Objective To Provoke Violence, Create Victimhood Narratives
Since January this year, terrorists have targeted more than 17 people. The members of minority community have been targeted as part of a deliberate strategy of the terrorists to create fear and panic among them, and to stop the influx of the exiled minority community back into the valley.
On Wednesday, a non-local bank manager was shot dead by a terrorist in Kulgam in the second targeted attack on Hindus in the Valley in three days.
A terrorist entered the Areh branch of Elaqahi Dehati Bank and shot Vijay Kumar, the bank manager. CCTV footage shows the killer entering the branch, firing a shot and fleeing. The attack comes just two days after a Hindu teacher from Jammu, Rajni Bala, was killed by terrorists outside a school which was also in Kulgam.
I personally believe that behind the stratagem of attacking the members of minority community and non-locals, terrorists actually want that people in the mainland should respond to such mindless killings violently. The terrorists want that the people should target the Kashmiris. Their aim is to create a situation in the mainland where Kashmiri students and others are targeted. This way they want to weaponize the adversaries of the Indian state with the victimhood narrative.
It is feared that terrorists may target more non-locals. There are inputs that terrorists may particularly target Shri Amarnath Yatris in the coming days. The objective is to provoke the people in mainland to target Kashmiris.
Why has this kind of machination been devised by the terrorists? They are responding to an undercurrent in Kashmir. In recent times, the acceptability granted to violent means has gone down phenomenally. The larger majority of Kashmir, though silent, rejects the violence.
Terrorists and their sponsors have realized this. They want create a situation where people in Kashmir feel alienated from the mainland. For the terrorists, the only workable plot is that Kashmiris should be targeted in the mainland. They are constantly trying to provoke the people in the mainland towards this. We must understand the malicious designs of the terrorists and respond wisely in order to defeat them.
