Arun Joshi
Sainik Colony, the yet-to-come-up enclave for ex-servicemen who are state subjects, is being seen as a challenge to the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. It has triggered rumours of facilitating non-local settlers, with the aim of outnumbering Kashmiri Muslims.

Protests against the proposed Sainik Colony for state subjects in Bandipora, north Kashmir. It is being seen as a ruse to alter the state’s demographic composition. Tribune Photo: Amin War

AN angry discourse in Kashmir over the proposed setting up of a “Sainik Colony”, a residential enclave, for the  ex-servicemen   of Jammu and Kashmir who are permanent residents is singeing the atmosphere at the start of the summer season. Whatever way this issue may be looked at, the core question is being deflected: Whether the  state subject ex-servicemen have a right to own a house or piece of land in the place where they were born and brought up? There is no law in the state constitution — Jammu and Kashmir has its own constitution — that bars any state subject from  having a house  or calling for a colony after retirement from the Army.  Separatists are playing an emotional card.It is part of the separatists’ agenda to project Kashmir as a land of troubles, where normalcy would remain a chimera unless  the K-issue is resolved on their terms. The deemed mainstream is faithfully obliging them to seek relevance  by reading from their script against the non-locals,  who are nowhere on the horizon in this issue. Kashmiris  get emotionally involved  with intensity when they  suspect that some wrong is being done to them even when it is not perceptible. And if the issue is taken  off  the radar, they feel that their narrative and protests have been able  to defeat the design  and claim  a victory  of sorts. Delhi, as always, is living in denial mode, overlooking the gravity of the situation. If 2010, when massive street protests and killings left Kashmir blood-soaked, is the reference year for peddlers of this “locals-versus-non-locals rhetoric”, then  difficult days are ahead. Kashmiri Muslims have a perennial sense of  victimhood — partly genuine and partly infused by the fear-instilling narrative of their leadership. Here is where the strategy of tapping  this emotive reservoir works .  The core idea is to take the populace further from the idea of India, which itself is fragmented the way it has been perceived in Kashmir  over the decades. The denial of justice in the absence of accountability and transparency for the wrongs committed in  the past have made them suspicious and contemptuous of each and every move. The proposed colony fits into this framework.An emotionally surcharged atmosphere keeps the conflict rolling. That is what the vested interests are seeking to achieve by attempting to provoke the street protests  against the colony,  which the state government has said, will not get any land. The doubters have not heeded the assurances given by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti that “no land will be given for the colony, though the state subject ex-servicemen had sought it.” Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah insists, “the colony is being set up  and it is  a ruse to settle non-locals.” He has accused the Chief Minister of telling lies. Mehbooba’s  retort is: “The proposal was mooted in 2012 when Omar was the Chief Minister.” The verbal duel is  continuing. This squabble is a delight for separatists who see “India conspiring against Kashmiri Muslims” in everything. There  was no need for  the mainstream to be apologetic, because the proposed colony is only for those holding  a Permanent Resident Certificate. The PRC or the state subject is a document given to those whose forefathers were born in the state and  automatically entitled to citizenship rights. That includes the right to buy immovable assets in this state.  This is hereditary. No outsider can become a state subject even if one has lived in the state for decades.   The two “mainstream” parties — the PDP and the National Conference  fear that they would get washed away once the floodgates of the reservoirs of emotions are opened into streets of Kashmir. Omar has seen that in 2010, when he was the Chief Minister. More than 120 youth were killed and he has not been able to overcome the impact of that year. Mehbooba Mufti doesn’t want a repeat.A toxic narrative of India seeking to “change the demographic composition,” is a favourite with the separatists and some of their self-appointed cheerleaders. Generating hatred against India is in the core. The “mainstream”, out of sympathy with the issue or due to the compulsion of surviving against these odds, willingly surrenders its stated positions in an attempt to be seen as part of the excessively  Kashmir-centric and religious narrative. The monster of unemployment has  driven  thousands of  Kashmiri youth to seek enrolment in the Army. Once that happens, they and their families become the targets of  militants. A number of ex-servicemen have been killed over the years.  Most of the ex-servicemen live in villages and don’t have individual security for their homes. That is why they wanted to have a residential enclave that would offer them a sense of security.  Shockingly, the yet-to-come-up colony is seen as a  challenge to the special status of  Jammu and Kashmir. It has triggered rumours of non-local settlers outnumbering Kashmiri Muslims in their own land.  Examples of Israeli settlements in Gaza and West Bank of Palestinian territories are cited to reinforce the fear-mongering discourse. Since 1990, the term “non-local” has assumed a different definition. It is evident from the mounting opposition to return of Kashmiri Pandit migrants (original natives of the Valley) and settling them in proposed safe zones. The migrants are being told repeatedly, “You are welcome (to the Valley) only if you return to your neighbhourhood (from where they were uprooted in 1989-1990 when radicalism surged in Kashmir)”. It is a sugar-coated warning on the “welcome” signboard.Muslims losing their majority is a time-tested theory which the separatists leadership applies, mostly at the onset of summer to  summon  youth to protest in streets — disrupting studies, destroying the income  of the daily earners, scaring away tourists  and injecting political instability. All these serve the vested interests and show the Indian nation in a poor light. Right-wing demagogues from the cow belt, having no idea about the sensitivities  of Kashmir, jump in. They speak in the language  that gives Kashmir a reason to resist the flamboyant “Indian-ness”. Mehbooba and others are  also unhappy. She had recently made it clear that any challenge or perceived challenge to the special status of the state, results in difficulties and peace, that is more important than anything else, is threatened.  This kind of more-patriotic-than-thou utterances causes trepidation  in Kashmir.  Such rabble-rousers help the secessionists to gain credence. Conciliation, not confrontation, works in sensitive areas. Nowhere in the proposal is there a mention of non-state subject, but the opponents  point out that there also is no mention that the colony would be exclusively for the state subject ex-servicemen.  As of now, the proposed colony seems out of question. So, where do  the ex-servicemen go? Should they shift to places outside the Valley or the state? The agenda of weeding out the state subject ex-servicemen from Kashmir would then have been accomplished. This also serves to dampen the sprits of all those who stand or intend to stand in queues to be recruited in the Army.  Unemployment will rise and that is a recipe for more trouble and the idea of India is under threat of being consumed. 

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