Heavy troops redeployment sets rumour mills agog in J&K

◗ RUMOURS purport the scenic Muslim majority Valley is being bifurcated and one part of it (volatile south Kashmir districts) may be merged with predominantly-Hindu Jammu region to ‘weaken its political strength’ and ‘dilute its population’s voting power’

Thousands of Central armed police forces personnel with weapons and other riot control gear were over the past few days moved into Jammu and parts of Kashmir Valley in sequential convoys of lorries, setting rumour mill agog in the Union Territory (UT).

Many people, continuously the third day Monday, took to social media platforms to speculate or ask each other what was in store for the erstwhile state and its people. Some, not knowing exactly what the influx of uniformed men was meant for, were yet unanimous in perceiving

that in Kashmir rumours “are never unfounded”.

They argued that until a few hours of the Centre’s stripping J&K of its special status and splitting it up into two UTs on August 5, 2019, the authorities would deny any such plan was in the pipeline and had termed rumours which purported precisely what unfolded on that fateful day as “mischief of trouble-mongers”. The then governor of J&K, Satya Pal Malik, had publicly feigned ignorance of any such move being in the BJP government’s kitty.

The rumours, which have been swirling from Jammu to Srinagar to Kargil and Leh but have taken over vast sections of population mainly in Kashmir, purport the scenic Muslim majority Valley is being bifurcated and one part of it (volatile south Kashmir districts) may be merged with predominantlyHindu Jammu region to “weaken its political strength’ and “dilute its population’s voting power”.

Even some political leaders of the Valley have raised their concerns in the face of massive troops’ build-up and said it might be a prelude to some major move on J&K by the Centre.

The authorities are maintaining a complete silence on these wild rumours but have confirmed the arrival of Central armed police and paramilitary forces in sizable numbers in the twin regions of the UT. At the same time, they are maintaining that these security personnel are those who were moved out of J&K in the Fall 2020 and early this year for election duties in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and other states.