Jammu & Kashmir - Prisoner Of Peace

For its plans to be successful, the Narendra Modi government will have to create an atmosphere of trust and remove the crippling restrictions imposed on the people of Jammu and Kashmir

- Namrata Biji Ahuja

We are stocking up essential items for the winter. There is uncertainty and we need to be prepared,’’ said 31-year-old Jehangir as he was purchasing soaps, medicines, milk powder and eatables, a few days before the Union government revoked the special status enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir. Jehangir had a lucrative job in Delhi. He gave that up five years ago to return to Kishtwar, his hometown, where he got married and settled down. Homecoming was not easy for Jehangir, with life in Kashmir being under the shadow of terror, mistrust and unrest, accentuated by long winters which always bring isolation and uncertainty. After the Modi government’s decision to bifurcate the state and revoke its special status, this winter may turn out to be longer and harsher.

There is disquiet on the streets once again. The situation is unprecedented as the unease is caused by the government’s decision to shut down the state to prevent civil unrest. The restrictions are being lifted gradually, but the tension is palpable. There is heavy military buildup on the Pakistani side. ‘’It is like the lull before the storm,’’ said a security official monitoring the situation. There is fear that the militants could use the winter to regroup and prepare for a full blown offensive in the summer.

The winter test for the government has already begun, with the date for the bifurcation of the state into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh being fixed as October 31. The date coincides with the period when Jammu and Kashmir officially declares the onset of winter by shifting the state secretariat from the summer capital of Srinagar to the winter capital of Jammu.