As Jammu sees terror push, hero of Hilkaka has a tip for govt: get people on your side

Now, in the 20th anniversary year of the Hilkaka operation, as the larger Jammu region faces an uptick in militant attacks – 10 soldiers were killed in two militant ambushes in the Rajouri-Poonch area in April and May this year, making this one of the deadliest years for the forces — the hero of Hilkaka, Tahir Fazal Hussain, a Gujar resident of the nearby Marrah village who led the civilian uprising against militant groups in the area, has a piece of advice for the government: get the local people on your side.

Overlooking the slopes of Hilkaka, near a memorial honouring soldiers and civilians who laid down their lives in battles against militants between 2002 and 2004, Hussain, now in his fifties and wearing an olive green salwar, a long full-sleeved shirt, and a baseball cap, tells The Indian Express, “My guess is that there are probably no more than 18 militants roaming the area, and perhaps only six are hardcore fighters. If we can’t handle these guys, then what is the point of the Rafales we just bought from France, or for that matter all our tanks, and firepower? If the local people are not on your side, then all that is useless, isn’t it?”

Tahir Fazal Hussain with his wife Munira Begum. Munira commanded the women’s wing of the Village Defence Committee. (Express Photo)

The memorial – at the entrance of the Kulali Army camp, which came up after the Hilkaka operation — has two life-size statues: one of a soldier and, the other, of Hussain.

Hussain says the government, intelligence agencies, and the forces are not reaching out to locals the way officials had done two decades ago. “Fighting is just two per cent of the job. Information is everything. And the (intelligence) agencies are not getting the right information because they are not making the effort to tap the right sources, and their approach to people is all wrong,” Hussain says.

Hussain, however, doesn’t fear a return to the time when Surankote had become a haven of Pakistani militants, who built shelters, a two-storeyed hospital and amassed stores to last months. That’s because, he says, “the Gujar remains a loyal Indian”.

He then strikes a note of caution – “but there are people in the community who are vulnerable to the enemy for various reasons”.

One of the reasons for this vulnerability, he says, is the “anti-Muslim sentiment that has taken hold of the country”, something the enemy is exploiting. “They (the enemy) are telling people here that the Hindutva guys will reconvert all Muslims here into Hindus,” he says.

Hussain at a memorial honouring soldiers and civilians who laid down their lies in battles against militants between 2002-2004. (Express Photo: Nirupama Subramanian)

Second, the proposed inclusion of the Pahadi community in the Scheduled Tribes category — a draft legislation now awaits parliamentary approval — has “created anger in the (Gujjar) community”, he says, adding that he himself led a march from his village against the government’s move.

And third, people were falling for the money the enemy was offering. “If we want to earn money now, these guys can send us to Paris. That’s how much they are offering. They are paying by the hour,” he says.

Drug smuggling is a huge source of money for the militants, Hussain says, adding, “It’s at the root of all the problems. In some villages along the border, you can get Pakistan telecom signals. Some people who fall prey to the militants are given SIMs, all they have to do is keep their phones with that SIM at a pre-arranged place. The drone follows the signals and drops the contraband. After that, the guy’s job is just to drop it off at the next point, and then someone else transports it further to the dealer.”

Hussain recalls how he returned from Saudi Arabia in June 2002, leaving behind his job as a supervisor at a marble workshop where he earned Rs 50,000 a month, to avenge the death of his brother at the hands of the Lashkar-e-Toiba militants.

The incident, he says, was triggered by the rape of a woman in the village, allegedly by militants. Hussain says his brother, a religious leader in the village, confronted the LeT commanders about the rape. The rapist was identified by the victim and later killed, but Hussain says that for the militants, his brother became a marked man — he was beaten to death with sticks.

Hussain soon joined the Village Defence Committee (VDC) as a special police officer (SPO) for Rs 1,500 a month. “I knew I needed an AK 47 to take on the militants; without becoming an SPO, I could not get an AK,” he says, recalling that within a month of returning home, he shot dead the militant who led the attack on his brother.

Drug smuggling is a huge source of money for the militants, Hussain says. “It’s at the root of all the problems.” (Express Photo: Nirupama Subramanian)

Soon after, he and others in the village formed the “Pir Panjal Scouts” under the banner of “Jammu Peace Mission”. It worked alongside the J&K Police and the Army. Many village men who worked alongside Hussain in Saudi Arabia responded to his call and returned home to take part in the fight. A VDC was formed with a women’s wing, with Hussain’s wife Munira Begum its commander.

“We villagers fought shoulder to shoulder with the Army,” he says. The Hilkaka operation followed in April-May the following year.

“The village lost 14 fighters in those two-three years, but we killed over a 100 militants 2002 onwards, and continue to eliminate them even after the main operation ended in May 2003 (65 is the official number of militants killed in Operation Sarp Vinash). Only 87 bodies of the militants were found, and I stood adamant that the bodies of 14 Lashkar militants should not be given a burial after the zulm (atrocity) they had carried out in my village. I told the authorities that I did not care if their corpses were eaten by dogs, but they should not find their final resting place in my Jammu & Kashmir,” he said. In all, 45 villagers in Marrah, Kulali and Hilkaka were killed by the militants between 2002-2004.

Hussain says he recently went to Gursain, the village that came under the scanner after the militant ambush on the truck at Bhatta Durian that killed five soldiers, to speak to the villagers there.

“One guy told me, Tahir, you put us on a pedestal and took away the ladders. I asked them, ‘Tumhara dimagh kharab ho gaya hai (have you lost your mind)? If you have to live here, you have to remain loyal to this country. Hindustan hi sabse badhi seedi hai tumhare liye. Governments may come and go, but Hindustan kahin nahin ja raha (India will stay)’,” says Hussain.