Kashmir: State Must Get the Narrative Right

Rahul Bhonsle 

Aug 2, 2016 

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Kashmir: State Must Get the Narrative Right

Terrorism combines politics and security. The security dimension targets terrorists which has to be employed in a nuanced way by counter-terrorist forces to achieve the political objective with a genuine impact on the psyche of the people whose support is essential by the antagonists on both sides of the divide.

The narrative in the battle for the hearts ruled by emotions assumes importance particularly in the era of mass media – both public and social. Thus every action has to be preceded and followed up by a narrative that strikes the right chord.

This story line cannot be manufactured at the spur of the moment but is borne out of entrenched beliefs in the socio-political landscape. However, the narrative can be deftly manipulated for short periods of time playing on the collective emotion of the people.

This phenomenon was more than evident in the Kashmir of July 2016 after the killing of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The security forces and nationalists parties in Jammu and Kashmir hailed the death of a declared terrorist leader who had a reward of Rs 10 Lakhs on his head; however the narrative was usurped by the separatists as well as Pakistani leaders from across the Line of Control (LOC) who declared Wani a martyr.

The plot was further stretched by launching a pre-meditated campaign to expose innocent youth to actions by security forces undertaken to prevent anarchy in the Valley. Where this led to casualties this was further given a spin of violence against unarmed civilians.

The death and injury of innocents are regrettable, no security personnel even in the front line would seek to harm intentionally those amongst protestors who are restricted to shouting slogans and waving flags even if these are of a hostile country.

However, when it comes to hurling petrol bombs, attacking security pickets collectively, destroying public and private property, mobs attempting to rally against an army post in some cases and invariably a barrage of stone pelting, the crowd has turned into a violent mob.

Silence or inaction by security forces in such situations will result into chaos. The security forces are duty bound to undertake action to defend the state, public and even private property and personnel from harm. In doing so minimal power is expected to be used to restore order but they cannot be silent spectators.

The State has failed to highlight this essential truth in Kashmir where the narrative hijacked by the separatists and their cohorts from across the LOC is that of gross breaches of human rights and unlimited use of force by the security forces. While pellet injuries which have disabled some are certainly very unfortunate, however, the circumstances in which these were sustained cannot be obfuscated from public mind’s eye.

The protestors were putting themselves in the harm’s way many of them knowing fully well consequences at the behest of the leadership which on the other hand was unmindful of what happened to the innocent who they were sending into the line of fire, so to say.

While attempts have been made of blaming the separatists and Pakistan for instigating violence, these have not had a mass impact as these have been too feeble and sometimes even apologetic. There may be a degree of popular sentiment for separatism aroused by various factors including entrenched beliefs after the killing of Burhan Wani but by allowing control of the narrative by the separatists and Pakistani leaders who have no sense of responsibility towards the people – it is the innocent in Kashmir who are suffering.

In any society liability for control of violence rests not just with the State but also with civil society leadership which includes the likes of separatists who if they find their call for protests resulting in violence have the responsibility to contain the same.

However intoxicated by their sense of righteousness, spurned from internationally sanctioned terrorists as Hafeez Saeed and uncontested in their warped narrative the conglomerate headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani is continuing to announce programmes of mass unrest which is leading to more violence. It is time that the State gets out of the mindset of defensive ideas and starts controlling the "plot", being painted in the minds of the people which alone can lead to peace in the Valley in the near term. This initiative will then have to be followed by a larger political dialogue, as indicated earlier and will follow later.