Heightening provocation

THE GUNNING DOWN of six persons belonging to the Sikh community in Srinagar last Saturday, an obvious and desperate attempt by the pan-Islamic militant groups to scuttle the tenuous peace process now under way in Jammu and Kashmir, is qualitatively somewhat different in that it is a lot more sinister than the ones made earlier, since the unilateral ceasefire declaration by the Government of India on the eve of Ramzan in November 2000. By and large, the targets in the previous attacks were persons/establishments that symbolised the national honour or represented the state authority, civil or military. If on earlier occasions the likes of Laskhar-e-Taiba, Jamait-ul-Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen took `credit', this time around a lesser known group, which calls itself `Al Qasim', has claimed responsibility. In picking on a minority community, the terrorist elements have sought to realise their objective by playing upon the highly sensitive religious factor to create a sense of insecurity and panic among its members and thereby mount pressure on the security agencies to breach the ceasefire. Along with the Chattisinghpora episode of March last year when 35 Sikhs were killed, this is seen as a part of the pro-Pakistan militant outfits' gameplan for ethnic-cleansing of the Valley.

Given this context, it is imperative for the Central and State Governments as well as the people, especially the Sikh community, not to react in a manner that would only serve the cause of those perpetrating such dastardly acts. The attack has been, quite correctly, condemned by all parties across the political spectrum nationwide. While a feeling of outrage among the Sikhs, as the ones at the receiving end of the militants' attacks, is certainly understandable, prudence demands that any precipitate action which will have the effect of jeopardising the ongoing peace process is scrupulously avoided. This casts a special responsibility on the political leadership in general - not just of the Sikh segment - and, more importantly, on the Governments to inspire confidence in them. The four- member team deputed by the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to Srinagar for a spot assessment has its task cut out: allay the apprehensions of the people in the area about their security. Impassioned appeals for calm and restraint have to be matched by concrete and credible measures for improvement in the situation on the ground.

As for the response of the administration and the security forces, it should of course be their endeavour to track down the culprits and step up vigil against possible violent backlash through measures to defuse tension. In both the areas, their track record has been quite dismal. If anything, their reaction has tended to be exaggerated, skewed or even coercive; there is no running away from the disturbing phenomenon of such occurrences almost invariably resulting in the state agencies resorting to repressive ways. In fact, it is no secret that such a conduct on the part of the law enforcement agencies and security forces was one of the causes for the alienation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir which, in turn, contributed to the growth of militancy. A more recent testimony is available in the security forces' response to the Chattisinghpora massacre by militants which occurred on the eve of the then U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton's visit to India. The brazenness with which some innocent civilians were branded as `terrorists', held responsible for the killings, shot in an `encounter' and buried post haste (as established subsequently, thanks to public protest and judicial intervention) is a sure way of causing disaffection among the people. One hopes the security personnel and the powers that be have learnt the right lessons from it. As for the ceasefire itself, despite the continuing and highly provocative attempts at sabotage, the initiative needs to be sustained without of course lowering the guard in any manner.

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