National

Lambs To The Slaughter

Militants strike in Himachal for the first time, spreading panic

Advertisement

Lambs To The Slaughter
info_icon

IN August 2, the remote and beautiful Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh was celebrating Meenjai mela, an annual festival to celebrate a good harvest. The district administration had helped in organising the fest—local folk culture in all its colour and pageantry was on display. But everyone seemed blissfully unaware of the changing ground realities. After all, recorded crimes in Chamba rarely exceed cattle theft and the rigid terrain makes it very difficult for the people to register the cases. The token police force, armed with .303 rifles, is hopelessly ill-equipped to tackle a militant strike.

As soft targets go, it could not get easier than that. Political leaders, officials and intelligence agencies in the region had overlooked one crucial fact. That Chamba was separated by a mountain from Jammu, and Kashmir's troubled Doda district, the hotbed of insurgency. Only a week earlier, they had killed 18 in Doda and Kishtwar and must have been tempted to move into unmanned Himachal Pradesh (and Chamba was one of the nearest points) through inaccessible mountain routes.

Advertisement

So, when impoverished road construction workers living in plastic makeshift tents in Kalaban were rudely woken up in the night by a hefty bunch of people, armed with assault rifles, they knew something was amiss. Only, they did not know what was in store, because like everyone else, they believed that whatever happens, Himachal could not become another Kashmir. Recalls Malti Devi, a daily wage earner who lost her husband: "Suddenly in the middle of the night, flashlights were beamed on us. We were asked to assemble at one place. My husband feigned a leg injury but they caught him. We were all herded into one tent. Women, children and some of our Muslim friends were separated. That just left the men who were taken inside one tent, hands tied and shot through the head. After it was all over, one of them came to me and asked me if I had any valuables. I had a torch, it was taken away."

Advertisement

 The toll: 24. As it turned out, it was a night of bloodletting that Himachalis are not likely to forget. The militants left the bodies, abducted another four to carry their luggage, and continued towards Satrundi village which leads to a mountain pass that would take them back to Doda. At Satrundi, the militants took out their machetes and swords. Some 10 villagers were woken up, their hands, heads, legs and throats severed. One person who protested had his head blown open by an AK-47 shot at point blank range.

Says Chamba deputy commissioner Tarun Kapoor: "We obviously have to rework our strategy. An attack of this magnitude has not taken place in the state." The question is how? Himachal shares a long border with Jammu and Kashmir with a number of difficult passes, some of which are not even known to authorities.

Compared to it, deployment of security forces is an unknown commodity in Himachal, at least on the scale that is required to counter armed and motivated militants. Points out Chamba SP Atul Verma: "Our security needs to be beefed up. It is totally inadequate." There are just four Indian Reserve Battalions of the Himachal Pradesh police in the district and pickets in the deep interiors are virtually useless when it comes to covering ground.

That a serious error of judgement, despite warnings in the past, took place is obvious. According to locals, militants have been steadily pouring into the district in the last couple of years—some of them work as labourers, others live by extortion. Says Karan Singh Thakur of the Sai Koti panchayat: "We had warned the administration. But no one has shown any interest." Military intelligence had also reportedly warned the state government of the presence of militants. Of all the subdivisions in Chamba, Tissa is the most prone to militant excursions. Last year, 20 persons were kidnapped and taken to Doda only to be released later. On June 23, four persons from Chamba were killed after they were caught on the Doda side.

Advertisement

Even more significant is the beginning of communal polarisation in the Himachal mountains. Local people are now demanding that 'Van' Gujjars, traditionally Muslim nomads who live and roam the highest points in the Himalayas and whose contacts with the world below is minimal, not be allowed to come down. Their reason: militants are using Gujjar 'deras' for shelter and cite the Kalaban killings to show that some of those massacred were first called out by name, suggesting that there was a local Gujjar with the militants. Admits Kapoor: "We have some unconfir-med reports but they need to be verified."

Advertisement

According to Congress MP K.D. Sultan-puri, "It is a gross administrative failure. The BJP government promised much but delivered little." Says Sat Mahajan, former MP and veteran Himachal politician: "The killings are aimed at dividing the population. They seem to be succeeding." Clearly, the government has a job cut out for itself, because if the militants succeed in infiltrating Himachal, they would have turned L.K. Advani's pro-active policy on its head.

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement