The fact that Pakistan-based terrorists are trying to infiltrate across the LoC, in the run-up to key panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir was only to be expected.

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Terrorism in the state has thrived on a cocktail of fear and anger amongst the local populace; and, should any attempt be made by the authorities, both state and Centre, to try and bring about a sense of normalcy, they act quickly to make sure it does not succeed.

From whipping up passions over the death of local poster-boy terrorist Burhan Wani in 2016 and rejecting then Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s call for a ceasefire during Ramzan, to the now recent events, terrorist groups are afraid that tranquility, peace and signs of normalcy, expressed through the ballot box, could begin to bring down hostilities. 

This is not just a concern for them but for Pakistan’s ISI and army, who also depend on anti-India sentiments to justify their funding, and their deep-seated need for revenge. Former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf, who masterminded the Kargil operation during a crucial period in India-Pakistan relations, stated that he believed in a “tit-for-tat policy”, and that Kargil was in response to India’s role in the creation of Bangladesh.

Musharraf did try and make peace with India later, but the fact of the matter is that even if he had succeeded, there would probably have been other sections in the army, which would have done their best to scuttle any deal with India.

It is not just deals; friendship with the “enemy” is also a no-no. Witness the treatment meted out to Lt Gen (retired) Asad Durrani. The fact that the former ISI chief was summoned to Pakistan Army’s GHQ soon after a book he co-wrote with his Indian counterpart, titled The Spy Chronicles was published, showed the army’s deep unease with the possibility of its role in fomenting trouble within India being made public. If this was done, their careful construct of India and the Indian Army as “enemies” would end.

As Chairman Mao Zedong pointed out in a famous quote, “To be attacked by the enemy is not bad thing but a good thing.” Why? Because it paints them as utterly black, without a single virtue, and draws a clear line of demarcation between “us” and “them.” Mao’s theory is relied upon time and again by the Pakistan’s ISI and Pakistan-based terrorists to provoke India into conflict. How else does one explain Kargil, Uri, Pathankot and other atrocities? They were clearly designed to provoke an angry mood within the nation and keep bids for peace at bay.

The good news in all this is that such strategies may keep the pot boiling but it hasn’t really changed local sentiment towards terrorists or terrorism. Despite exaggerations about the growing anger against the government and security forces, the fact of the matter is that the people of Kashmir are still very much with India. How else does one explain local participation in election after election? The ballot box is proof of that and may once again prove to be so.