65 days after lockdown, officials in Valley caution: Don’t call this ‘normal’ | IE | Oct 09 2019
No dispute on that
Frank
The mood in this article is more circumspect
More than 60 days into the lockdown in the Valley, many officials on the ground, both in the civilian and security establishment, have begun to say that the political imperative, from New Delhi, to sustain an “everything-is-normal” narrative is turning out to be challenging — and could even be counterproductive.
“We used to say that security forces watch the clock while militants have all the time but now it’s the other way around.
It seems the Government’s strategy is that it has all the time while residents in Jammu and Kashmir can keep a watch on the clock,” said an officer.
“We aren’t sure how effective this tire-them-down approach will be but what we are sure of is that this is not normalcy and all of us need to accept that.”
Over a week, The Indian Express spoke with more than a dozen bureaucrats and police officers in Srinagar and in the two South Kashmir districts of Shopian and Pulwama.
“Delhi thinks if no major incidents have happened so far, things are normal. This hypothesis is wrong,” said a senior bureaucrat who sits in meetings where coordination issues between the civilian administration and the security establishment are resolved.
“That there have been just two civilian casualties is more due to elaborate planning, preparedness of the establishment and close coordination at the ground level between the civilian government, the Army, CRPF, Border Security Force and the J&K Police,” said another senior official, who also did not wish to be named.
It seems the Government’s strategy is that it has all the time while residents in Jammu and Kashmir can keep a watch on the clock,” said an officer.
“We aren’t sure how effective this tire-them-down approach will be but what we are sure of is that this is not normalcy and all of us need to accept that.”
Over a week, The Indian Express spoke with more than a dozen bureaucrats and police officers in Srinagar and in the two South Kashmir districts of Shopian and Pulwama.
“Delhi thinks if no major incidents have happened so far, things are normal. This hypothesis is wrong,” said a senior bureaucrat who sits in meetings where coordination issues between the civilian administration and the security establishment are resolved.
“That there have been just two civilian casualties is more due to elaborate planning, preparedness of the establishment and close coordination at the ground level between the civilian government, the Army, CRPF, Border Security Force and the J&K Police,” said another senior official, who also did not wish to be named.
Said a senior police officer, among the key decision-makers in the Valley: “In many places, locals, of their own volition, do not want to open the shops.”
According to him, police are tracking five key indicators to make an assessment of militancy suggests these haven’t shown any spikes as they did after the Burhan Wani killing in July 2016:
Slogan, Flag, Rumours, Intimidation, Posters.
“When a janaza is lifted, you expect people to cry. But nobody is reacting to a decision which permanently changes the character of J&K – bifurcation, abrogation of Article 370 and doing away with the special dispensation under Article 35A.
I don’t know what this silence means but to call it peaceful or normal is certainly not accurate,” a top police offer told The Indian Express.
Another bureaucrat points to how the police is already re-calibrating its formulation.
“You will hear the Director General of Police saying things are under control. He doesn’t say, it is normal anymore,” the officer notes.
“A big action was taken on August 5. We don’t know what the reaction will be, and neither do we have any clue on its timing. We cannot be lulled to believe things are normal,” said an officer, reiterating that no big incidents have happened only because of the extreme preventive measures, and a dominating presence of the forces.
“We had planned for three months – till November 5,” said a senior Army officer, who did not wish to be quoted.
According to him, police are tracking five key indicators to make an assessment of militancy suggests these haven’t shown any spikes as they did after the Burhan Wani killing in July 2016:
Slogan, Flag, Rumours, Intimidation, Posters.
“When a janaza is lifted, you expect people to cry. But nobody is reacting to a decision which permanently changes the character of J&K – bifurcation, abrogation of Article 370 and doing away with the special dispensation under Article 35A.
I don’t know what this silence means but to call it peaceful or normal is certainly not accurate,” a top police offer told The Indian Express.
Another bureaucrat points to how the police is already re-calibrating its formulation.
“You will hear the Director General of Police saying things are under control. He doesn’t say, it is normal anymore,” the officer notes.
“A big action was taken on August 5. We don’t know what the reaction will be, and neither do we have any clue on its timing. We cannot be lulled to believe things are normal,” said an officer, reiterating that no big incidents have happened only because of the extreme preventive measures, and a dominating presence of the forces.
“We had planned for three months – till November 5,” said a senior Army officer, who did not wish to be quoted.
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