Pilgrims as target

July is a month of anxiety in Jammu and Kashmir, not just for the administrators in charge of the Amarnath yatra, but for the state and Central governments. The pattern of terrorist violence in the state clearly suggests that terrorists seize every opportunity to target the pilgrim and that this is not, by any means, a casual strategy. It is important for the Indian state and citizens to understand the cold-blooded rationale behind such acts, so that they can respond to them more effectively.

First, pilgrims are easy targets. Since pilgrimages to the Vaishno Devi temple and the Amarnath shrine involve such large numbers, it is virtually impossible to secure the safety of each and every participant. Monday8217;s strike, for instance, took place just outside the facility where meals were being provided to devotees and, around this same time last year, there was a grenade attack on a taxi carrying pilgrims in Anantnag. For the terrorists, therefore, 8220;success8221; is almost assured. Second, it is an effective way of creating communal polarisation, something that terrorist outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba constantly attempt to do because every strike then has the multiplier effect of causing tension not just in the immediate area but in other parts of the country as well. Third, such attacks help to drive a wedge between the Jammu region and the Valley, which is again an outcome that is considered eminently desirable by these desperate men. What gives an added incentive to such a project is the fact that the Centre and state governments have both been working to ensure that the dividends of peace are reaching the people and nothing illustrates this better than the current season, which saw an unprecedented influx of tourists to the state.

It is, therefore, very much a contest of wills that is being played out in J038;K. The will of terrorist outfits 8212; many of which are based across the border 8212; to create widespread mayhem and further their nefarious cause, and the will of the Indian state to defeat this project, even as it does its utmost to protect the citizen. The response of both state and Central leaders to the latest tragedy, therefore, was the correct one. Minister of state for home, Swami Chinmayanand, made the right connections between the blasts and the attempt to communalise the situation during the Amarnath yatra and arrived at the right conclusion when he asserted that the 8220;peace process would continue8221;. The stepped up violence in the state 8212; within 12 hours of the attack on Vaishno Devi pilgrims, came the suicide strike at an army camp in Akhnoor 8212; indicates that this is an extremely crucial period when a peace process that promises so much lies in balance.