09 Jul 2010 Ali Ahmed, Research Fellow, IDSA, New Delhi: Much to the chagrin of Indian policy makers, Kashmir has reentered the headlines. The narrative had been that the Valley had been tamed through the military at long last getting the better of terrorists. Voters had exercised their democratic rights and it only remained for governance initiatives such as funds under the prime minister’s reconstruction program to mop up the remaining alienation. However, militancy has boiled over onto the streets once again in a replay of the preceding two years.
Whereas two years ago the spark was provided by transfer of some land for the purposes of the Amarnath pilgrimage, last year the emotive issue was the alleged rape and killings of two women in Shupiyan. This year stone throwing mobs have been on the streets of the towns since onset of summer. Their numbers and violence levels have been escalating with each death in police firing resorted to quell the violence. The Central Reserve Police Force and the state police have been under pressure not only on the streets but also from critics. Their predicament springs primarily from their being ill equipped for crowd control such as having a deficiency in riot police and riot control gear.
29 Jun 2010 8ak: The situation has turned more volatile in Kashmir after two protesters were killed by security personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The youth were taking part in a funeral procession of a 20 year old youth, who was killed by the security forces on Sunday. India Blooms reports that the clashes in Kashmir’s northern town of Sapore erupted after the security forces gunned down two youth on June 25, when the youth attacked the CRPF after an encounter.
The incident has not gone down too well with the state government, which has criticized the paramilitary force for its actions. Speaking to 8ak, Jammu and Kashmir Law Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar said, “The security forces have yet again behaved recklessly in dealing with its own citizens, what it needs to understand is that there is a difference when you deal with militants and the citizens.” Adding further the minister has said, “The central government needs to review the armed forces special power act (AFSPA), if such incidents have to be stopped and this is the will of the Kashmiri people.”
However, highly placed CRPF official has defended the actions of his force. According to him, “It is the anti-social elements, which take advantage of such protests and mingle with the innocent civilian population, there sole objective is to create a situation where in the security forces are forced to retaliate, which destabilises the peace and harmony in the region.” Elaborating further the officer said, “The agony was that this is not understood by the local protestors and a stand-off is created between the forces and civil population, as the sensitive region Kashmir is, incidents like these take political overtones.”
Sify reports that due to the stand-off in the valley, ten people have also got injured. They were injured when the security forces intercepted protestors marching towards Omarabad colony on the outskirts of the city on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, 12 km from city centre Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
In the meantime, One India reports that Chief Minister (CM) of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah has sought immediate intervention of the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to bring the situation under control in the state, as part of the efforts Chidambaram is expected to visit the violence hit region within a day or two.
The state government is also on a back foot after demands of imposition of Presidents rule in the state has picked up voice. Express India reports that Awami National Conference (ANC) has asked the CM to step down after terming the present situation as complete “constitutional breakdown.”
01 Jun 2010 8ak: Just 5 months ago Chidambaram was protecting Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee saying that she was not soft on Maoists. Yesterday he blasted her for theory that the train blasts had no Maoist connection but were a doing of the CPM. He was backed up by CPI-M leader Basudeb Acharia who accused her of having a "good relationship" with those who derailed a train and asked for her resignation from the cabinet on moral grounds. BJP intervened to ask for the PM's intervention in the spat as both parties were making political statements due to upcoming polls. On May 5, MHA had issued a stern warning that there is a 10 year jail term under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for anyone supporting terrorist organisations and that this law would be applied to NGO's and liberals/activists who support Maoist/Naxal activities.
PIB: The Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram presented the Report Card of the Ministry of Home Affairs for May 2010 here today.
“I present before you the report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for the month of May, 2010. An Action Plan for the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2010-11 has been finalized. The first review, division-wise, will be conducted after the end of the first quarter.
Internal Security The month of May 2010 witnessed a very large number of violent attacks by the CPI (Maoist). Some of them are:
On May 8, 2010 an IED was used to blow up a bullet-proof CRPF vehicle in Peddekodepal in district Bijapur, Chhattisgarh killing eight CRPF personnel.
On May 12 and May 16, 2010 ten persons were kidnapped/killed in the districts of Kanker and Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh.
On May 17, 2010 an IED was used to blow up a civilian bus killing 15 civilians and 16 policemen/SPOs, besides injuring 12 civilians and 16 policemen/SPOs in district Dantewada, Chhattisgarh.
28 May 2010 8ak: The simmering differences between the Indian Armed Forces and India’s premiere Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have come out in open, with the chief of DRDO, Saraswat, accusing its main customer for opting for foreign equipment over homemade systems.
Domain-B reports V K Saraswat, speaking at the National Technology Day awards function, took on the armed forces for relying on imported weapons and advised them to try and curb their "temptation" to continually import latest weapon systems from abroad.
The statement has not gone down well with the military top brass which was represented by the three service chiefs during the awards function. A serving Lt Gen told 8ak, “There may be merit in what the DRDO chief is saying in terms of dependence on weapons imports, but then it is because of the incompetence of Indian Defence PSUs like DRDO, HAL etc that the armed forces are forced to import military hardware to keep its inventory in shape.” Substantiating his statement further, the officer said, “Had we not taken three decades to develop the Arjuns (Main Battle Tank), there would have been no place for the Russian T-90s in the Army, as by now even the improved Mark-II version would have been developed. But for the DRDO to say that we should not import and wait for them to deliver is ridiculous because if the security of the nation is threatened, it’s the security forces who will be answerable to the people.”
Another senior IAF officer tore into the DRDO chief’s statement. “The belief that armed forces import because of the kickbacks involved has tarnished the forces reputation among the public. As a matter of fact, we import only because DRDO takes unacceptable time to develop military hardware. Therefore, by the time equipment is inducted into the forces, the GSQRs on which the product is developed become irrelevant and the product obsolete as other nations develop more advanced technology. Adding further, the officer said, that the role of military in deciding the vendor to buy from is limited, hence, the services have no personal gains to make.
18 May 2010 8ak: Maoists have blown up a bus in Dantewada is an LTTE style attack, claims Rediff. The article says that an IED was planted by digging a tunnel under the road so as not to damage the road. This time the target was the Special Police Officers who are mostly recruited from the local population. The details of the intelligence gathering and quick reaction by the Maoists is reported on NDTV.
After the last Dantewada massacre of 73 CRPF personnel, the government had appointed, E N Rammohan, former director-general of BSF to conduct an enquiry in to the incident. Not surprisingly, in an interview with Times of India, he blasted the government for its unwillingness to tackle corruption which he believes is the root cause of the issue. Pointing to the exploitation of the tribals he said "I am told the spin-offs from sale of tendu leaves in Chhattisgarh and AP reaches right up to Delhi."
This view of corruption coming directly from the centre is supported by BJP's Jaitley who accussed the Congress leadership of restraining the CBI from prosecuting Mayawati in return for her support during an opposition sponsored cut-motion.
The Organiser goes further saying that the UPA government is selectively using exposes to tame non-conforming politicians. As examples it cites the IPL case and the limited initial foucs on Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel which was quickly withdrawn.
A few stories in the last 30 days alone give some idea of the rot in the system:
TOI: CBI registers 2439 cases of corruption against Babus
Organiser: Ketan Desai, President of Medical Council of India caught with Rs 2,500cr and 1,500kg of gold. (US$1m = ~4.5 crores)
PTI: O Ravi, Joint Secretary (Disaster Management), Ministry of Home Affairs caught in CBI raid
Financial Express: Telecom Minister A. Raja's 2G scam cost government 26,000 crore (US$578m)
PTI: Anti-Corruption Bureau raid finds IAS officer posted as Joint Collector with 20 crore in Andhra Pradesh
PTI: Uma Shankar Patra, Dy Director (Poultry) of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services in Orissa
In an interview with Barkha Dutt, the Home Minister P.C. Chidambaram stated that he only has limited powers and his leadership style is one of consensus/collectivism. Looking at the caste-bases census issue, it is clear that the government has little consensus even on core issues where the right decision is simple. To be successful, the home minister must be empowered to take decisions, over-ride vested interests and be willing to tackle widespread corruption.
07 May 2010 8ak: After Special Court judge M.L. Tahaliyani pronounced Kasab guilty of his role in 26/11 Mumbai attacks and termed the act as waging a war against India, the verdict to send Kasab to the gallows was a well received in India, but there was disappointment that two of his alleged helpers, Ansari and Sabahuddin, were set free citing lack (fabrication) of evidence. A good DNA report about how the judge ruled that the maps found in the pockets of one of terrorists killed in the attack, Abu Ismail, may have been inserted by the Indian police to frame the duo. This led TOI to report that "India's rules of evidence are too strong and forces police to falsify evidence.
What this case does show is that India's judiciary is capable of making decisions based purely on evidence and can avoid public & political pressure. This also puts added pressure on the Americans to give access to Headley who is now, even more likely to have done the reconnaissance prior to the attacks.
The Hindu reports that Kasab has been sentenced to death on five counts: murder, abetment to murder, waging war, criminal conspiracy and committing terrorist acts. He was also awarded life imprisonment on five counts: attempt to murder in furtherance of a common intention, kidnapping and abducting in order to murder, conspiracy to wage war, collecting arms with the intention of waging war and causing explosion thus endangering life and property.
Times of India reports that the manner in which the trial was conducted was laudable and spoke volumes about New Delhi’s legal and ethical perspective. While the verdict is out, the citizens of India will have to wait to witness the hanging of Kasab as the sentence by the special session court will have to be ratified by Maharashtra High Court, followed by an appeal to the nations apex court in all likelihood and thereafter a mercy petition to the President of India, which can take years. The time taken to dispose the mercy petition is certainly not encouraging, considering the mercy petition of Afzal Guru, convicted for his role in attacking the Indian parliament in 2002 is still pending.
The latest case of execution was of Dhananjay Chatterjee who killed a 14 year old Hetal Parikh on March 5, 1990 at her apartment residence in Bhowanipur. Chatterjee was kept in Alipore jail for 14 years before his mercy petition was rejected by then President A.P.J Abdul Kalam.
Sify reports that more than 300 convicts are awaiting execution across India. In a reply to a question in Lok Sabha in December 2009, Union Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran, said that 'as on Dec 31, 2007, 308 convicts are lodged in various jails facing death penalty in the country, while 52 death convicts have approached the Rashtrapati Bhawan with a mercy petition.
Union Law Minister Moily, in an interview to CNN-IBN assured that the case won’t go the Afzal Guru way and would be treated differently. Meanwhile, Pakistan has refused to comment on the judgement. Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said at his weekly press briefing that “Legal experts are analyzing the detailed verdict of Ajmal Kasab's case and after reviewing the verdict, Pakistan will record its reaction," reports Economic Times.
