Kashmir intifada? New view of India, Pakistan territory dispute.
| New Delhi
Indian analysts are starting to refer to the street violence gripping Kashmir as the 鈥淜ashmir intifada,鈥� a nod to the earlier uprisings of Palestinian stone-throwing youth against Israeli forces.
Tensions remain high in the Kashmir Valley, with the main city of Srinagar shut down today 鈥� a historical holiday known as Martyr鈥檚 Day 鈥� due to strikes and a reimposed curfew.
The use of the phrase intifada, which means uprising, highlights how the unrest in Kashmir has been led by rock-throwing boys, not the trained militants or political factions of the elder generation. It was that generation's earlier efforts that failed to end India's military presence in the disputed region along the 聽and Indian border where many Kashmiris simply want independence.
The root cause of boys throwing stones
Intifada聽also harks back to the cycle of violence unleashed in the Palestinian territories. The same dynamic has emerged in Kashmir this year: boys throw stones at security forces, those forces fire back and kill youths, protests start anew, more rocks are thrown, and more protesters are killed. In the past month alone, at least 15 people have died in the clashes.
鈥淲hat we are witnessing in certain areas of Jammu & Kashmir is the beginning of an intifada,鈥� writes B. Raman, former head of counterterrorism for India鹿s intelligence service, in India鹿s Outlook Magazine.
鈥淭he root cause is the growing perception among some sections of the youth that the security forces have been insensitive in performing their counter-insurgency duties and have been adopting objectionable methods 鈥� and using disproportionate force against the people.鈥�
The language has also been picked up by some of the Kashmiri separatist leaders, says Yusuf Jameel, a journalist based in Srinagar for the Asian Age newspaper. It reflects the changed nature of the current unrest 鈥� which he says started in 2008聽鈥� from the bloody insurgency of the 1990s.
Today's opposition in Kashmir
鈥淭he difference is that, in the 鈥�90s, you had people out in the streets, but at the same time you had militants fighting security forces, attacking them, exploding grenades, and things like that,鈥� says Mr. Jameel. Now, there is virtually no militant activity in the cities, 鈥渂ut on the other hand, you have crowds out on the street chanting slogans like 鈥榃e want freedom鈥� and 鈥業ndia get out.鈥� 鈥�
The crowds are larger, and from within those crowds emerge the boys who have made rock throwing a pastime, he says. He is open to the notion that the boys are being put up to it by opposition political leaders hoping to regain power. But ultimately, he says, getting a handle on the situation means addressing the longstanding political tensions over who should control the territory.
Crowd and youth control?
Mr. Raman and others argue that now is the wrong time to focus on that discussion. Since the immediate anger has to do with police tactics, the Indian government needs to implement better methods of crowd control, seriously investigate human rights violations, and reach out more to youths.
鈥淔irst of all, the government should try to contact the leadership of the teenage protesters about their grievances,鈥� says Balraj Puri, director of the Institute of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs. While their leaders and entire list of grievances remain unknown, he says, they have demanded the release of all youths as a condition for ending their movement.
鈥淎s far as 鈥楰ashmir intifada鈥� is concerned, there is no clear model for teenagers. They are groping for their way,鈥� says Mr. Puri. "Of course they are in touch with the events taking place elsewhere.
Raman uses the term intifada less in reference to the Israeli conflict and more to the vision of 鈥渏ihadi intifada鈥� outlined by Al Qaeda鈥檚 No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in 2007. Mr. Zawahiri, he says, called for 鈥渓eaderless street violence鈥� and a mixing of violent and nonviolent tactics.
Intifada's complicated association
Still, the term鈥檚 association with the Israel-Palestinian conflict raises some hackles when applied to Kashmir.
鈥淎t a factual level, I would obviously disagree with its application to Kashmir,鈥� says Sumit Ganguly, a professor at Indiana University at Bloomington. 鈥淭he Indian state has committed many sins, but it has legal standing in Kashmir and a moral and constitutional obligation to the non-Muslim population of the state.鈥�
There appears to be broad agreement among experts that the boys, for now, are not acting in concert with militants. Yet, much of the security apparatus in the state is focused on fighting insurgents, not managing protesters.
鈥淭he local police have focused on counter-insurgency duties over the last several years and can't cope with civilian mobs,鈥� writes Mr. Ganguly in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed.
He adds economic stagnation to the list of underlying grievances of the younger generation: 鈥淭he coalition state government has done little to attract investment into the troubled state. Kashmiris, especially young men, have limited employment opportunities.鈥�
For now, the economy has only worsened because of the violence. The valley is highly dependent on tourist dollars. The unrest has shuttered businesses in downtown Srinigar and scared off tourists from enjoying the mountain weather.
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