J&K Governor Faces His Toughest Challenge in Last Innings
THE WIRE
July 19, 2018
N.N. Vohra is an old hand on Kashmir, but civilian killings and endless cycle of protests will not make it easy for him to handle the situation. In the first 29 days of his rule, 12 civilians have already been killed.
On July 11, J&K governor N.N. Vohra cleared a long pending demand of state employees for removal of pay anomaly, an issue hanging fire for 22 years. Within minutes of the clearance, which would benefit thousands of employees from clerical cadre and other categories, the civil secretariat in Srinagar burst into jubilation.
This was one of many “pro-people decisions” taken by Vohra since he took charge of the state on June 20, following the demise of the PDP-BJP government. His twitter handle has already become a hit among people to register complaints and seek redressal.
In one such case, the governor sought a detailed report about allegations of corruption against former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and former speaker Kavinder Gupta.
The challenge for Vohra, however is not with governance, where he has proved himself a no-nonsense administrator. Instead, putting an end to civilian killings during anti-militancy operations and calming down anger on streets would be the biggest test for Vohra in what could be his last inning in the restive state.
A former civil servant who has served as defense and home secretary, Vohra was New Delhi’s interlocutor for Kashmir when he was recalled and appointed as J&K governor in June 2008. The Valley had erupted, in what is now known as the first mass uprising in the region, against transfer of 100 acres of forest land to Amarnath Shrine Board.
The moment he sat on the saddle, Vohra emerged as crisis manager and gave up claim on the land. That summer was marred by violence – at least 60 civilians who were demanding the order be rescinded were killed by forces.
The possibility of holding Assembly polls, after PDP had brought down Ghulam Nabi Azad-led government over the land row, looked distant. But Vohra, who managed the state for 178 days, conducted the election within months, taking even politicians by surprise.
His second stint came in 2015, when assembly elections threw up fractured mandate and it took PDP and BJP three months to finalise an alliance. He was back at helm of affairs in January 2016 following death of former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.
82-year old Vohra, who was recalled from retirement to serve as principal secretary to then prime minister from 1997-1998, was set to complete his second term as governor on June 28 when the Mehbooba Mufti-led government’s fall brought him back into the limelight.
An old hand on Kashmir, he emerged as the ultimate choice for New Delhi to oversee its rule in the state. “But this (stint) could prove to be the biggest challenge for him (the governor) compared to his previous terms,” said political analyst Noor M. Baba.
In 2008, the cancellation of land order gave people a “sense of victory” which calmed down nerves, he explained. During his next two stints, Vohra was a “caretaker” before a political establishment assumed office.
But today, as J&K stares at a longer period of governor’s rule, there seems to be no imminent end to the deadly cycle of protests, which has continued even two years after killing of rebel commander Burhan Wani and killing of civilians at sites of gunfight.
“These protests are in fact a continuation of the 2016 uprising which doesn’t seem to have ended at all. The civilian deaths are only adding to the anger. That is where the challenge lies for the governor,” said Baba.
In the first 29 days of Vohra’s rule, at least 34 persons including 15 militants, 12 civilians and seven jawans have been killed, according to a report in Rising Kashmir newspaper.
Two days after the state came under the governor’s rule, a civilian Muhammad Yusuf Rather was killed while his wife seriously injured. The couple was hit by bullets inside their house in Srigufwara village of Anantnag, minutes after a shootout between militants trapped inside the house and government forces started. Locals had alleged that the duo was not given time by the forces to exit.
Three civilians – including a teenage girl – were killed on July 7 after an Army patrol opened fire when it was confronted by protesters in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
The same evening, the governor chaired an emergency meeting of top officials from security agencies and reiterated that all forces strictly follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to avoid civilian casualties.
But the killings have continued. 22-year old Khalid Gaffar Malik was the latest causality. A resident of Trehgam in Kupwara, Malik was killed on July 11 when the army opened fire after they were pelted with stones amid a shutdown against civilian killings called by separatists.
Malik’s elder brother Asif Ahmad is in the army, while two other brothers, Waseem Ahmed and Feroz Ahmad, are serving in the J&K police.
“These (civilian) killings are definitely regrettable. The governor has repeatedly directed for strict adherence to the SOP and avoiding collateral damage. But the manner in which protestors converge on the encounter site and clash with the forces, the situation becomes hostile,” said a senior bureaucrat in the governor’s team of administrators, in an apparent justification of the killings.
One of the reasons that were cited by BJP for pulling out of the J&K government was “deteriorating security situation” under the leadership of Mehbooba Mufti.
The Centre had asserted that under governor’s rule, focus would be to improve situation and provide “corruption free government”.
Political parties like National Conference and Congress had also hoped that change of guard would help “restore normalcy” in Kashmir to pave way for restarting political process afresh.
But there has hardly been any improvement in the situation. “It is true that people were expecting gradual improvement in situation under the governor’s rule. But we haven’t seen it so far, particularly in south Kashmir, where civilians are killed during encounters,” National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah told reporters on July 12 during a function in Srinagar.
He exhorted the governor to strengthen Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for forces to ensure that no protestor was killed at encounter sites. “Till the (civilian) killings are not stopped, situation will not improve,” Omar cautioned.
Post-2016 uprising, the valley has witnessed a sharp rise in civilian killings during clashes between forces and rebels at gunfight sites. From January 2017 alone, at least 108 civilians have died in such clashes.
“Kashmir has been witnessing unprecedented cycle of violence for past two-three years. At the same time, young boys are picking up guns, not afraid of death. People rush to the encounter site to try and save militants at the cost of their own lives. In such a situation, every civilian death will only keep this cycle of protests going,” said another political analyst.
According to him, though space for mainstream politics has “already shrunk” in the valley, absence of an elected government could “deepen alienation”.
In this scenario, will Vohra, with over a decade of experience in Kashmir, be able to meet the challenge?
“His track record is an advantage. But he is now working in a space where things have gone from bad to worse. Kashmir of 2018 is not Kashmir of 2008 and with the Centre in no mood to relent and start a Kashmir-specific political process, things may not be easy for him to handle this time,” said another bureaucrat who insisted on not being named.
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