Author: Prakriiti Gupta in Jammu
Publication: Organiser
Date: May 14, 2006
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=130&page=12#1
Introduction: Plans to gift Siachin to Pakistan
Jammu: Thirty-eight-year old Gilo Devi is
fighting a battle for survival at Jammu hospital ignorant of the fact that
she is a widow and also lost her daughter. Her three-month old son cries bitterly
looking for mother piercing the deadly silence of ICU unit of hospital. She
is one of the victims who fell to the bullets of Islamic terrorists who perpetuated
a naked dance of death killing at least 38 Hindus at two separate places in
Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan supported Lashkar-e-Tayyaba terrorists brutally
killed 22 Hindus in Panjoli and Thava hamlets of Kulhund village in Doda,
about 200 km from Jammu. Eight others were seriously wounded.
A day prior to this carnage, gun trotters
had abducted 18 cattle grazers in Lolan Galla in Basnatgarh area of neighbouring
Udhampur district. Since two of them being Muslims were freed, bodies of 13
Hindus were found in nearby forests, three are still missing.
The slaughter of Hindus by Pakistan supported
Islamic militants in Jammu and Kashmir is not recent phenomenon. They have
killed over 350 of them in separate incidents. And more importantly, the recent
killings happen when Congress led government both at Centre and state are
claiming normalcy and change of hearts of Pakistan and Islamic separatists
in Jammu and Kashmir.
Recalling the harrowing incident, Gian Chand,
another victim at hospital said that the entire village was asleep when at
around 11.30 pm, a group of armed men in guise of Indian security personnel
donning olive uniforms knocked at doors asking them to assemble at local sarpanch
house for a matter of immediate concern. The Sarpanch Gopi Chand, however,
has died in the shooting. "As we started assembling there, they lined
us up and began shooting for over five minutes. Many fell on ground with blood
oozing out of chest, screams filled the surroundings," said Gian Chand.
The last biggest massacre of Hindus in the
state was executed in Shopian in Pulwama district in 2003 when 24 Kashmiri
Pandits were massacred in dark of night.
Ironically, the gruesome act has happened
in home district of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who was voted to state
Assembly through record voting percentage of 76 only few days back through
support of Hindus who comprise nearly fifty per centage population of Doda
district.
Azad appealed to the state's Muslim clerics
to issue a "fatwa" against militants but six days after the attack,
none has done so. Meanwhile, Intelligence sources have stated that wireless
intercepts of militants in the past few weeks were already indicating that
militants could execute some major carnage since they were getting such orders
from their mentors across the border. Both military intelligence and internal
security agencies say infiltration this April has been higher than that in
the same month last year. Military sources say that at least 1200-1400 are
present in Pir Panjal heights of Jammu and Kashmir despite the fact that Indian
government officially claim that infiltration levels on borders is almost
zero. Even on carnage night, security forces had foiled infiltration bid near
Line of Control in Sawjian area of Poonch district killing one militant.
The infiltration is expected to rise further
since this is the time the snow melts in high mountain passes. The survivors
of the Doda massacre have threatened to migrate from this hilly hamlet if
they are not provided with weapons to defend themselves from terrorists. There
are 512 families in the Kulhund and Tharva hamlets of Doda district. There
are already hundreds of Hindus who are living in shelter camps in Udhampur
district following massive killings of Hindus in 1996-2000 in Doda district.
Many of them have sold off or mortgage their children to support families.
Hindus have rebuffed militant attacks on several
occasions in past as part of local Village Defence Committee (VDC) members
acting as first line of security and spying for Indian security agencies in
remote mountainous Doda region. Doda was the first district in Jammu and Kashmir
where the concept of VDC was introduced. People of remote villages were armed
with weapons, mostly .303 rifles, to defend themselves. Deputy Commissioner
G.A. Qureshi, however, said "no migration has taken place from anywhere
in the area. People have come here to put forth their demand before the district
administration." Massive operations are on to track down the militants
responsible for the act, Doda SSP P R Manhas said. Several Hindus protested
at Ramlila ground Doda shouting slogans against Home Minister Shivraj Patil
for not visiting them. Rakesh Kumar, who lost his brother in the May 7 terrorist
attack, says: "We do not want to live here with a permanent scare and
a feeling of insecurity. A police post would not suffice and we need weapons
to defend ourselves."
Meanwhile, state RSS chief Prof K.L. Bhatia
and BJP chief Nirmal Singh strongly condemning the killings of Hindus said
that it indicates towards total collapse of the coalition-led government's
administration in the state. BJP president Raj Nath Singh who was during his
tour of Jammu and Kashmir when carnage occurred has sought governor rule in
the state due to failure of ruling government to provide security to innocent
civilians. He also asked the Central Government to tell Hurriyat in clear
terms that no talks would be held with them until they stop demanding inclusion
of Pakistan in talks. The killings also raise questions over the peace process
that is being currently followed in Jammu and Kashmir underlining the fact
that militants rule roost in state. It must be mentioned that Prime Minister,
Manmohan Singh, is likely to visit Srinagar later this month to attend second
roundtable conference of Kashmir.