The Wani trigger
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, warning that “people should be ready to resist conspiracies which are aimed at changing the demography of Kashmir”.
Under pressure, Mehbooba put the plans on hold. She also shelved the Mufti’s new industrial policy that offered land on long lease to industrialists not belonging to the state. J&K law does not permit those who do not belong to the state, either by birth or ancestry, to own land. Sayeed’s policy had been pilloried by separatists as another attempt to bring a large number of workers from outside the state to alter its demography. The protests were a dampener for industrialists, who were anyway concerned about the security situation.
By June, security forces began warning both the state and central governments that the situation in the Valley was simmering and could boil over. Lt General Satish Kumar Dua, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 15 Corps, which guards the Valley, said his troops had been reporting a new trend of locals assembling in large numbers during operations to trap militants, breaking the security cordon and even attacking forces. He said a stern warning had to be issued that if people tried to disrupt an operation, the army would be compelled to take “appropriate action” against them. Even before Burhan Wani was killed, the unrest was building. Security sources say that Wani’s encounter had not been planned. They were going after another key militant, Sartaj Shaikh, and had no information that Wani was in the hideout with him. It was only when they attacked the hideout and killed three militants that they recognised Wani as one of them. Pictures of Wani were then sent on WhatsApp to experts in Srinagar to confirm if it was him. The security forces always had contempt for Wani, who was seen as more of a social media tiger than a real threat. Though he was a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Wani had not gone abroad for training and was considered a novice and a show-off.
The state and central security apparatus had not anticipated the blowback Wani’s killing would cause. They were astonished at the large turnout for his funeral in his hometown, Tral—some papers reported that over two lakh had attended. Meanwhile, the PDP and other political parties started a blame game over whether Wani was killed in the encounter or shot dead after being captured. That demoralised the security forces, who had regarded the strike as a job well done.
Fearing trouble, the state and central police forces tightened security around Srinagar and across major highways. They had not anticipated the size of the protests, their spread and their targets. Most of the protests came from south Kashmir, the bastion of the PDP. Instead of large towns, mobs began to strike in small settlements and at the taluka level. The mobs attacked and burnt down about 50 police outposts and sub-divisional courts.
Equally surprising was younger boys and girls, between 14 and 20, coming out in large numbers and pelting
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stones at security forces. Police claimed they were led by hardened militants who also threw grenades and opened fire. Faced with the violence, police resorted to firing non-lethal pellets. That was when many of the protesters were injured in their eyes. The actual number of people who lost their sight is much smaller than has been claimed—five people are reported to have lost their vision in both eyes and 15 were blinded in one eye. Meanwhile, militant groups blocked all entry and exit points in villages. Forget local officials, even MLAs could not visit their constituencies. Realising that the situation was getting out of hand, Modi did two things. He dispatched Rajnath again to the Valley to literally hold Mehbooba’s hand and give her all the support she needed. Modi also convened an all-party meet to discuss Kashmir and come up with a united action plan to stem the crisis.
The unflappable Rajnath proved a perfect foil for Mehbooba’s nervy outbursts. He refused to use a helicopter to visit the affected places and went by car to signal that he was confident of the ability of the security forces. The home minister put aside protocol to jointly address a press conference at Mehbooba’s residence (there was some effort to hold it at a neutral house next to the chief minister’s residence but when they discovered it was the disused Hari Niwas—a building cursed by the local