October 27th, 1988 a Maruti van was parked at the Lal Chowk in Srinagar. A bomb had been planted in the van, shortly after it was parked. The explosion critically injured the Elevan passersby, including a young Muslim woman advocate, who lost her foot.
It hardly mattered if the Muslim woman was seriously injured, in the process as their solo intention was to create an acute scare.
It was late 1960. Neelkanth Ganju (known as N K Ganjoo) presided over the trial of Maqbool Butt in the murder of Police Inspector Amar Chand in the Session court in Srinagar.
The Honorable Supreme Court endorsed the verdict in 1982. In February 1984, he was hanged to death.
By then, Neelkanth Ganjoo had become the High Court judge. But, the anger-filled venom had not cooled down, even after five years.
The three militants encircled him when he was out in the Hari Singh street market in Srinagar and shot him dead, on the 4th of November 1989.
Now, with such communal news spreading faster than the fire, the local Muslims in the Jammu region were enkindled and exhibited protest against the arrest of pro-Pakistan terrorist Shabbir Shah. On the 14th of October 1989, the furore full address and sloganeering in support of ‘separate Kashmir’ was done in the mosque at Doda along with the unfurling of Islamic flags. The present Muslim community extended their support to it.
The political scenario in Delhi had changed by then and in late 1989, the Rajiv Gandhi government was out of power and with no clear majority to any one political party, a non-Congress and non-BJP, amalgamation of various political outfits had taken the reins under the leadership of V P Singh. Mufti Muhammad Sayed, from Jammu-Kashmir, who was originally a Congressman, had switched parties and had joined the United Front (Third Front) Government and was assigned an important responsibility as the Home Minister of Bharat.
Amidst prevailing lawlessness, an incident shook the entire nation.
Dr Rubaiya Sayyed, daughter of Mufti Muhammad Sayed was serving as a doctor in Lal-Ded Hospital in Srinagar. On the afternoon, of December 8, she boarded the minibus to go home. Alongside, Gulam Hassan, Mushtaq Kone, Iqbal Gandroo, Mehrajuddin Mustafa and Salim alias ‘Nanaji’ also boarded the same bus.
As the last stop at Nogam approached, the bus was hijacked by them and the driver was compelled to drive it to a secluded place at Natipura. Dr. Rubaiya was alighted off the bus and was forced inside the Blue Maruti car. The JKLF militants Yasin Malik, Ashfaq Majid Wani and Ghulam Hassan sat in the car, driven by a SIDCO technical officer, Ali Mohammad Mir. The car was taken to the house of another Government servant, Javed Iqbal, a junior engineer at Sopore.
Dr. Rubaiya was kept there for a day. On the next day, December 9th, she was shifted to the house of another industrialist of Sopore named Mohammad Yaqoob along with two other industrialists, Zaman Mir and Abdullah. She was kept under house arrest there, till December 14th. The house was guarded by Iqbal Gandroo and Iqbal Hassan.
Yasin Malik and Ashfaq Majid Wani, remained in Srinagar, negotiating with the representatives of the state government through intermediaries.
Yasin Malik had a strong connection in the political core circle. He was friendly to Ajaz Kar, the son of Congress (I) minister Ghulam Rasool Kar. Utilising this connection, he managed comfortable access to the house of a top businessman, through it and carried out telephonic talks.
The state Government had turned toothless and had no control over the administration. In the spineless state, Farooque Abdullah’s Government had bent down on its knees to every demand by the captors.
Eventually, they released the top five terrorists to secure freedom for Dr. Rubaiya…
This case underlined certain crucial significance. It was a pellucid example of how in an uncomplicated manner the conspiracies could be hatched, how the fright of authority had disappeared and how Government officials and businessmen joined hands and involved themselves in terrorism and what was predominantly anti-national.
The prevailing and day-by-day deteriorating atmosphere had gripped the Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) in acute fear. The community had begun feeling similar hounding what their forefathers had undergone at the hands of Afghans in the Eighteenth century.
The Kashmiri Pandit Sabha of Jammu submitted a memorandum to the then Governor, General K V Krishna Rao (Retd) and expressed their deep anguish and distress regarding the turmoil they were made to go through.
In January 1990, when militancy re-exploded in Kashmir, Jagmohan was re-appointed as governor by Prime Minister V. P. Singh led Janta Dal government.
Sources of Information :
हमारी भूलोका स्मारक : धर्मांतरित कश्मीर
नरेन्द्र सहगल
कश्मीर : दहकते अंगारे
जगमोहन जी
जम्मू कश्मीर की अनकही कहानियां
कुलदीप चंद अग्निहोत्री
Kashmir: Behind The Vale
M J Akbar
My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir
Jagmohan ji
100 Documents
Kul Bhushan Mohtra
Madhvi Bhuta is the National Executive of BJP Mahila Morcha and a Columnist on various Forums.
