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Journalism of Courage
In Jammu and Kashmir, terrorist attacks mounted by politically motivated desperadoes and human rights abuse resorted to by security personnel have been part of a vicious cycle for years. This is precisely why the quick and efficient way in which commissions headed by Justice S.R. Pandian and Lt Gen J.R. Mukherjee, into the Barakpora and Pahalgam firing respectively, came up with their reports and the equally prompt punishment meted out by the J&K government to the security personnel involved, is reassuring. It represents an effort to address some particularly ugly and nagging doubts about the conduct of the very people appointed to ensure peace and security in the region. Not surprisingly, both Pandian and Mukherjee arrived at similar conclusions even if the situations into which they were inquiring differed quite substantially.
While Pandian found the April 3 police firing on the 2,000-odd participants of a peaceful procession demanding an inquiry into the killing of five civilians at Pathribal both “unjustified” and “unprovoked”, Mukherjee ruled that the retaliatory firing resorted to by CRPF at the Pahalgam base camp on August 1 against suspected militants, which led to 32 people being killed, was excessive. It was either an overweening arrogance that they could do anything and get away with it, or a complete panic reaction arising from lack of confidence that had caused the security personnel in both instances to over-react as they did. Suffice it to say that their actions had serious political consequences. Recently, Union Home Minister L.K. Advani revealed that he had seriously considered quitting office when news of the Pahalgam massacre came in, so appalled was he by it. As for the Barakpora outrage, it fomented an ugly climate of rumour, suspicion and anger, among the local populace.
Barakpora came as the third incident in a chain of tragic events, beginning with the massacre of 35 Sikhs in Chattisinghpora on March 20, even as US President Bill Clinton was visiting India. Since this was the first time that Sikhs as a community were targeted in the state, the incident created widespread revulsion and unease. Things didn’t end there. What seemed to give new life to lurking doubts was the claim made in Pathribal five days later that the Army and police have nabbed and eliminated five foreign mercenaries involved in the murder of the Sikhs. These were quickly perceived as crude encounter deaths involving local people. It was the abject failure of the authorities to act in the first place that set the fuse on fire. Therefore, the state government’s decision to ask Justice Pandian to inquire into the Chattisinghpora massacre would seem the logical thing to do, given the links between this event, the killing of five civilians at Pathribal and the Barakpora firing. Although it sometimes raisespolitical temperatures to get to the truth, it has its dividends. Terrorism cannot be fought by the Army and police indulging in excesses but by a system that is seen to be scrupulously fair because fighting the terrorist also involves winning the local people to the cause.
