Caught between militancy and state, Palhalan village in J&K remains trapped in time...Thirty kilometres from Srinagar, on the highway to Baramullah, lies the village ofPalhalan which is perhaps typifies how militancy and a struggle for independence has resulted in isolation, underdevelopment and economic vulnerability.A village, that some claim is the mostpolitically volatile and sensitive area in the entire north Kashmir, had seenthe the maximum number of deaths out of those who died in the entire region during civilian unrest in the valley in 2010.Over the last four days there has been an undeclared curfew in the area after the arrest of a man on charges ofstone pelting.The arrest of Nazir Ahamd Tantray, a shopkeeper by profession, led to violent protests in the area, in whichten policemen, a soldier and five civilians were injured.Following the arrest, a crowdof almost three thousand people, thronged the streets and blocked the National Highway, raising slogans against army and police for their plight. They alleged the police were making money from the arrest of thearea’s youth.However, the police claim the arrested man is involved in multiple cases of stone pelting.“Why should we arrest an innocent person? This fellow is involved in so many militancy related activities. He is behind every stone-pelting incidentoccurred in Palhalan area as he distributes money among youth and instigate them for stone-pelting,”Deputy Inspector General of Police (North Kashmir) JP Singh said.Police and paramilitary forces were deployed in large numbers in the area to maintain law and order and they are still patrolling the area’s silent streets.Palhalan village has been leftuntouched by development. Image courtesy: Shahid TantrayA majority of the residents ofthe areaare associated with Jama’at-i-Islami, a grand old religious-cum-political outfit,which was created in Kashmir in 1945. The denselypopulated village is home to many Islamic originations, besides being a strong hold of Jama’at which has strong roots here since 1975 when its leader, Zahoor-ul-Haq, started madrassas here.The body is also the parent party of Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s group,which has since strengthened its grip over the village by opening a number of madrassas over the last decade.It may explain why every time there’sa call for a shut down by Geelani it is religiously followed in the area. This often resulting in ascuffle between the police and protesters, that invariably ends with the blocking of the national highway, which is the only lifeline for the rest of the north Kashmir.In the recent past, Palhalan has seen the most curfews. When the rest of Kashmir enjoyed days of peace even during turbulent periods in 2008 and 2010, Palhalan once remained under curfewfor 29 consecutive days, primarily because the residents usedto block the highway.During one such blockade, Adil Ramzan, a 12-year-old Class VII student became Palhalan’s first casualty. He left his house after lunch to play cricket but ended up joining his friends in a demonstrationseeking independence for Kashmir.Adil was allegedly shot in his back and his body was brought home through the wet paddy fields of the village because the entire highway was blocked. However, it wasn’t the first time his family had seen such a death.His grandfather, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Sheikh, a member of the Jama’at member, was also killed in 1999 by unidentified gunman. Sheikh’s two brothers, who were Hizbul Mujahideen militants, were killed in encounters.Palhalan at one point was a stronghold of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the militant wing of Jama’at, which cashed in on the political radicalism in the youth.The first ever political killing in Palhalan was of a Congressworker,Ghulam Ahmad Sheikh, 54, who was shot in 1991. The areas of Tantray Mohalla, Sofi Mohalla and Rai Pora have seen a bulk of the deaths: 325 people from 150 households in theseareas have been killed in the past two decades.Out of them, 180 were directly or indirectly related to militancy.Since mid-2000, there has been a revival of sorts in ideological divides. Many mosques and seminaries funded by different groups have mushroomed in the village. The thrust of the preachers at these institutions has always been on evoking the sprit of Islam observed in Prophet Muhammad’s time.Salafism, though an ideology exported from Saudi Arabia, has been gaining in popularity in many parts of Kashmir. The Salafis seek theimplementation of Islamic law in all Muslim societies and this wave of radicalism has swept across Palhalan.But Salafism is not the only ideology that has made inroads into Palhalan,“Almost all sects of Islam exist here. Most seminaries teach the religious educationin different ways,” a local resident said.The surge in religious activities has driven the villagers away from local politics.The last time local MLA, Iftikhar Ansari, tried to address a public rally,he wasbooed and people shouted pro-independence slogans.Later, when some elders went to ask him to install a water pump, he reportedly retorted by telling them thatthe village didn’t need a water pump since its inhabitants were more intent on Azadi (Freedom)!A walk in the lanes and bylanes of Palhalan is a stark reminder that the village hasremained stagnant and trapped in its own history. The roads are full of potholes and the water hasfilled them.There are hardly any good schools inthe village. A few schools that have come up don’t provide quality education and the teacher-studentratio is appalling.Despite this, most young in the village are educated and their thirst for knowledge had driven them to distant places.Some like Manzoor Ahmad Bhat did his M.Sc. in Chemistry from Kashmir University, but he says it hasn’t done him much good. His shop, a small Photostat business, lies near the entrance of the village.At one point Bhat had secured a job in a private construction company based in Delhi.“I was asked to produce a verificationcertificate whichthe police refused. Then I started this shop. We have never seen the benefits of successivegovernments. If we are Indian citizens, then why don’t we get a simple verification certificate from police?” he said.“I am a stone pelter because this is only way we can give vent to our anger. If I die, I won’t repent. It will be the death of martyr,” Bhat said.Most of the youth echo Bhat. A high literacy rate has not translated into employment for them and self-employmentis the only way out. Fayaz Ahmad Wagay lost his brother in the 2010 unrest and says he also lost his chance at getting a job in the Middle East.“I wanted to leave to work outside India but I was denied passport. I had talked to a friend in Gulf but they(police) wrote an adverse report against me. They said my brother was a stone pelter and he died in militancy related incident. Hewas nota militant,” Wagay said.The discontent against the state is visible. When the local body electionshappened last year, no one opposed it. In fact, the candidates did door-to-door campaigning. This was the first time since the insurgency in Kashmir that something of this sort happenedin Palhalan.After the election, even though the representativeswere not given adequate powers, Palhalan was the only places where Sarpanches and Panchs had been able to translate the promised development into action to some extent.But with the killing of one the famousmembers of the local bodies most of the sarpanches from the area resigned.Villagers also say they have faced discrimination becausethey are residents of the area.The political violence coupledwith thediscrimination meted out to people on the basis of their political affiliations has adversely affected thedevelopment in the village. The elected representativesseldom visit the area.They come only when the election time is around. In one of the recruitment ralliesfor J&K police, the young menfrom Palhalan were askedto pack their bags and leave.“When we asked them for reason, they said they won’t take people from Palhalan,” Abid Ahmad Shalla, aPalhalan resident, said
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 08:39:51 +0000
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