The Pulwama attack is not a time for revenge as is already happening in many parts of the country. Yesterday, vehicles from Kashmir valley were attacked and set on sire. Curfew was declared in Jammu. Today, students from Kashmir valley were attacked in different parts of the country. Let me make it clear at the outset that Kashmiris in general have nothing to do with the Pulwama attack. The failure of Kashmir is collective failure of the country. To put the blame on Kashmiris alone is lying to ourselves.
Coming to the particular attack in Pulwama is due to the failure of security agencies, as the attacker was under the radar of J&K security agencies.
The Print reported ,
“According to sources in the Jammu & Kashmir police, Dar, a local from Gandibagh, Pulwama, was a class 11 student when he joined the JeM. A police source said he had been on the radar of J&K police ever since he started “ground work” for the terror outfit and was among those who were part of the early stone-throwers in the Valley. “He was highly radicalised and joined JeM while he was a student,” said the police source.”
The Quint reported that CRPF demanded that the Jawans be airlifted but was refused permission
“A grieving CRPF jawan told The Quint on the condition of anonymity after the fidayeen attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir on 14 February which killed 40 jawans. The convoy comprised over 2,500 CRPF personnel travelling in 78 vehicles. It turns out the CRPF had indeed requested air transit for the jawans to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) earlier this week. However, the request was ignored.”
How come the attacker procured hundreds of kgs of explosives, procured a car, planned this elaborate terrorist attack on a high security convoy? There was intelligence information from the 8th February about such an attack. Why it was overlooked and why responsible officers did not act?
The responsibility should not be left to just the officers in charge. Remember J & K is under Governor’s rule. Home minister Rajnath Singh is directly responsible for this intelligence failure. So is National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India, Ajit Doval. Ultimately Prime Minister Narendra Modi is responsible for this intelligence failure. The Modi government should answer these questions, take responsibility and Modi should resign.
Even after the tragedy, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not take it as a priority. As the event happened he was on capaign trail in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. There he made some rhetorical statements against the terrosists. However, he didn’t find time to attend the all party meeting convened in Delhi to discuss about the attack. Instead he was campaigning in Maharashtra! Modi was on his 56 inch mode, while the opposition parties were in Delhi propping up his 56 inch chest!
Kashmirs living in Jammu and Indian main land don’t have to bear the brunt of this failure. Why don’t the opposition parties don’t question the security failure? Time is not for revenge but for soul searching and accountability for whoever failed in their responsibilities. That’s what India should do in memory of the poor departed souls.
Binu Mathew is the editor of Countercurrents.org
These are the times when passion overtakes reason. These are fertile grounds for adding a bit more of the manure of polarisation. Difficult times for the Muslims who believe in flaunting their skull caps and wearing their religion on their sleeve. For the passion driven ignorant public all those pyjama clad cap wearing bearded blokes are potential terrorists. Chronic haters on both sides of the religious divide want exactly the same. Governmental failures on many fronts can be brushed under the carpet on this side and for the incorrigible goons of holy war the times are ripe for opening their jehadi recruitment camps for ensnaring gullible youngsters to feed as fodder for their war machinery.
Since the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir has admitted to intelligence failure, the Supreme Court of India could suo motu initiate an enquiry through a duly constituted SIT to pinpoint the guilty persons howsoever highly placed.
Yes there may be intelligence failure, but you can’t forgive Pakistan, ISI & Antinationals.
There is no proof that Pakistan and/or ISI are involved in this. At this stage these are wild gusses and opportunistic allegations. Pakistan’s Prime Minister has already said that if India can provide actionable evidence of Pakistan’s involvement, he would follow up with a probe and if found guilty, with punishment. In the meanwhile, a former commander of the Indian army in Kashmir, General Hooda has also pointed out that the huge amount of explosives that were used in the attack could not have been smuggled from across the border, these, according to this General, ought to have been procured from within. In other words, whole thing is shrouded in mystery and also controversies and the least Indians can do is not blindly follow the official story line but ask for an indepedent probe preferably, by an international body.
….. Also, why the root cause of the trouble is not being analysed? Why the years of repression is not being discussed which is a major cause of this dastardly reaction? When even mild criticism is being aired – whether by sidhu or kamal hasan – they are being shouted down…why? Why are the kashmiris right to self determination is being viewed as a act of strong anti-nationalism??????
Completely agree. Without addressing the root cause of Kashmiri resentments harshest of military interventions would not work and has not worked so far. It would only compound and deepen the crisis. Modi government’s immediate and opportunistic jerk reaction to the incident that includes among other things, blaming Pakistan for it without producing any credible evidence and his relentless sabre-rattling, may help his plummeting popularity and his election cause to an extent but he must also realize that by doing so, he may also be playing a dangerous game. His street-boy jingoism is irresponsible that risks turning the whole thing into a regional conflagration and this is not helpful to no one, let alone India. Its about time civility, sanity and genuine sensitivity in addressing the grievances of Kashmiris return to India.
It’s pure intelligence failure. It’s questionable now if there are any rats in the intelligence wings too.