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Inferno Reign In Paradise

Clinton might have been God for India, but in Kashmir he spelt death

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Inferno Reign In Paradise
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Anger and sorrow have been taking turns here. The raucous, rhythmic wails of grief and some rage continue to rend the air though five days have passed since unidentified gunmen mowed down 36 Sikh men after entering this hillside hamlet in south Kashmir. In Chitsinghpura, the mood is still hostile and aggressive. Groups of weeping women sit outside the yard of the Samandriha gurudwara where the cremation took place, often erupting into emotional outbursts and lunging towards outsiders. Yet to come to terms with the bloody massacre, the menfolk berate politicians and the media, who arrive in droves, sometimes turning violent.

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Says village granthi Rajinder Singh: "The feeling will be like this for the next 10 days when the mourning ends. We are seething with anger and are insecure." Inside the gurudwara premises, a large wooden placard with pinned snapshots of the dead has been put up as security forces mill around.

The worst civilian massacre in more than a decade of armed conflict has undoubtedly shaken the 50,000-plus Sikh community spread across the Valley. As thousands travelled long distances to Chitsinghpura to share the villagers’ grief, they were gripped with inexplicable feelings of helplessness and revenge. Exclaims Charan Singh Bali of the Kashmir Sikh Joint Action Committee (KSJAC): "This incident has shattered our confidence. In the past 12 years of militancy, we have been left alone but this is inexplicable."

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It took just 15 minutes for the group of 20 unidentified gunmen on Monday evening to chart out a fresh and, perhaps, dangerous phase in militancy. In the long chronology of violence in the Valley, the Sikh community had been left untouched, Hindus often being the target of militant attacks. Dressed in army uniforms, the gunmen pulled out the adults from their houses at 7.45 pm after checking their identity cards, claiming it was a cordon-search operation. The women were ordered to stay in with their children and turn off the lights. After lining them up in two groups, they opened fire. Several escaped by ducking below the line of fire or fleeing under the fading light, otherwise the toll would have been higher.

"It reminded me of Jallianwala Bagh. The butchers shouted ‘Jai Mata, Jai Hind’ and said it was their version of Holi," recalls Mangal Singh, who witnessed the mass slaying through a crack in the window. His brother, Surjeet, was, however, unfortunate. His body, riddled with bullets, lay spread-eagled along with 16 others in Shaukeenpura gali, some 20 yards away from the gurudwara. Beside him lay, ironically, an IB inspector who had come home for Holi.

It took the police and the paramilitary forces almost five hours to arrive at the gory site. Pandemonium had broken loose by that time, the killers having long escaped. Reveals an intelligence official: "A woman whom we interrogated in Shangus, 14 km away from Chitsinghpura the next morning, said she saw a band of armymen moving in the direction of the Pir Panjal ranges."

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The authorities are convinced that the unidentified gunmen chose their target and timing for double shock value-the massacre coincided with President Bill Clinton’s visit to India and also marked the first time the Sikh community had been targeted. Says dig, south Kashmir, Raja Aijaz Ali: "It is certainly a well-planned operation, but I am unable to understand the motive."

That the security forces were anticipating trouble during Clinton’s visit is very clear. They had reckoned that the militants would resort to the killing of a political personality, lay siege to a shrine or even target Muslims and pass on the blame to the army. Precautions had been taken. Says Aijaz Ali: "What we never imagined, even in our wildest dreams, was an attack on the Sikhs."

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Notwithstanding the fact that the incident was a bolt from the blue, intelligence agencies are convinced that some Chitsinghpura residents knew these gunmen. A month before, three of the group had done a recce of the village and played cricket with the children. This was followed up by further visits. Hardyal Singh, a government servant, confirms these visits. "They came here two weeks back also in civil clothes and some of the villagers gave them tea and biscuits." Obviously, the real reason behind these missions was to help these unidentified gunmen get a better idea of the topography of the village. What the villagers did not imagine was they would be their victims.

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But on Monday, they were caught unawares. "One major reason why the villagers were unharmed and left alone all these years was because they bought peace with the militants," said a senior police officer. None of the 50,000 Sikhs spread over 116 village clusters in the Valley had any protection in terms of security forces guarding them or being armed. In their neutrality, their security was guaranteed. Now, that thread has been broken. Says Bali: "We always stood by our Muslim brothers, shoulder to shoulder. This is betrayal."

It is this breach of faith that the Sikhs can’t quite reconcile to. Ashok Bhan, IG, Kashmir, dismisses the claim that security forces were behind the attack. He is convinced that the pro-Pak groups, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, had carefully planned this attack. "Shouting Jai Mata slogans and waving rum bottles were just to deflect attention," he said.

The gravity of the attack is not lost on the authorities who feel that it is an alarming and worrisome trend. Says a Rashtriya Rifles officer: "If it is part of the militants’ agenda of ethnic cleansing, we are in deep trouble." Another incident, however small, could be disastrous, they feel, leading to a serious communal backlash in other parts of the state. Says an intelligence official: "There is a sizable Muslim population at Kathua, Udhampur and Jammu and anything could happen." Besides, it could also lead to the exodus of Sikhs from the Valley; something the state administration would want to avoid at all costs. The flight of Pandits-leaving a presence of just 6,000 in the Valley-stands out as a disturbing reminder.

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The authorities have already begun exploring the possibilities of providing security to some of the sizable Sikh pockets of Traal, Pulwama and Badgam in the Valley. "Providing security to 116 pockets is a stupendous task. Therefore, we are considering arming Sikh communities for self-defence," said Aijaz Ali.

But this proposal has been rejected outright by the KSJAC. "If we accept arms to protect ourselves, it sends out a strong signal that we are a marked lot. We simply don’t want that," said Avtar Singh, a member. That the attacks in the Valley since Kargil have been more brazen and daring and have a strong element of surprise is clear. The presence of foreign mercenaries has risen so menacingly that serious gaps in the security machinery have shown up, also exposing the lack of an integrated approach.

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In an atmosphere full of murkiness and suspicion, what comes out with clarity is the distinct possibility of another major offensive. If that happens, Kashmir’s composite fabric would have the last nail driven into its coffin. And then it will not matter, who wins at the end of the day. For, Kashmir would have definitely lost.

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