Aditya Sinha: Nation's hero? More like Nero

An injured Kashmiri is rushed to SMHS Hospital in Srinagar after he was hit by bullets in a clash with Indian security forces on May 6 PicAFPLast week at a lunch I met a senior minister in the JampK government He belonged to the Peoples Democratic Party which used to represent soft separatism in Kashmir but in 2015 formed a government in coalition with the pseudonationalist BJP The PDP has since then lost its support base It does not mean the National Conference has picked up that support the minister said referring to the Valleys preeminent proIndia party only some of it None of that lost support has drifted to national parties like Congress or BJP One wonders where that support has goneOne clue is in the ground situation in the Valley characterised by unrelenting violence South Kashmirs Shopian district is a warzone just yesterday five civilians were killed and five militants shot dead there An assistant professor at Kashmir University who had joined militancy a mere 36 hours earlier was among those killed Imagine what it must take to drive an academic to pick up a gun Every week is like this and behind the casualty figures is the suffocating atmosphere of clampdowns on entire villages the security forces scorched earth policy by burning houses the unending detention of the political resistance leadership the militarys omnipresence the curfews the strikes the disappearances and the corpses No wonder Kashmir is called an open prison Ramzan next week may bring some respiteThe difference between now and the 90s the minister said referring to when the insurgency first emerged is that in those days when one boy was killed ten others stood to take his place Now when a boy is killed 30000 people immediately gather to protest his killing and mourn his martyrdomOne may wonder where the government figures in all this In JampK due to its longfestering separatism and the Pakistan factor the Centre manages security matters under a unified command This makes sense for border management and counterinsurgency operations Yet it often collides with the local police under the state government particularly when the armed forces commit crimes The state police often have to step back and the consequence has been deleterious this was evidenced recently when after the rapemurder of a nomadic child in Kathua supporters of the accused expressed disbelief in the local polices professional investigationChief Minister Mehbooba Mufti seems to have all but given up Her ministers are living it up some making frequent foreign trips The BJP reshuffled its part of the coalition and surprisingly the minister said its a better lot this time This may be a moot point because nobody expects the government to last beyond 2018 It will be over a few months before the general election the minister says Mehbooba wants out but needs a reason to walk out of the coalition The same might be true of the BJP though one cant imagine it giving up power in JampK hardwon after so many yearsThe Centre is unconcerned by the daily reports of violence and more violence It suits Delhis hardline iron fist policy It is sitting back and watching the war of attrition against Kashmiris BJP general secretary Ram Madhav has publicly said India tried various approaches in Kashmir but now it is the RSSs turn Which starkly put is to hold the territory even if all residents disappear in the processThe minister pointed out that Governor NN Vohras term at ten years hes the longest serving in JampK runs out by July Governor Vohra got his second term by default because of the talent deficit in Prime Minister Narendra Modis team If he werent well into his 80s he might have defaulted his way into remaining this time also His time has seen the emergence of a new insurgency highlighted by violent summers like that of 2010 2012 and of course 2016 when thousands were injured by pellets Some say that 2016s disturbances are still continuingIt is difficult to say that Vohra has been a successful governor but perhaps its better to let him stay than to replace him with an RSS man At this point what more harm can an RSS man do the minister said Maybe they can replace him with Yashwant Sinha he says referring to the former finance minister who recently left the BJP Sinha has visited JampK since September 2016 and shown empathy He has been a thorn in the governments side however publicly pointing out its economic mismanagement Modi brooks no dissidence and even though the best way to quieten Sinha might be such an appointment its unlikely to happenThat in a nutshell is the current Kashmir story Degradation and violence while the metaphorical Nero in Delhi plays his fiddle Except in the legend it was Nero himself who had Rome set on fireAditya Sinhas new book will be out in May He tweets autumnshade Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across 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