Are we seeing a redux of 1990s militancy in Kashmir?

In the early days of militancy in Kashmir, young boys would sport a pipe out of their pheran (coat) necks to make it look like a barrel of the gun. They would emulate their heroes - "the mujahids". Any young man carrying a gun in the '90s was a hero to a large section of the Kashmiri Muslim society. When a militant died thousands would throng his funeral and women would sing paeans to their "martyrdom".

As a result of coordinated and sustained anti-terrorism operations by the Rashtriya Rifles as well as the Jammu and Kashmir Police, we have seen militancy drop to record levels. We have also noticed that the support for militancy among locals had dropped considerably over the years. This is attested by the fact that information about militant hideouts came mostly from local populace. At the beginning of 2015, not more than 200 militants were actively operating in Kashmir although we are not sure of the sleeper cell numbers.

By 2013 most militants who were killed fighting the security forces received no more than a decent burial as per their religious rites. They weren’t showered with rose petals or shereen (a kashmiri candy), not many eulogised them anymore. The support for terrorists was at its lowest ebb, discounting a routine press statement by the Hurriyat or the JKLF.

For years now, very few young Kashmiris had taken to terrorism. It was mostly sustained by non-Kashmiri militants of Pakistani or other foreign origins. Even those who were ardent supporters of separatists were openly dismissive of an "armed struggle". Many even saw the gun as an "impediment" rather than a solution to what they called the "freedom movement in Kashmir".

While we were busy savouring what we thought was a very positive phenomenon, a government of the opposite poles was being stitched together again seen as a positive phenomenon by many. Soon things began to change.

Videos of young Kashmiri militants (shot not in remote jungles but in orchards) began doing rounds on the internet. Burhan Wani and his group of militants, the new breed of Kashmiri militants had attained iconic status among youngsters in Kashmir. This was accompanied by frequent unfurling of not just Pakistani flags, but ISIS ones as well after Friday prayers in downtown Srinagar. The state government deemed the flag-waiving as just another incident that has happened a million times in Kashmir, thus warranting little or no action.

By the summer of 2015, people again started attending the funerals of slain terrorists, not just locals but even Pakistanis. On October 28, 2015 thousands attended the funeral of two Hizbul militants in Pulwama(south Kashmir), needless to say that slogans against India and in favour of Azadi were shouted. This wasn’t the first-of-its-kind instance in 2015 but certainly was one of the biggest processions of this kind.

What began in Pulwama soon turned out to be a pan-Kashmir phenomenon. More and more people came out to attend the funeral processions of terrorists. In earlier protests the crowd comprised mostly of men but recent protests have seen even women in attendance. The surge in the numbers suggested something was terribly wrong in Kashmir, more so in south Kashmir. Not only did one see a reincarnation of a spirit that was literally dead, what was worse was people attacking the forces while encounters were taking place. This made operations extremely cumbersome and politically volatile. The onus of any collateral damage would lie completely on the armed forces. They are now fighting a war on two fronts, fighting the militants being the easier one.

Not one Kashmiri political party has condemned the participation of locals in what is not just an open war on the Indian state but construes as a support to pan-Islamist expansionist groups like ISIS or Lashkar or Hizbul for that matter. Much like the flag-waiving incident, these too are allowed to pass without a care or a comment in the hope that they will die a natural death.

One would be forced to ask as to how things have come to such a pass in Kashmir? How have the conditions deteriorated to a point where the very people who voted on their feet in the elections have become enemies of the state? Is there a message in what is happening? Are we seeing the 1990s redux?

Meanwhile in Pampore(close to south Kashmir) yesterday women sang wanwun (paeans in Kashmiri) to the slain militants who killed three army men including two Majors of the Indian Army. Days before this in the heart of the national capital we heard slogans eulogising Afzal Guru and asking for Burhan wali azadi. Burhan Wani (the operational commander of Hizbul Mujahideen) is responsible for the killing of many army men in Kashmir.

Sad as it may be to accept this realty, what we are seeing in JNU is only a symptom of the disease that has its origins in Kashmir. We are not treating the patient or the disease but only the symptoms just because that is what we, unfortunately, are able to see here in Delhi. The iceberg underneath is far bigger or we may not be far from the days when pipe heads from pheran necks would be common sightings not just in Kashmir but elsewhere too again.