Kashmir's Omar months

New Delhi: As the Centre tries to work out a package for Kashmiris up in arms against the army in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is under fire for failing to control violence which has claimed over 60 lives in the Valley.

When Abdullah, a scion of one of Kashmir’s most prominent political families, took over the reigns in January 2009 with unprecedented public support for the National Conference, he promised among other things, employment for the disillusioned youths of the state.

The 2008 Kashmir Election was a watershed moment for both the National Conference as well as for the people of Kashmir who came out in large numbers defying boycott calls by separatists to vote for the young leader who they hoped would usher in better times in the restive state.

However, the 18-month tenure in office of the 40-year-old leader has been pockmarked by incidents of violence. We take a look at some of the highs and lows during his stay in office:

January, 2009: Omar Abdullah was sworn in as the 11th Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in January 2009. Three days later, the army shot dead a 45-year-old deaf man who had come to Srinagar looking for a job for his adopted son, a few metres away from the Chief Minister’s residence. What appeared as a one-off incident soon set a trend for how things were to be in Kashmir over the next 18 months.

With a poll promise of generating employment in the state, Abdullah had the duty to his electorate clearly cut out. However, with repeated incidents of law and order violations arising out of sporadic street protests, Abdullah was fighting to better employ the state’s stretched police forces.

February, 2009: The army shot dead a father of four and resident of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Two other civilians were killed in Bomai in the same month. The Army claimed the two were killed in crossfire. Abdullah ordered a magisterial inquiry into the firing and set a 15-day deadline for submitting the report.

With growing incidents of the CRPF opening fire on civilians, the Abdullah government faced a growing murmur of dissent on the streets of Srinagar.

May, 2009: The bodies of two young women, Neelofar and Asiya, believed to have been gang raped before being murdered, were found in Shopian. This case is seen was the trial by fire for the new Abdullah government. Abdullah said the prima facie evidence did not confirm rape and no immediate FIR was lodged in this connection. People in the Valley took to the streets shouting anti-India slogans, accusing the government of trying to cover up the murders which the separatists accused the army of committing.

June – August, 2009: Abdullah appointed a commission headed by Justice Muzaffar Ahmad Jan to investigate the case. The panel submitted a 400-page report to the government, in which it called for more investigation into the role of security forces. The case was later handed to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

There was little respite for the Abdullah government as barely a month after the Shopian case, a sex scandal that rocked the Jammu and Kashmir government in 2006, resurfaced. The Opposition alleged that Abdullah’s name figured in the list of top bureaucrats and politicians accused of coercing minor girls into prostitution.

An emotional Abdullah submitted his resignation to Governor N N Vohra who rejected it.

Faced with severe criticism from opposition People’s Democratic Party, a rising threat of a radical anti-India sentiment growing from civilian deaths, and accusations of a disconnect with common people, Abdullah tried to put in place several welfare schemes in the state.

In a candid interview he said “I am a lousy politician,” and had failed to “sell himself” to the people of Kashmir while admitting to the need to spend more time in the field connecting with an electorate that voted him to power.

Fighting the disconnect with his electorate and struggling with a lethargic administration, Abdullah tried out schemes that would appeal to a people fed up with violence disruptive of their daily existence. Abdullah said he is keen to bridge what he calls the “trust deficit”.

The Sher-i-Kashmir Employment Welfare Programme for youth, Chief Ministers Grievance Cell and lok adalats for speedy redressal were part of his efforts to bridge a growing divide in the state.

He also fixed a timeline for implementing various programmes under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and promised 50,000 jobs to the youths in public services.

The various welfare schemes not withstanding, a stretched and edgy security force remained Abdullah’s main problem even as

insurgency went down in the state.

August – November, 2009: Abdullah sought a review of the Armed Forces Special Power Act in Kashmir, acknowledging the demands of an enraged section of the state to repeal what they call a draconian law meant for counter insurgency operations but used to detain political opponents and curb street protests.

As the situation remained tense in Kashmir, Abdullah, known for his personal style, posed for the cover of a popular men’s magazine.

December 2009 – Februray, 2010: The report of the fifth working group, on the restoration of autonomy in the state, is submitted to Abdullah. The autonomy debate heated up again and Abdullah submitted the report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. While the NC has traditionally favoured more decentralization of power, the report got mixed response from the Opposition which termed it as the NC’s election manifesto.

March, 2010: Over 35,000 troops had been reduced in the state in the past 15 months and the number of central paramilitary forces on internal duty reduced, Abdullah told the legislative assembly. The Opposition and the separatists had been constantly campaigning for troop reduction in the state.

April – May, 2010: Tempers ran high in the Valley again as a new controversy on alleged fake encounter killings by the army hit the Abdullah government. The relatives of three villagers accused the army informers of luring them out of their homes in exchange for a cash reward and shooting them down after labeling them as terrorists. The Abdullah government ordered a magisterial probe but the fissure of deep distrust in the armed forces had started to show.

June – July, 2010: A new phenomenon of stone pelting and arson continued unabated in the state, especially after a 17-year-old boy was killed in firing in Srinagar. The government failed to control street protests. An unprecedented number of civilians were killed in police firings.

In what is seen as a spot on the Abdullah government’s credibility, the Army is called in to control the situation in Kashmir Valley.

Union Home Secretary GK Pillai reviewed the situation as violent protests continued. A flag march by the Army in Srinagar and a high level meeting at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence showed the centre was making it very clear that it was alarmed by the sudden escalation in violence in the Kashmir Valley. Separatist leaders were put under house arrest and the government invoked the Public Safety Act to control a situation that was fast spiraling out of control.

August – September, 2010: Curfew was re-imposed in Kashmir Valley in August after four civilians were killed in police firing. The Valley flared up once again as people demanded the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act that gave the army sweeping powers in curbing insurgency. Residents accused the army of using the special law to clamp down on street protests.

Barely two years in office, Omar Abdullah is a man fighting to keep his job while trying to restore peace in the state. His appeal in the past to the Centre for help may be taken up for review by the government. But the question remains whether it will severely dent the trust of people in Abdullah’s ability and maturity to handle a crisis that seems to have no end in sight.