EDITORIAL

  NANDIMARG MASSACRE:

Outrageously Heinous Crime

 THE Nadimarg massacre of 24 Kashmiri pandits -- eleven of them women and two children -- is an outrageously heinous crime.  Clearly, the terrorist organisations have resorted to such a brutal action aiming to heighten communal tension and provoking a communal backlash as part of their strategy to keep the communal cauldron boiling in Jammu & Kashmir. 

  The timing of this gruesome attack cannot miss attention on two counts.  First, it is aimed to negate the positive impact of the "healing touch" policy adopted by the Mufti Mohd Sayeed government in Jammu & Kashmir.  The decisions to set free, after proper screening, militants who remained lodged in prison for no valid reason, the refusal to invoke the oppressive POTA  and the decision to disband the special operations group (a police wing that had acquired notoriety) have all created an atmosphere for drawing alienated sections into civil and democratic mainstream.  Obviously, it is not to the liking of the terrorists who seek to keep the state under perpetual tension and  turmoil. 

  Secondly, this attack comes at a time when the government was seriously working for the return of the families of Kashmiri pandits who migrated from the state earlier on account of heightened terrorist activities. This was also seen as a measure in the direction of restoration of normalcy which the terrorists loathe.

 Under these circumstances, it is of utmost necessity that the vigil against terrorist activities must be heightened. In this context, reports that the security forces posted in the Nadimarg village did not take any action whatsoever to protect the targeted people must be properly investigated  followed by prompt action. 

 This, of course, requires that both the central and the state governments must act in concert to rein in terrorist activities, on the one hand, and to carry forward the process of eliminating the sense of alienation amongst the people in the valley by strengthening the political process, on the other.

 On the latter score, the predilection of the central government is the biggest stumbling block.  In its anxiety to reap political benefit from communal polarisation, various RSS tentacles have intensified their attack on the Mufti government blaming its "healing touch" policy for such attacks.  Suffering from communal myopia, leading lights of the central government subscribed to such a position which can only complicate matters. 

  Further, the BJP, with no less a person than the deputy prime minister articulating that its sectarian anti-national communal agenda that includes the abrogation of Article 370 is the main BJP political plank.    This ipso facto means that the Vajpayee government will strengthen its resolve to refuse any dialogue on the crucial and vexed issue of autonomy for the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Instead of advancing the political process towards a possible solution for the tensions and strife in the state, this attitude  is bound to compound it further. 

  Pre-occupied, as it is, with its Pakistan centric foreign and security policies, the Vajpayee government has been emphasising only on the cross border support being provided to such terrorist activities.  In the process, it has deliberately refused to take any initiatives for a political process domestically in the country, particularly in Jammu & Kashmir. Seeing political benefits of this approach of concentrating only on Pakistan's role, it has been seeking international, particularly US imperialist support.  For years now, the Vajpayee government has been asking the United States and its other allies to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state.  Not only has this not happened but adding insult to injury, the USA has instead asked India to start a dialogue with Pakistan in the aftermath of the Nadimarg massacre. 

  Earlier, the USA has, in no uncertain terms, expressed its preference of keeping Pakistan as its closest ally in the region in all its plans and has recently lifted all sanctions against that country and earmarked aid and assistance which is atleast ten times more than what it offers India.  The anxiety of this Vajpayee government to replace Pakistan as the US surrogate in the region has led to a situation where it refuses to even condemn the brazen US unilateral aggression against Iraq in violation of all international norms.

 To return to Jammu & Kashmir, what is required is the need to adopt a dual strategy. On the one hand, a firm and strong rebuff to Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism must be undertaken. On the other hand, the political process must be urgently initiated which, alongwith the "healing touch" policy, will see the initiation of the process of dialogue and consultation on the issue of autonomy and the strict implementation of Article 370  in the state.

 However, given this government's attitude and approach as discussed above, the adoption of such a dual strategy appears remote.  Thus, as on every other score, on this issue of restoration of normalcy in Jammu & Kashmir as well, this government's policies and approach are the major stumbling block.  On the question of facing cross-border terrorism, this government has received support from the entire opposition rarely seen in earlier occasions. But on the question of initiating a process for restoring normalcy in Jammu & Kashmir, this government stands distanced from what is required for our country's unity and integrity.