19th January 2025 – It has been 35 years since the dreaded day of Kashmiri Hindu exodus which made hundreds of thousands homeless. This exodus of Kashmiri Hindus, followed by brutal killings of men, women and children of all ages, was led by local Islamist and religious fundamentalists who were radicalized and funded by Pakistan.
After the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A in August 2019, the situation bettered and the terrorism activities in Kashmir slowed down substantially in the subsequent years. Although, there was an uneasy silence in the valley, the hope for Hindus to return to their homes got re-ignited.
The past year was, however, a challenging year for the Indian security agencies in the region. Pakistan has been able to re-establish contact with its network of sleeper cells and the peace in the region is yet again un-stable. Its intent to disrupt the democratic process via increased terrorism activities could easily be deduced by the recent developments that took place in Kashmir.
After Omar Abdullah took back office as the Chief Minister in October last year, the region saw a sudden spurt of terrorist incidents. In less than 3 weeks of the establishment of the new government, eight places in Kashmir became the target of terrorism.
As per a report published by South Asia Terrorism Portal, a total of 31 civilians and 26 security personnel were killed in terror attacks in 2024. The killings of civilians have almost tripled since 2023 and most of these civilian casualties were of non-locals. A total of 69 terrorists were eliminated by the security agencies.
Update in Modus Operandi
A short period of peace began after August 2019 and the democratic process was observed and welcomed by the international community during multiple visits to Kashmir. Due to heightened security, attempts to radicalize and recruit terrorists stalled intermittently.
Over time, Pakistan has updated its modus operandi as well. It is now using social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Telegram and dark web to radicalize and stays connected with its sleeper cells. A Times of India report dated November 10, 2024 said, “An analysis by the agencies here of anti-India activities across identified Pakistan and PoK-based terror-linked accounts on platforms like Facebook, X, Telegram, Dark Web, etc., revealed over ‘posts of concern’ in the past month alone (Oct-Nov), as against 89 during the corresponding period of 2023. This translates to a more than 22-fold rise.”
Pakistan has been able to establish virtual terrorist groups which have successfully carried out terror attacks on civilians and security agencies.
Road Ahead
As Kashmiri Hindus recall today the atrocities they went through over three decades back in their own homeland, the recent terrorist activities show that they may not be able to return to their homes anytime soon. For them “Dilli abhi bahut dur hai (दिल्ली अभी बहुत दूर है)”.
