JK Govt figures catch Parrikar on wrong foot
DM’s stone pelting-demonetization remark
Month Stone pelting incidents
July 820
August 747
September 119
October 157
November (Upto 14th) 49
After demonetization (Nov 9-Nov 14) 15
Total stone pelting incidents 2330
Srinagar 688
Sopore 249
Shopian 216
Bandipora 193
Anantnag 189
Kupwara 148
Kulgam 145
Pulwama 124
Awantipora 86
Baramulla 85
Ganderbal 79
Budgam 76
Handwara 52
Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s assertions on Monday that demonetisation had brought down stone-throwing incidents in Kashmir are not backed up by ground realities and figures available with the State Home department and security agencies.
Parrikar said in Mumbai that after demonetization, there has not been stone-throwing on government forces in Kashmir as the “terror funding” had come down to zero.
“Earlier, there were rates – Rs 500 for stone pelting (on security forces in Kashmir) and Rs 1,000 for doing something else but PM has brought terror funding to zero,” he said.
However, in reality, after demonetization there have been 15 incidents of stone-throwing and 10 such incidents were witnessed on Sunday alone.
On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that all bills in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, the highest and most popular currency denominations in India, would be illegal across the country.
Modi had said that the tough move was necessary to crack down on black or untaxed money and choke “terror funding”.
Although the number of stone-pelting incidents has come down drastically since July 9, a day after the killing of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander, Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the numbers are not coming down due to demonetization but are following a general pattern.
On July 9, Kashmir witnessed a total of 201 stone pelting incidents while 153 such incidents were witnessed on July 10 as people in large numbers poured on streets protesting Wani’s killing and demanding freedom.
Since Wani’s killing, Kashmir has witnessed 2330 incidents of stone pelting with Srinagar district topping at 688 followed by Sopore police district at 249, Shopian at 216, Bandipora at 193, Anantnag at 189, Kupwara at 148, Kulgam at 145, Pulwama at 124, police district Awanitpora at 86, Baramulla at 85, Ganderbal at 79, Budgam at 76, and police district Handwara at 52.
After the Kashmiri militancy’s poster boy Wani was killed, the Valley witnessed 820 incidents of stone pelting incidents in July, which came down to 747 in August and 119 in September.
From July to August, the incidents of stone-pelting came down by 8.90 percent and from August to September by a further 84.06 percent while from July to September, there was a decline in stone-pelting incidents by 85.48 percent.
From September to October, the number of stone pelting incidents increased from 119 to 157 witnessing a 31.93 percent increase but the incidents fell by 80.85 percent from July.
So far, the numbers have come down from 157 in October to 49 for the first 14 days of November, which is a decrease of 33 percent and the overall decrease of 87 percent from July, which is consistent to the decline the stone-pelting incidents have been witnessing.
So the figures of the State Home department and security agencies drive home to point that demonetization has in no way brought down the incidents of stone-pelting and that the statement of the Union Defence Minister was just to catch eyeballs.
The bills of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 form 86 percent of the currency in circulation by value in India and the Government of India has set a deadline of December 30 to deposit all the notes in banks and post offices to get them replaced.