Social Impact Of Killings By Hybrid Militants
Parents Face Shame, Exclusion
What is the social impact of the acts of hybrid militants? What are the ripples being created within local communities in Kashmir after these acts of terror by the homegrown militants?
The following is the account of the shifts coming to the fore in Kashmir. As Shah Rukh Khan said in the Bollywood superhit Om Shanti Om, “Picture abhi baaki hai dost.”
At ground level in Kashmir, one can see among the common people a pattern of fatigue with violence. Social sanction to the terrorist belongs to the past now. It finds no place in the present. There is a clear pushback within Kashmir to acts of violence. The society is refusing to accept the killings as normal.
Families Of Killers Pushed To The Margins
The families of the hybrid militants or the terrorists are being pushed to the margins by the community. There is social disapproval for the heinous acts of terror carried out by these young killers. As a result, the families of these youth have to face shame in the society. They are not able to face the families whose member was killed by their son. They feel shame in even facing the larger community.
In the past, a family used to boast and be proud of the fact that one or more of its sons was a militant or an Over Ground Worker. This is not the case now.
Kashmir continues to be a deeply religious society, bound by the tenets of “being a good and godly human being” as shown the way by Islam. Parents of a hybrid militant are unable to come to terms with the shock that their son chose to become a killer. They are unable to accept that their son chose to take the life of a fellow man. They are unable to accept that as an Over Ground Worker, their son aided in the killing of an innocent human being.
Pakistan Is Honey-Trapping Kashmiri Boys
Why is it that most hybrid militants are boys who are not yet 18, or are close to this age? The reason is that as thought matures, the youngsters are able to comprehend the devious play by Pakistan’s terror handlers, and are instead focusing on building their lives and looking after their families.
In Kashmir, Pakistan is preying upon boys who are too young to comprehend the enormity of their actions. The Pakistan handlers of terror are radicalizing these mere teenagers by feeding into them notions of jihad. Kashmiri boys are being snatched from the loving folds of their families and indoctrinated into carrying out heinous acts of violence.
Why is it that the rite of passage into hybrid militancy is a killing or a grave act of terror? Why is it that the terror ecosystem supposedly gives a youth “respect” only after he carries out a murder?
Pakistan has deliberately romanticized the killings by these teenage killers so that they are never able to go back to the loving fold of their families. The terror handlers operate the strings from the back and push impressionable young boys into acts of severe violence. The boys kill and die. The terror handlers recruit new boys, while poor parents are left shocked and wounded for life.
Disapproval OF Killings Emerging In Kashmir Society
The Kashmiri society is now suffering violence fatigue. It wants a break from the spilling of blood. It wants the terror acts to end so that the children do not have to suffer the tragic consequences of conflict. There is increasing denunciation of violence and conflict within Kashmir.
But a peaceful Kashmir is not acceptable to Pakistan. The primary aim of Pakistan Army is to keep Kashmir destabilized. For this, it is important that Kashmiris are given the feel of a constant state of peril, so that life does not seem normal. The local youth initiated into militancy by Pakistan do not have the ability to face trained soldiers. Striking soft targets through pistol shootings is the easy option of them. Hence Pakistan has deepened the hybrid militant strategy in Kashmir.
What the youngster does not realize is that committing the act of murder is his limited utility to the terror networks run by Pakistan. After the youth commits even a single act of terror, he is identified and is on the radar of JK Police and the security agencies. Then it is impossible for him to go back to a life of normalcy.
The Pakistan Army is not interested in which particular youth carries out the murder. The most important thing is his Kashmiri identity. This is all that matters. The Kashmiri identity gives Pakistan the full space to keep making the claim that the “resistance” in Kashmiri is arising from the people. It is localized and homegrown.
The homegrown militant of Kashmir is so young that he is easily trapped in romantic notions of ‘religious war’ and ‘freedom’. Over the last few years, a pattern is visible. Poor, vulnerable teenagers are getting sucked into the vortex of violence.
Pakistan has no use for the young, thinking Kashmiri man who is able to clearly see that he needs to build his career to look after his family. All that Pakistan cares is that a Kashmiri must be old enough to squarely hold a pistol in his hand, take aim and shoot.
Pistols are small and potent weapons of violence. In terms of logistics, they are easy to smuggle, drop through drones, transport or hide. This is why Pakistan has chosen pistols as the chosen weapon of assault by hybrid militants in Kashmir.
Pakistan has lavishly funded outrage creators in countries across the world who keep up the chest-beating on Kashmir. Their role is to spin the tired old yarns over and over again.
Whatever the efforts made by Pakistan, what is happening at ground level is the real thing. The emerging realities of Kashmir demolish the claims made by Pakistan-sponsored spin merchants.
