Kashmir in 2017- A Flashback

Only Kashmir | Bilal Bashir Bhat| 31st December 2017
The year 2017 in Kashmir was a package of pain, tragedies, anger, suffocation and fear psychosis. The images emanating from Kashmir in 2017 were not of its picturesque resorts but wailing Kashmiris mourning the death of around 400 precious human lives, including those of over 200 militants and 75 security personnel. This year, the girls for the first time took to the streets to clash with the forces. The NIA Raids and Braid-Chopping incidents caused a mass hysteria amid recurrent Internet cuts. The ‘lynching’ of a senior Police official and making a civilian as human shield, attack on Amarnath pilgrims disheartened the people of Kashmir. Zakir Musa’s comments on Hurriyat leadership brought thrilling controversy whereas some found a ray of hope in the appointment of Interlocutor.
The annual gory statistics and stories from over a decade particularly in the aftermath of the 2008 agitation exhibits the lack of policy and vision by the ruling regime to settle the political dispute. There is high need to acknowledge the fact that no amount of bloodshed and killings would resolve Kashmir conflict but accepting the people’s democratic aspirations.
Tough there were several happenings and developments that can define the pain and agony of 2017 in Kashmir, we chose the following stories to have a quick remind of the year 2017:

1. NIA Raids
In June, soon after the disclosure of Hurriyat leaders Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Bitta Karate and a lesser known activist on a private News Channel during a sting operation led National Investigation Agency (NIA) to register a case titled ‘Terror Funding’ against the Hurriyat leadership under which raids were carried out at the homes of several Hurriyat leaders and Businessmen. About 6-7 leaders including a businessman and a Journalist were arrested in the case and are still languishing in Tihar Jail.

2. Braid Chopping
Braid Chopping of Women folk till 2017 was unknown phenomenon in Kashmir that created a mass hysteria and panic through the length and breadth of the Valley. At least 200 women in Kashmir reportedly were attacked by masked men resorting to braid chopping. A number of men including tourists mistaken as Braid Choppers were beaten to pulp leaving the Valley on edge. A short movie titled ‘The Hair Maze’ was made by a group of youth to highlight the broader message with reference to menace of Braid Chopping was released amid the high velocity of incidents.
3. Appointment of Interlocutor
In October 2017, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced the appointment of former Director of the Intelligence Bureau Dineshwar Sharma as the government’s representative for carrying forward a “sustained dialogue” with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir, in a fresh move aimed at bringing peace to the violence ridden state. Soon after the appointment the conglomeration of separatist leaders termed the move “a tactic to buy time,” adding, no dialogue is possible unless India accepts Kashmir dispute as a political issue. So far Sharma has arrived three times on Kashmir visit and met hundreds of delegations.

4. Unending Encounters
Militant, civilian or policeman at the end of the day, is constituted by humans who lose their precious lives while fighting at the warring ends. As many as 215 militants and 75 security personnel were killed in Kashmir in hundreds of encounters in 2017, the highest in seven years. In 2010, 270 militants including Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Bashir Ahmad Wani, Abu Dujana, Junaid Mattoo, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen’s Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and longest surviving Kashmiri militant Qayoom Najar were killed. However the number dropped to around 100 per year by the end of 2015. During these encounters scores of civilians also lost their lives in firing by security forces on protesters who come in rescue of the militants. The news of the killing of Lieutenant Umer Fayaz, a 22-year-old Kashmiri Army officer remained in headlines over a month.

5. Student Protest
For the first time the girls clashed with the forces on the roads of Srinagar following the widespread protest of students triggered across the Kashmir valley. On April 15, 2017 the forces allegedly entered the Government Degree College in Pulwama premises in which several students were injured. That incident triggered off student protests in schools and colleges across Kashmir.

6. Human Shield Row
Following the killing of 8 civilians in Budgam, a shawl maker Farooq Ahmad Dar was used as human shield by the Army during the bye-election to the Srinagar parliamentary seat in April. A video went viral on social media showing Dar tied to an Army jeep with a note pinned to his chest that read, “This will be the fate of stone-pelters.” Though the officer who tied the man was felicitated by the Army but the incident evoked worldwide condemnation.

7. Lynching of a senior Police Officer
Mohammed Ayub Pandith, 57, a deputy superintendent working in the security wing of state police on 22nd and 23th intervening night of June was lynched to death by a mob outside Jamia Masjid when thousands of devotees were present in Mosque while observing Shab-i-Qadar. Though Mirwaiz Umar Farooq the patron of the Mosque management committee and chairman of his Hurriyat faction was quick to condemn the incident but for the first time in the living history, the government imposed restrictions to disallow the Juma-tul-Vida prayers (the last Friday of Ramadan) at mosque. The restrictions on prayers continued to for six long weeks taking the toll of 20 weeks in 2017 when no prayers were held on the eve of Fridays at Jamia Masjid Srinagar. Police arrested several youths during the case investigation besides claiming that a slain militant of the area Sajad Gilkar was the main accused of the lynching incident.

8. Attack on Amarnath Visitors
July 10, 2017 indeed will be marked as black day in the history of Kashmir. On this day eight Hindu pilgrims who had come for Amarnath Yatra were killed in a terror attack in South Kashmir. Besides, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh, Chief Minister of J&K, Mehbooba Mufti the attack evoked a widespread condemnation from separatist leaders, several militant outfits including Lashkar and Hizb, and members of public as well.
9. Zakir Musa Controversial Statement
“Will chop off the heads of Hurriyat leaders,” this controversial statement by the then Hizb Commander Zakir Rashid Bhat aka Zakir Musa on May 12, 2017 surprised the population of Kashmir. The Hizbul Mujahideen disassociated itself from the statement a day after his threatening message. Calling Kashmir conflict a religious one instead of being political in nature, in July 2017, Zakir Musa announced himself as the head of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, to establish Islamic rule in Kashmir. In an audio message released on August 31, Musa attacked Pakistan for “betraying Kashmir jihad”.
10. Debate on Article 35-A
The politics over the article 35-A which grants special status to the Jammu and Kashmir state was another dominating development defining debates on Kashmir. A judicial case was filed about the special status of Jammu and Kashmir whether the legislature of J&K has right to decide who qualifies as a permanent resident of the state has been taken for hearing by the Supreme Court and would be taken up again in January-end next year. The debate was concluded by the following the statement “Will not go against sentiments of Kashmiri people” by Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh during his visit to Valley on September 11 2017.
11. Regularization of 60 thousand daily-wagers
This year in a major significant development the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti took the bold decision of regularising the services of these 60 thousand youth which many of previous regimes failed to take. Today their services stand duly regularised with all the perks and benefits of other regular employees.

12. General amnesty to five thousand youth
The Mehbooba Mufti led government’s initiative to drop charges against an estimated 4,500 people, mostly youth involved in stone-pelting incidents based on recommendations by the Centre’s interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma evoked a positive response from different sections of society. The announcement has brought a sigh of relief to the thousands of families whose children had to face immense difficulties related to education, job opportunity and travel documents due to the FIRs against them.

13. Zaira Wasim- The Dangal Girl
Following her phenomenal performance in commercial success ‘Dangal’ (released in last week of Dec 2016) child actress Zaira Wasim become talk of the town in the beginning of the year. Zaira Wasim also bagged the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her phenomenal performance in the film. Her meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti evoked mixed response from netziens, some trolled her online. Zaira issued an apology on her Facebook and Instagram account for meeting with CM. The actress was caught up in another controversy over her twitter exchange with sports minister Vijay Goel. In November 2017 she was presented with the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement by Ram Nath Kovind, the President of India at a ceremony in New Delhi. Zaira again hit the headlines in December 2017, when she alleged harassment mid-air on an Air Vistara flight between Delhi and Mumbai. She posted a series of messages on her Instagram profile alleging that a man sitting behind her on the flight had caressed her neck while she was asleep. In between these controversies Dangal girl was miraculously rescued by locals near Dal Lake after her car fell into the Dal Lake on 8 June.

There are other many several developments and events which occurred in 2017 among them the return of militants back to their home, the widespread protests over the plight of Rohingya Muslims, the repeated restriction at Downtown Srinagar, locking of Jamia Masjid, Bank looting incidents, the suicide of a Engineer woman, the deaths caused due to the Swine Flu but we choose the happening which drew its impact internationally.