SRINAGAR: Constable Mohinder Singh, 20, of the BSF was on duty outside his bunker in Kupwara on July 13. Suddenly some militants came from behind and fired at him. He sustained multiple bullet injuries. His right foot has to be amputated.
Two days later in Anantnag, a BSF vehicle with eight jawans in it overturned when it ran over a mine, laid by the militants. As if this was not enough, they emptied several magazines at the jawans trapped under the vehicle. Two jawans died, two others were crippled.
Sub-Inspector D.B Pal, 30, came under a hail of bullets while on duty in the Charare Sharif locality of Srinagar on April 13. Four militants disguised as farmers, suddenly whipped out their guns and began firing at him, He sustained 14 bullet injuries in his torso.
Several hundred security personnel have been killed and crippled in the two years since paramilitary forces and the army were sent in to keep peace in the Valley. The BSF alone has lost over 150 men and another 300 have been permanently disabled, I have myself lit the pyres of several jawans since my battalion moved in here last December,” says a BSF commandant.
A large number of these casualties have taken place recently, as a result of the changed tactics adopted by the militants involving surprise attacks on the security personnel with rockets, mines and grenades. The security bunkers are constantly under attack all over the Valley. Says a commandant, not a day passes without a bunker being hit in downtown Srinagar alone.” A large number of personnel have perished while on duty in their bunkers or when they were travelling in convoys.
They disappear as quickly as they emerge after lobbying grenades or opening on us,” the jawans say. Indeed, the militants have proved extraordinarily adept al using rockets, AK series, rifles, grenades, mines and booby traps. The general availability of weapons and explosives (according to an official estimate there are over 20,000 AK series rifles alone in the militant’s arsenal) have made their task easter. The congested lanes and by lanes and the vast open fields give them an added advantage over the security forces.
The extraordinary tenacity of the Kashmir militants can be attributed to generous help from Pakistan. Public antipathy towards the security forces has also contributed towards the relative success of the militants. “If the forces leave our area, the militants won’t come here for sanctuary and trouble us,” says Ghulam Rasool of Now at a locality in downtown Srinagar. Admitting that there have been cases of excesses the commandants also point out that restraints imposed upon them by a democratic polity have made it difficult for them to go all out against the militants, “The militants greatly profit by the limits imposed on us by the government, which is committed to projecting the rights of the individual” BSF officers say. “At best, born militants and the troops co-exist,” they admit.
The high level of violence has affected the quality of life and political culture in the Valley. The dictates of the militants stall run here. Strikes, which are frequent, are observed completely. Traders and small shopkeepers are the worst hit. Says Ghulam Rasool. “I sold over 30kg of meat till last year but now I find it impossible to sell even 5 kg.” The once busy Dal and Boulevard Road in Srinagar looks deserted after sunset. “If there is normalcy anywhere in the Valley it is superficial. Beneath it, the Valley is simmering,” says a senior state official.
Article extracted from this publication >> Aug 14, 1992
