Terrorists execute first Sikh massacre in Kashmir Valley, signal fresh ethnic cleansing

Months before Bill Clinton formally announced his trip to India, intelligence agencies had predicted some "spectacular action" by the militants in Jammu and Kashmir to coincide with a possible visit by the US President. The state's beleaguered people, still recovering from the bloodiest winter in living memory, were fearing a bitter spring.The apprehensions proved chillingly correct. On the night of March 20, hours before Clinton was to be given a ceremonial welcome in Delhi, terrorists snuffed out 35 people in Chithisingh Pora, the largest Sikh inhabitation in Anantnag district in south Kashmir.Even in a state inured to selective killings of the minority Kashmiri Pandits, this fresh carnage caused a shock. It was the first time that the Sikh community had been targeted by the Pakistani-backed terrorists.In a deathly game of subterfuge, the foreigner members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba who executed the massacre came dressed as Indian soldiers, complete with fake or stolen uniforms. They lined up the village folk for an "identification parade", sprinkled Hindi into their Urdu conversation and even shouted a mock "shoot order" at two Muslim boys working with local Sikh drivers.Farooq is under pressure to ensure the safety of the minorities in Kashmir.In a village where Hizbul Mujahideen militants have been known to hide, such searches were nothing new. What was new was the sudden gunfire from the "soldiers", amid cries of "Bharat Mata ki jai" and "Jai Bajrang Bali". Having done their deed, the killers slipped into the darkness. "They did everything to portray themselves as armymen but their overkill was a dead giveaway," says Anantnag police chief Farukh Khan. "Unlike the local militants, foreign mercenaries never cover their faces while striking at soft targets."The police say a 40-member Laskhar team is behind the massacre. Aided by Hizbul militants, they had even carried out a recce of the village two days before the event and identified escape routes."We were taken in by the militants' deception," is all Darbari Singh can say. He lost eight family members in an action that may signal Part II of the ethnic cleansing of the Valley. Over the past decade, more than three lakh Kashmiri Pandits have been forced out of their homeland by the violent secessionists.Now the one-lakh-strong Sikh community is under threat. Says DGP Gurbachan Jagat: "The incident is a clear indicator of the militants' plan to turn Kashmir into a single-religion entity."Splattered PastAs terrorism intensified in Kashmir in the past one year, civilians continued to be soft targets for militants.February 20, 1999: 20 Hindus killed in three separate incidents in the Valley. Four killed in Moraputta in Rajouri, nine at Bariyara in Udhampur and seven at Bilala in Rajouri.June 20, 1999: 15 Hindu labourers killed in Anantnag.July 19, 1999: 15 Hindus shot dead in Layata in Doda.February 28, 2000: Five Hindu truck drivers killed near Qazigund.March 20, 2000: 35 Sikhs massacred by militants masquerading as Indian soldiers in Chithisingh Pora.The Sikhs are now the only sizeable, and visible, minority community in the Valley. In the 11 years since militancy fired its first shots, the community has bought its peace with the terrorists by overtly sympathising with them or staying neutral. Even in remote rural pockets they have been safe, unlike the clear and present danger to, say, the 3,000 Kashmiri Pandits living in high security zones in Srinagar.Intelligence agencies had not discounted the possibility of militants killing Muslims and blaming the Indian Army for the act. The killing of Sikhs, however, was beyond all calculation. For militants, Sikhs were a soft and high-impact target. Says IG (Operations) P.S. Gill: "The Sikh killings were seen by militants as a novelty. The immediate aim was to throw the Government into a crisis during the US President's visit."Despite PTV propaganda, the terrorists' ruse didn't work. In the Valley, and especially among Kashmiri Sikhs - who have been pouring into Chithisingh Pora shouting anti-Pakistan slogans - there is no doubt as to who is culpable. The larger import of the incident, that it aims at causing confusion, fear and migration, is not lost on the locals. Village elder Jaswant Singh says, "We are next on Pakistan's hit list." No wonder then that Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, on directions of the Union Home Ministry, has identified 110 Sikh-inhabited villages in the Valley and provided them extra security.Soft targets: Grieving relatives with the dead bodies of the victimsThe Government is toying with arming Sikh civilians in vulnerable area, a precursor to setting up village defence committees on the lines of those in Jammu. However, Sikhs themselves are chary about taking up arms. "It's like inviting sure death," says Gurbir Singh of Anantnag. Even security officials wonder at the Sikhs' capability to fight back given their thin and scattered presence in the Valley.The bloodbath in Chithisingh Pora has only made life more difficult for the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. Already hardpressed for men and resources, they are facing problems safeguarding even their own establishments from fidayeen (suicide) squads. Hours after the Sikh massacre, militants struck another audacious blow by attacking a BSF camp in Srinagar. The security camp had to be blasted to eliminate the two terrorists holed up inside.Not all the news has been made though. Till even two years ago, the security forces were suffering heavy casualties, losing eight men for every terrorist killed. Now the casualty ratio is 1:1. With foreign mercenaries now forming the bulk - up to 70 percent - of active militants, the strategy has also shifted. Grim End: A victim on his final journeyBy mounting targeted operations against local militants, the forces aim to demolish the support structure of foreign mercenaries. "Once their logistic support is cut off, the foreign mercenaries would be like fish out of water," says DIG (Kashmir) K. Rajendra Kumar.For the first time, the authorities have drawn up a list of 152 local militants - categorised as types A, B, C - and put a price tag on their heads. Eighty of the 115 militants killed since January 1, have been locals, 21 of them top grade.However, the ISI has not been inactive and is again playing the religious card to lure another generation of youth into its deathly embrace. "The ISI is making an intelligent mix of money and motivation to rope in jihadis," says a police officer, "At every kill, security forces find foreign mercenaries loaded with religious literature."Given all this, security forces admit they have far from recaptured their grip on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Despite 1,100 terrorists having been killed in 1999, the messengers of mayhem will be back as the snows melt on the LoC. "There are at least 3,000 Pakistan-trained militants spread all along LoC," says Jagat, "waiting for the first chance to infiltrate. We expect a hot summer ahead."To the bereaved families of Chithisingh Pora, this nightmare prediction is already a reality. To their Sikh and other Indian brethren in the Valley, the present is tense - and the future looks imperfect.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Apr 3, 2000 00:00 IST--- ENDS ---

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Terrorists execute first Sikh massacre in Kashmir Valley, signal fresh ethnic cleansing

They came wearing Indian Army uniforms. But the terrorists who executed the first Sikh massacre in the Valley signalled a fresh ethnic cleansing.

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