Round The States
New Delhi, 23 October
2021
Civilian
Killings
J&K
STRATEGY NEEDS RETHINK
By Insaf
North block should be
in a bind viz its strategy on Kashmir. Civilian killings, migrant workers
leaving the Valley, an exodus of dozens of families, including Kashmiri Pandits
who had returned after getting jobs under the Special Scheme for Kashmiri
migrants, clearly reveals that return of normalcy is a far cry. Shifting
migrant workers to safe places or providing security in their areas is not an
answer. According to reports there are 3 lakh-odd migrant workers in the Valley,
mostly engaged by locals in private construction works, paddy and apple
harvesting. The nagging fear among workers of now being targeted should make Raj
Bhavan and Home Ministry rethink on its so-called development agenda. With
another two non-locals killed on Sunday last, the tally of civilians killed is
11 this month, of the 28 this year so far. Worse, if these attacks persist,
which weren’t seen during peak of militancy in 1990-2001, the outside work
force will have no option but to leave, no matter the promises of safety being
made.
Tweaking of strategy
is critical as security agencies are gradually realising the shift in approach
by militants who now target civilians, particularly members of minority
community. It is realised by the police that the killings are being carried out
by newly-recruited terrorists or those about to join the ranks, using pistols
and this is attributed to “frustration of terrorist handlers” following a
destruction of their support structures. Majority of the killings are being
carried out under banner of “The Resistance Front, although the militants
involved in the incidents belong to Hizb and Lashkar.” The bid to communalise
the Valley is underway, which needs deft handling, as the message from the
targeted killing is crystal clear: Pandits and outsiders are not welcome and it’s
a fight for the rights of local residents. What is the way ahead. Home Minister
Amit Shah has held security review meeting with top RAW, NIA and Intelligence
Bureau officers; political parties are demanding restoration of statehood and
an elected government and LG Manoj Sinha has stated: We’ll hunt down
terrorists, their sympathisers and avenge every drop of innocent civilian’s
blood… We remain committed to fast-paced development and will endeavour to
build a prosperous and peaceful UT of J&K.” Easier said than done. Action
not mere words is critical.
* * * * * *
MP Communally Charged
Madhya Pradesh is
getting a notorious reputation of becoming increasingly communally charged. This
week saw the police trying to restore order in some districts following clashes
between two groups and Home Minister Narottam Mishra having to elaborate that four
persons were arrested, five detained and cases registered against over 100
people. On Tuesday last, in Dhar city, a dispute arose after members of a
processionon occasion of Milad-un-Nabi, deviated from the permitted route; in
Rajpur town of Barwani, a clasherupted over `objectionable’ song being played
during a religious procession, and some people including a police officer were
injured in stone-pelting; in Jabalpur, police had to lathi-charge and lob
teargas shells after some persons threw firecrackers and stones at them while
gathering for prayers to mark Milad-un-Nabi. And though Mishra said the police
are on alert and monitoring the situation, communal violence broke out again on
Wednesday night in Sendhwa town, Barwani, over a brawl during a Garba programme,
following presence of members of
different community. Over15 persons, including four policemen were hurt and at
least two vehicles damaged, plus a case was registered against a mob of local
residents, which attacked the cops for stopping it from vandalising a place of
worship. Recall, the VHP hasthrough posters outside Garba venues warned: “entry
of non-Hindus is prohibited” across 56 pandals, as it claims “non-Hindu men
indulge in objectionable activities.” Provocation? The administration will do
well to remember ‘a stitch in time saves nine.’
* * * * * *
UP Dragging Its Feet
Will Uttar Pradesh
stop dragging its feet and act? Or will Yogi Adityanath government continue to
be tenacious? Signs of exasperation appeared on Wednesday lastwith a three-judge
bench of the Supreme Court, seeking details of recording of witnesses’ statements
in the dastardly Lakhimpur Khiri case, in which 8 people died. Shockingly, of 44
witnesses only four’s statement had been recorded so far-- over two weeks since
the incident! Prompting the CJI to observe it can’t be an ‘unending story’ and
his colleague saying “We think you are dragging your feet. So please dispel
that impression.” Obviously, the government counsel’s explanation that courts were
closed on account of Dussehra;there were several video clips which needed more
asking; everybody was arrested (10 persons including the minister’s son Ashish
Mishra) and a status report had been filed in a ‘sealed cover’, didn’t cut much
ice with the bench. It’s concern was with the FIR regarding farmers’ death and
not the counter FIR on those who drove the vehicles which ploughed into the
farmers were lynched. Besides, it sought arrangements for witness protection as
some could be ‘browbeaten.’ The government has a week’s time to complete the
process. Will it, is anybody’s guess.
* * * * * *
Targeting Christians
Hate crimes against
Christians are growing in 21 States, particularly north India, in past nine
months. A fact-finding report ‘Christians under attack in India’, by Association
of Protection of Civil Rights, United Christian Forum and United against Hatereleased
on Thursday last documents that of 305 incidents of violence against Christians,
Jharkhand, UP, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh recorded 169, with Karnataka adding
32. The hate crimes seem to be increasingly compounded by rallies/slogans
against the community based on fears or anxiety over ‘religious conversions’: October
3, over 200 unidentified persons, belonging to local right-wing groups, vandalised a
church in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, attacked those assembled for Sunday prayers;
October 10, UP police in Mau district arrested several people following complaints
from a Hindutva group; earlier this week in Karnataka Hubali district, Bajrang
Dal and VHP members entered a church singing bhajans; alocal BJP MLA blocked a
highway demanding the pastor’s arrest; August 29, a group of over 100
people allegedly beat up a 25-year-old pastor at his house in a remote
village in Chhattisgarh’s
Kabirdham district, etc. Time for North Block to protect India’s
secularism and not be like an ostrich buried with its head in the sand.
* * * * * *
Bollywood Drug Drama
Maharashtra’s
Bollywood gets national attention. With superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son’s Aryan arrested
by the NCB, among 20 others, though he was not in possession of any drugs, and
his bail petition turned down by a Mumbai sessions court on Wednesday last has
raised a number of questions. More so as the judge observed “on the face of it”, Aryan was indulging in
“illicit drug activities on a regular basis” and his WhatsApp chats also
showed, prima facie, that he was in touch with drug peddlers. But most
questions emanate from NCP leader and Minister Nawab Malik, who on Thursday demanded
to know what was the NCB’s Mumbai region chief Sameer Wankhede doing in Dubai
and the Maldives with his family during the pandemic lockdown and threatened
him with jail for “concocting drug cases against Bollywood personalities”. He
claimed on Thursday last: “It’s very clear all this ‘vasuli’ (extortion) took
place in Maldives and Dubai. I am releasing those photos. What was he doing in
Maldives-Dubai, he must answer.” While photos are awaited, the message that
goes out is that attempts were being made to implicate certain film folks in
fake cases and parade them before the NCB.
The war between NCP and NCB is another addition to the drama, and will
be watched for the climax. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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