Modi government charts an aggressive course in Kashmir with additional troops, high-profile visits, humanitarian gestures and electoral strategising
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir on July 12 and 13 did not attract much media attention until the Union home ministry announced the deployment of an additional 100 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), numbering 10,000 personnel, to the state. The July 27 announcement has raised the CAPF strength in Kashmir to 50,000. The home ministry said the move was aimed at strengthening the counterinsurgency grid and maintaining law and order.
As the deployment was announced after Doval’s visit, it sparked concerns about the abrogation of Article 35A of the Constitution, which protects the unique nature of Jammu and Kashmir by barring outsiders from settling in the state. Additional director-general of police Munir Khan later clarified that the newly-announced 100 companies of CAPF were not an addition, but a replacement for an equal number of forces who were in Kashmir since the local body elections last year. “If someone wants to cause tension deliberately, what can be done,’’ said Khan, who was recently granted a one-year extension.
A string of security communications which went viral on social media added to the tension. A railway police force (RPF) communication, for instance, warned of deteriorating situation in Kashmir, and advised the purchase of dry ration for four months, storing drinking water and keeping money for emergency purposes. It warned against negotiations with mobs and spoke about barring them from going near railway installations. Former chief minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference asked the state government for an explanation regarding the RPF advisory. “It is easy to blame valley residents for fear-mongering, but what are we to make of such official orders which forecast deterioration in the law and order environment and even predict disturbances lasting for an extended period?” tweeted Omar.
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