Ultimate wake-up call for New Delhi

The happenings in the ongoing month of Ramadan should serve as an ultimate wake-up call for New Delhi about the enormity of the situation in Kashmir. It is headed towards a catastrophe. The place is becoming immune to all sorts of measures initiated to help it come out of the vortex of violence and bloodshed. And, the simple reason is that the anti-peace forces are violently jolting the structure of peace and normalcy that the Centre so painstakingly attempted to build by announcing ceasefire during this month of prayers.
New Delhi’s hard power, which is often on display, is being resisted with guns and stones in cities and villages. This is the grim reality. The military power has its own limits. The Indian Army has already reached its threshold. The measurement of the success wrapped in the statistics of the militants killed does not add up to the desired result of the operations. It may finish off all the existing militants, but militancy may be far from over.
The soldiers displayed exceptional patience and sagacity when they abandoned some of their operations to save the stone-throwing mobs from harm’s way even after having suffered casualties themselves. There could have been no better display of humanism by the Army then when it backed off from the encounters which would have inevitably caused civilian casualties. The Army did well by not falling into the trap despite severe provocations at several places in south Kashmir. However, very few will appreciate that.
Second, now it is more than clear even to the naked eye that there are no takers for the country’s soft power either. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked security forces not to launch operations during the holy month of Ramadan so that people could pray undisturbed by encounter-related violence. The cordon and search operations were halted, militants were not hunted and grave provocations like grenade attacks did not provoke a reaction. There were one or two instances where a soldier was killed and a civilian also lost his life. But it is unclear why the civilians were with the militants.
Now, it is clear why separatists pooh-poohed the ceasefire as a “cruel joke”. The guns are roaring again, grenades are exploding and stone throwers are out in full strength. The dialogue offer has been spurned with contempt.
In simple words, the hate-India narrators are having a field day. Their single-lens approach is succeeding. The men, now occupying responsible positions and posing as messiahs of peace, were the ones who sanctified stones as a peaceful way of agitating, as if the stones don’t kill.
A situation was created on Friday when a youth was mowed down by a CRPF vehicle moving surrounded by stone throwers, who apparently were gunning for security personnel.
What happened on June 1 can be traced to the clashes on May 25 around the Jamia mosque. The clashes were intense and Jamia Masjid became a battle scene. It was agreed that the state police would not be deployed in the area. This was a tactical retreat laden with serious consequences.
Tomorrow, the presence of policemen, most of whom are Kashmiri Muslims, across the Valley would be seen as a provocation.
The spread of resistance of this kind is an example of the tragedy of the commons. The costs of what is being lost are not being seen by the people who are responsible. There are forces in Kashmir that are determined to ruin the peace initiatives and the development of the place. The way a narrative is being built against peace, it is obvious that anarchy is being courted aggressively.