KASHMIR SHOWS MIGRANTS THE WAY OUT
Riyaz Naikoo, the long-time Valley chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen, issued an audiotape in February 2019 warning of dire consequences if the Indian government tampered with Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional provisions. Naikoo had also issued the threat that all migrant labour and non-local businessmen must leave Kashmir immediately in such a situation. It was a big shift in the 30-year-old insurgency as the migrant workforce—a majority from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh—who arrive every year to take up jobs in the Valley were rarely targeted. They would live alongside the Kashmiri Muslims, who would rent out houses to them. This includes the vast tracts of land in the villages of south Kashmir, nestled in apple orchards and paddy fields, the area Naikoo hails from. The three killings since October 14—of truck driver Mohammad Sharief from Rajasthan, labourer Sehti Kumar from Chhattisgarh and fruit dealer Charanjeet Singh from Punjab—in south Kashmir’s twin districts Pulwama and Shopian have changed all that. In Shopian’s Trenz village, locals say the 41-year-old Singh had almost a decade-long association with them. He would come every year to procure fallen apples (C-grade); there had never been trouble before. He and associate Sanjay Kumar arrived late this year, since the harvest was delayed due to the prevailing uncertainty. On the evening of October 16, two gunmen descended on the village and rounded up the dozen-odd migrant labourers working with the duo. But they only shot Singh and Kumar. Kumar is battling for his life at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar. The killings have set off a wave of panic among the migrant
THE KILLINGS HAVE LED TO PANIC AMONG THE MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE VALLEY
population in the Valley, causing massive disruption to the apple trade. Dozens of non-Kashmiri truckers, who had come to transport the apples from south Kashmir, were taken to ‘safe zones’. Village interiors are now out of bounds and dedicated pick-up points have been established on arterial roads, where security forces and policemen are deployed. Growers say this has increased their costs as the produce has to be transported to these points. Shopian district development commissioner Mohammad Yasin Choudhary says it is a “stopgap arrangement”, and that normal trade will be restored soon. The district, with 26,231 hectares under apple cultivation, is known as the ‘apple bowl’ of the Valley. The J&K police has blamed the attacks on militants. A ‘Wanted’ poster has been put out with photos of alleged Hizbul Mujahideen militants Syed Naved Mushtaq (aka Naved Babu) and Rahil Magrey of Shopian. Naved is a former policeman who decamped with four rifles from Budgam and joined the Hizb in 2017. “This is being done to spread fear among the migrants,” says a top state official. “We have secured the areas to instil confidence and stop the migrant exodus.” But it may not be enough. In Srinagar, prominent Kashmiri handicrafts dealer Imtiyaz Ahmad says he called his embroidery unit workers after mobile services were restored on October 14. Like thousands of others, his 22 workers from Bihar had left in the aftermath of the state advisory on August 2. The unit has been idle since then. “My workers were willing to return on November 1 after I assured them they would be safe. But after the attacks, they called and expressed reservations,” says Ahmad. In the Valley, many residents are now reluctant to rent out accommodation to non-locals. The abrogation of Article 370 has led to apprehensions that they may take over the property. “The government’s real agenda is a demographic change,” says a local in Srinagar’s Hawal neighbourhood, better known as ‘Bihar chowk’ for being a migrant hub. The insecurity is palpable, many residents say they won’t let out their premises anymore.