Tosa Maidan Controversy and Opportunism

The decision of the army to start clearing unexploded bombs from Tosa Maidan firing ranges has been well received by the villagers living on its periphery as well as the media. This positive response is not on account of some newly found love for the army, but only because by doing so, the army has actually ‘walked the talk’ by demonstrating its firm commitment and deep sense of responsibility towards the safety of the local population. The positive public response is also due to the fact that with the lease period of Tosa Maidan firing range having already elapsed, the army is no longer the ‘holder’ of this area and has nothing to gain now by undertaking “Operation Falah” (as this unexploded bombs clearance drive in Tosa Maidan has been named). Thus, it is very clear to everyone that this initiative is not a ‘public relations’ exercise for propaganda purposes with a hidden agenda and as such, it has rightly received the appreciation it deserves.

It also goes to the credit of the army that it refused to allow itself to be drawn into the controversy regarding Tosa Maidan. However, in doing so, while it may have gained the goodwill of both the public and the media, it has probably caused some discomfort to the NC led state government and embarrassed the separatist conglomerate. If reliable sources within the NC are to be believed, then it emerges that its leaders had expected that the army would insist on renewal of the Tosa Maidan lease and lock horns with the state government on this issue. The consequent showdown between the army and the state government just before elections would provide the NC good political mileage by giving it an opportunity to project itself as the ‘saviours of Tosa Maidan’. Seeing the prospects of furthering his own agenda, the Hurriyat (M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq too jumped into the fray by declaring that extension of Tosa Maidan lease “is a well planned strategy, under which deals favoring transfer of land to army are being executed. By doing that, army wants to justify its presence and occupation in J&K.” The Hurriyat (M) Chairman too must therefore be quite upset with the army for having given up on Tosa Maidan without a ‘fight’, as this is not what he had expected!

In a statement issued in April last year, Chairman of the Tosa Maidan Bachao Front (TBF) and Sarpanch Mohammed Maqbool Magray lamented that that “for more than 50 years no mainstream or separatist political party has come to our rescue but to our utter dismay political parties have now started playing politics with this sensitive issue.” This statement exposes the games being played in Kashmir by both the mainstream political parties and separatists at the cost of the public. The NC government is trying to woo voters by linking the Tosa Maidan lease renewal issue to removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). On the other hand, by saying “Why an alternate site, JK government must send army to some desert,” the Mirwaiz, too has proved that his motivation for protesting against extension of Tosa Maidan lease is not due to his concern for the people living in the periphery of this firing range but just to further his own agenda of calling for ‘demilitarisation’ of J&K. The Mirwaiz may be factually correct in claiming that “Kashmir already tops the list of housing highest number of firing ranges in India. We have 16 firing ranges including Tosa Maidan here out of 66 in India.” However, doesn’t this complaint seem odd, as by his own admission, the Mirwaiz feels that J&K is the ‘most militarized region’ in the world and so, isn’t is but natural that the concentration of firing ranges here too would be the highest? 

It is this culture of opportunism which mainstream parties and separatists use so indiscriminately that spoils the show for the common man. All that the people residing in the periphery of Tosa Maidan want is that no further extension of lease be given to the army to use this meadow as a firing range. Their demand is not politically motivated or ideologically inspired and so, they have no objections if the army is given land elsewhere for use as a firing range. However, on April 15 Union Minister and former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, while addressing an election rally in Khansahib area of Budgam district gave a political angle to this controversy by declaring that the state government would not extend the lease of Tosa Maidan firing range, adding that getting the army to vacate Tosa Maidan would pave the way for starting the process for revocation of AFSPA. Not to be outdone, the Mirwaiz gave this issue an ideological twist by proclaiming that Tosa Maidan extension lease would only result in ‘strengthening and perpetuating’ the army’s hold on Kashmir. While both the NC and Hurriyat (M) may have scored their points, such irresponsible statements can seriously harm the genuine cause for which the TBF has been agitating. This is because if the real motive for resistance to extension of the Tosa Maidan lease is paving the way for removal of AFSPA and ‘weakening’ the army’s hold on Kashmir, then New Delhi would have all the reasons to ensure that the lease is extended at all costs!

A humble request to the mainstream political parties and separatists- while you are free to pursue your respective agendas, kindly don’t do so at the cost of the people. For those living a safe life in luxury, ‘autonomy’ or ‘azadi’ may mean a lot, but the villagers residing on the periphery of Tosa Maidan are seized with more pressing problems affecting their daily lives. So, please don’t ‘hijack’ their movement just to gain political or ideological mileage and the best would be to leave them alone. However, in case you really care for them, kindly suggest some viable alternatives so that this issue can be amicably resolved. Whether one likes it or not, if the Tosa Maidan lease is not extended, then the army would have to be given an alternate place for use as firing range. Just saying that the Tosa Maidan lease would not be extended or demanding that the army in J&K should be ‘sent to some desert’ for firing may boost one’s ego but translates into nothing meaningful. By being open to the idea of shifting its firing range to some other location, the army is being reasonable on this issue and so, the Tosa Maidan row can easily be settled. Therefore, for the sake of the villagers living on the periphery of this range, both the NC and Hurriyat need to shed their obduracy and adopt a more constructive approach.

Author can be reached at: [email protected]

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