Union minister Jitendra Singh said that the militancy in Kashmir was in its last phase and that the militants are on the run. He praised police for doing a commendable job. And more praiseworthy, according to him is that the special operation group of J&K Police is cooperating and working shoulder to shoulder in these operations. Earlier, Maj Gen BS Raju, head of Victor Force had also said that the back of the militancy in Kashmir has been broken. But has it? Or could it be broken? The history of the militancy in Kashmir tells you that while there may have been rise and fall in the number of the militancy, the militancy has never died down. On the contrary, it has risen from the ashes to become a formidable challenge before being reigned in with difficulty.
True, at one level, we can say that the past several months have witnessed a steep increase in the killings of the militants. So far, around 170 militants have been killed this year. As against this, 146 militants were killed in 97 encounters during 2016. Security experts believe that the killings at this rate over the next few months would substantially bring down the militant number which in turn will make a redeeming difference to the security situation in the state. However, this linear outlook runs up against the turn of events over the past many years. A drastic reduction in the number of militants has hardly lessened the challenge of militancy. On the contrary, a constant replenishment has kept the militancy alive and kicking. And that too when Valley had no more than hundred militants a figure of 2012-13 – and South Kashmir which now boasts of around 110 militants had just 15 of them. Every year, over the past ten years, the security forces have killed an average of 100 militants a year. But the militancy has still continued, replenished earlier mostly by the foreigners, now largely by the local boys. The pattern of the replenishment has only strengthened since the killing of the popular Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. More than 100 local boys, according to a security estimate, have joined militancy in South Kashmir over the last year and the trend hasnt abated despite the growing frequency in militant killings.
This hero-worship has inspired more local youth to join the militancy. As a result, despite the increased killings of the gunmen, militancy has continued. In fact, the killings have so far fanned rather than deterred the militancy. In past also this ebb and flow has continued. In 2011, security forces had almost wiped out the Valley-based top Hizbul Mujahideen leadership with the killing of its senior most commanders. This prompted even the then home secretary G K Pillai to pronounce an end to Hizb. But as the history shows the militancy has gone on. And it will unlikely die down as long as the conflict over Kashmir lingers. For militancy to end India and Pakistan need to resolve Kashmir once and for all.
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