What has happened in Jammu and Kashmir during Modi rule?

New Delhi, Feb 6: The Ministry of Home Affairs data shows that terrorism as well as elimination of terrorists have increased in Jammu and Kashmir after Narendra Modi government assumed power at Centre in 2014.

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed highest number of terror attacks in 2018 since 2014.

The terrorists carried out 614 attacks in the state in 2018 in which 38 civilians lost their lives and 91 security personnel were also killed.

However, year 2018 was also deadliest for the terrorists as security forces gunned down 257 militants, which is highest than the number of 2010 when 232 terrorists were killed.

In 2017, the terrorist carried out 342 attacks in which 40 civilians and 80 security personnel were killed. On the other hand, the security forces gunned down 213 terrorists.

One of the major terror incidents of 2017 was attack on annual Amarnath Yatra.

On July 10, 2017, eight Hindu civilian pilgrims on the way from Amarnath Temple in Kashmir Valley were killed in a terror attack. This was the fourth ever terror attack on Amarnath Yatra.

In 2016, fifteen civilians and 82 security personnel lost their lives in 322 terror incidents. In the reply, the security forces killed 150 terrorists.

In 2015, the number of killed terrorists stood at 108 during 208 terror attacks. The terror attacks also claimed lives of 17 civilians and 39 security jawans.

In 2014, the security forces eliminated 110 terrorists during 222 terror attacks. The civilian and security personnel causality was 28 and 47 respectively.

However, the detailed analysis of 2018, 2016, and current situation is very important to evaluate what has happened in Jammu and Kashmir during Narendra Modi rule.

2018

The Sunjuwan terror attack was the major success for the terrorists in 2018.

On February 10, 2018, Jaish-e-Mohammed fidayeen attacked an Indian Army camp in Sunjuwan, Jammu, in which 11 soldiers, four attackers and one civilian were killed. The attack coincided with the death anniversary of Afzal Guru, a convict in the 2001 Indian parliament attack.

However, year 2018 was also deadliest for the terrorists.

Due to the better coordination between Indian Army, Central Armed Police Forces and Jammu & Kashmir Police; 257 terrorists were neutralised in 2018.

These include top Lashkar commander Naveed Jatt, who was involved in the murder of journalist Sujaat Bukhari; Jaish sniper Usman Haider, nephew of Jaish Chief Maluana Masood Azhar; Hizbul Mujahideen commander Altaf Ahmad Dar, and mastermind of Sunjuwan attack Jaish commander Mufti Waqas.

Most Disruptive 2016

2016 was the most disruptive year in Jammu and Kashmir during last five years.

While the terrorists managed to carry out major attacks during this year, India, in a first, not only carried out surgical strike across the border but also owned it.

In a major success, the security forces gunned down Hizbul Mujahideen's 21-year-old poster boy Burhan Muzzafar Wani in an encounter in the Kokernag area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district on July 8, 2016.

Widespread protests erupted in the Kashmir valley after Wani's death, causing 2016 unrest in the valley for nearly half a year, in which more than 96 people died. The violence which erupted after his death was described as the worst unrest in the region since the 2010 Kashmir unrest.

The second significant incident of 2016 was deadliest Uri terror attack.

In a pre-dawn ambush on September 18, 2016; four militants attacked an Indian Army brigade headquarters in Uri, near the Line of Control, and killed 17 army personnel were killed. Four militants were also gunned down during six-hour long encounter.

On 29 September, eleven days after the Uri attack; India responded with the surgical strike against militant launch pads across the Line of Control in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and reportedly killed many terrorists who were waiting to infiltrate into India.

Nagrota terror attack was also a major terror incident of 2016.

On the morning of 29 November at around 5:30 IST, three militants dressed in Indian police uniforms attacked the Indian Army's 166 Field Regiment unit in the town of Nagrota, near the Jammu city. Four Indian Army soldiers, including an officer were killed in the initial gun battle. Later, six more army personnel, including an officer, were killed in the encounter. The three militants were also gunned down.

The terrorists also carried out Pampore and Baramulla attacks in 2016.

A Central Reserve Police Force convoy, consisting of six vehicles, was ambushed by three or four militants on June 25, 2016. The ambush left eight CRPF personnel dead and over 20 injured. The two militants were killed and one or two managed to escape.

On the midnight of the second and third of October 2016, militants attacked a camp of the Indian Army's 46 Rashtriya Rifles in the Baramulla district and killed an officer.

Current Situation

In July 1988, a series of demonstrations, strikes and attacks on the Indian government began the Kashmir Insurgency, which during the 1990s escalated into the most important internal security issue in India.

Thousands of people have died during fighting between terrorists and the government as well as thousands of civilians have died as a result of being targeted by the various armed groups.

The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence has encouraged and aided the Kashmir independence movement through aiding and abetting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

But, tables have now turned in Kashmir Valley during Narendra Modi rule.

According to defence sources, the influence of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir has now been confined to 100-kilometer area.

The terrorists have been losing the local support because of their attack on the civilians, Jammu and Kashmir police and defence personnel. Killing of local Kashmiris like Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz Parray has alienated the terrorists.

This is a major success for the security forces and intelligence agencies as well as for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The current situation in the state has become possible because of the political will and various strategies of Narendra Modi government.

Under the watch of National Security advisor Ajit Doval, the security forces slowly upped the ante against terrorists and bridged their gap with the local population.

The security forces strategically started targeting top terrorists in the Valley. This generally didn't happen during previous regimes that feared unrest and disturbance, like it happened in the Kashmir Valley after the killing of Burhan Wani.

The killing of top terrorists has broken the morale of terrorists and like-minded youth. Now, the message in the Kashmir Valley is loud and clear: pickup gun and you will get bullet.

It is a fact that the without political patronage, militancy in Kashmir could not have survived for so long.

Previous state governments that comprised of state level parties like Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the National Conference, and national level party like Congress, never mustered courage to take on militancy and preferred to maintain a status quo.

The another big reason why militancy flourished in Kashmir is because the common man in far flung areas has always been deprived of good and effective governance.

To address this issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) first formed a coalition government with the PDP, and later pulled its support as a strategy, leaving PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti bewildered.

The strategy was to conduct local body and panchayat elections in the state by imposing Governor rule, which previous state governments always avoided for many reasons. One of the main reasons is that once local bodies and panchayats will start functioning in the state then they will have original powers and not the ones who sit in Assembly.

The masterminds sitting in Pakistan also know this fact that once local body and three-tier panchayats are in place in Jammu and Kashmir then there will be no place for their foot soldiers, a.k.a terrorists.

This is the reason terrorist often used to kill panches and sarpanches in Jammu and Kashmir who were elected for the first time in 2011 after three decades. These killings also showed that the robust security environment was missing in the state at that time.

But, 2018 local body and panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir have been conducted in a more secure environment as compared to 2011.

The PDP, the NC and separatist leadership had boycotted the local body and panchayat elections as they knew what Narendra Modi government want to achieve out of it.

The other important development that has happened for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir is that the separatist leadership has realised that Delhi is no more friendly.

Unlike previous Delhi regimes, Narendra Modi government gave a free hand to the investigating agencies like National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to probe the link between separatist leaders and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. As a result, the Kashmiri separatists are facing several court cases.