South Asia Terrorism Portal

INDIA

J&K: Undercutting an Opportunity
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management
 

Results for 278 of the 280 District Development Council (DDC) seats, which went to poll between November 28, 2020, and December 19, 2020, in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) were declared on December 22, 2020. The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an amalgam of five Kashmiri political parties, won 110 seats, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 75 seats; Independent, 50 seats; Indian National Congress, 26 seats; Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), 12 seats; Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party and Peoples Democratic Front, two seats each and Bahujan Samajwadi Party, one seat.

The PAGD constituents that won DDC seats include Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), 67 seats; Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (JKPDP), 27; Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC), eight; Communist Party of India-Marxist, five; and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement, three. 

All the 278 elected members are scheduled to take oath on December 28.

The first ever DDC elections in the Union Territory of J&K were conducted in eight-phases, between November 28, 2020, and December 19, 2020. The elections were held for 280 seats, but counting for two seats has been stopped on the direction of the State Election Commission. Counting in one constituency in Kupwara (Drugmulla) and one in Bandipora (Hajin-A) will not be carried out due to some technical issues. “The counting has been deferred till further orders and the ballot boxes shall remain in a strong room under proper protection”, an official letter read.

Remarkably, the elections were free of violence, despite attempts by Pakistan controlled terrorists to derail the electoral process, targeting grassroot level political leaders/workers before the start of the process. The notification for the first phase was issued on November 5, 2020, and at least 10 political leaders/cadres of various political parties, including eight from the BJP alone, were killed between June and October 2020.  

Further, despite the targeted violence against political leaders/workers and threats to the general population, the overall percentage of voting across J&K was reported to be 51.2 per cent. While the Jammu Division recorded 68.4 per cent voting, the Kashmir Division saw a 34 per cent turnout. Though the voting percentage remained low in the Kashmir Division, it did improve in comparison to General Elections 2019, when the Kashmir Division recorded just 19.2 per cent voting.

Moreover, though there were claims from the opposition that they were not allowed to campaign freely, there were no allegations of rigging or other malpractices during the electoral process.

All the political parties and winning independent candidates welcomed the results, claiming that the mandate was in their favor. JKNC Vice President and former Chief Minister of J&K Omar Abdullah whose party, and the alliance, had made restoration of Article 370 the principal element of their election agenda, asserted, on December 23, “the people of J&K have said it with a huge majority that they do not accept (the decisions of) August 5, 2019.” JKPDP President Mehbooba Mufti asserted that DDC results have made it clear that people of J&K voted en masse for the PAGD “thus rejecting the unconstitutional decision to abrogate Article 370.” She claimed that people have overwhelming supported PAGD “which stands for restoration of J&Ks special status.” JKAP Senior Vice President Ghulam Hassan Mir declared, “We have won these elections purely on developmental agenda as our party does not believe in hollow and misleading slogans.” He observed that the DDC elections completed the third tier of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Raj Act, which meant that a grassroots level democratic set for an overall development of the people had been established. The two winning candidates of the PDF asserted that development issues were on their agenda.

Safina Beigh, the wife of former deputy chief minister Muzafar Hussain Beigh, who won as an independent, stated, “the elections are the answer from my voters that they are for strengthening democracy and Kashmiris can't be only be seen as stone-pelters." Several of the other independent candidates were of the same opinion that development was their main agenda.

Significantly, along with the Elections for 280 DDC seats, elections for 12,153 Panch constituencies; 1,088 Panchayat Halqas, and 234 Municipal Bodies, which had fallen vacant due to several reasons like death, resignation, etc., were also held during the same period. The last Municipal Bodies elections had been held in September-October 2018 and the last Panchayat polls were held in November-December 2018. In between, Block Development Council Elections had been held in October 2019. Thus, the democratic infrastructure at the local bodies level has been established. 

It is pertinent to recall here that, after the August 5, 2019, constitutional amendments, the then existing State Assembly of J&K ceased to exist, bringing an abrupt end to the democratic set up at the State-level. In this situation, democratically elected members of the local bodies comprising of Panchayats, Municipal Corporations/Councils/Committees and Block Development Councils, have remained the only democratic political mechanism through which the voice of the people in the Union Territory could reach to the Union Government.

Indeed, on December 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi boasted that “the three-tier Panchayati Raj system has been established in Jammu and Kashmir within a short period of it becoming a UT [Union Territory].” Asserting that, in these elections, the people of J&K had voted for “strengthening roots of democracy in J&K” he emphasized that “people, even from other political parties, say the elections were free and transparent.”

While all this augur well for the future of the restoration of the democracy at the higher level, attempts to exploit political gamesmanship to undermine the mandate given by the people who participated in the DDC elections have already been initiated and are likely to prove detrimental in the long run.

According to the election results, the PAGD with the help of INC would control 12 DDCs (nine in Kashmir Division and three in Jammu Division) out of the total 20 DDCs, while the BJP would secure a majority in five DDCs (all in the Jammu Division). The situation in the remaining three DDCs (two in Jammu Division and one in Kashmir Division) remains fluid. 

However, in a pattern of manipulation that has become common to the post-election scenario where the BJP fails to secure clear majorities, allegations of horse trading to change the equations in DDCs in J&K have now surfaced. Omar Abdullah asserted,

Mehbooba Mufti in a tweet alleged,

It is widely believed across J&K's political spectrum that JKAP, which was floated in August 2019 soon after the abrogation of Article 370 with the BJP's blessings, was intended to create an alternative to the traditional parties of J&K.

Meanwhile, reacting to the allegations of horse trading, Altaf Bukhari, JKAP President, in an interview published on December 26, countered with the allegation that a winning JKAP-fielded independent candidate from Srinagar had then joined JKNC. He asserted, "They started this game and I will end it, and the end can very well be the depletion of their (PAGD) 70 winning candidates." He claimed that 21 independent candidates who won the DDC polls were "with the Apni Partry" and more independent candidates and DDC seat winners from the PAGD were set to join him in the following days. Bukhari argued,

According to the JKAP, four DDC winners (three from Shopian and one from Srinagar) have, so far, joined the party. These included two independents and one each from JKPDP and JKNC.

Whatever be the truth, every attempt at horse trading can only diminish faith in the democratic process, and will potentially feed resentment and instability in the Union Territory.

Despite facing several odds, the people of J&K have come out and participated in the electoral process. If their mandate is undermined by manipulation, this would only feed into the extremist narrative, wasting an opportunity to move towards the restoration of normalcy in the Union Territory, and augmenting the potential for violent exploitation by Pakistan-backed terrorist formations.

INDIA

Jharkhand: PLFI's Fading Footprints
Deepak Kumar Nayak
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On December 22, 2020, an ‘area commander’ of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), identified as Punai Oran, was killed in an exchange of fire with the Security Forces (SFs) at Chete village near Lodhma under Nagri Police Station limits in Ranchi District. Punai, carrying a reward of INR 200,000 on his head, was active in Ranchi, Gumla and Khunti, and had about 14 cases pending against him in Ranchi and other Districts. PLFI ‘chief’ Dinesh Gope had reportedly given one AK-47 rifle to Oraon, who used to extort money from businessmen and estate traders.

On December 21, 2020, a ‘zonal commander’ of PLFI, identified as Jidan Guriya, was killed in an exchange of fire with District Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel at Koengsar village under Murhu Police Station limits in Khunti District. Jidan was ‘second-in-command’ after PLFI ‘chief’ Dinesh Gope, in the organization and had over 100 cases relating to murder, loot and extortion lodged against him in different Police Stations in the region. He carried a cash reward of INR 1.5 million on his head. One AK-47 rifle, two walkie-talkies, three magazines, 75 bullets, 12 cell phones, 75 SIM cards and INR 27,500 in cash, among other belongings, were recovered from the encounter site. Interestingly, Jidan's wife, Jonika Guriya, who is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, is the chairperson of the Khunti Zilla Parishad (district council).

On December 18, 2020, a PLFI cadre identified as Sonu Kumar Nalanda, was killed in an encounter with SFs in a forested area of Bando village under Gudri Police Station limits in West Singhbhum District. After the encounter, another cadre, identified as Phoolchand Manda, was arrested. SFs recovered three pistols, seven magazines, 49 live cartilages and several mobile phones from the encounter spot.

According to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), a total of nine PLFI cadres have been killed in the current year so far (data till December 27, 2020). During the corresponding period of 2019, 10 PLFI cadres were killed. Through 2019, 10 PLFI cadres were killed.

Since the formation of PLFI in July 2007 a total of 99 PLFI cadres (including nine in 2020) have been killed. Some of the other prominent PLFI cadres killed during this period include Gujju Gope, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on February 24, 2019; Amrit Yadav, ‘zonal commander’ on March 7, 2016; and Guddu Oraon aka Karam Chand Oraon, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on February 26, 2011.

Meanwhile, SFs have arrested 29 PLFI cadres in the current year. A total of 625 PLFI cadres (including the 29 in 2020) have been arrested since 2007. Prominent among these arrests are Jitendra Patar Munda aka Jitan Munda aka Prasant ji, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on March 9, 2018; Arjun Rana aka Kapil Pathak, ‘zonal commander’ on October 4, 2017; Tulsi Pahan, ‘zonal commander’ on April 3, 2016; Baidhyanath Yadav aka Sudhirji, ‘zonal Commander’ on January 17, 2016; Mukesh Yadav, 'sub-zonal commander' on August 9, 2014; Bhushan Lakra, 'sub-zonal commander' on July 14, 2014; Rajan, ‘zonal commander’ on June 17, 2014; Lakshman Yadav, ‘zonal commander’ on December 5, 2013;Roshan Yadav, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on November 25, 2013; Dilip Yadav aka Virat Gope, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on July 30, 2013; Bhaiyaram Oraon, ‘sub zonal commander’ on July 28, 2013; Parmeshwar Gope aka Prem Gope, 'sub-zonal commander' on July 8, 2013; Tulsi Pahan, ‘zonal commander’ on June 15, 2013; Sanjay Tiger aka Yuddhveer, ‘zonal commander’ on May 31, 2013; Dhaneshwar Yadav aka Kargil Yadav, ‘zonal commander’ on December 13, 2012; Surya Don, ‘sub zonal commander’ on October 26, 2012; Gobardhan Singh aka Rajendra, 'sub-zonal commander' on June 24, 2012; Ranvidar Bhuinya, ‘zonal commander’ on May 29, 2012; Kargil Yadav, ‘zonal commander’ on May 26, 2012; Jetha Lorenz Toppo, ‘zonal commander’ on April 13, 2012; Raj Kamal Gope, ‘zonal commander’ on April 14, 2011; Manna Yadav, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on February 6, 2011; Pahindra Gope, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on September 28, 2009; Shankar Yadav, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on September 20, 2009; Santosh Yadav,‘regional commander’ on August 11, 2009 and Lorense Mundri aka Carlos, ‘zonal commander’ on October 27, 2008.

Mounting SF pressure has also resulted in the surrender of 31 PLFI cadres since July 2007, with not a single surrender in 2020. The prominent among those who surrendered are - Kargil Yadav, ‘zonal commander’ on August 31, 2018; Karan Gope aka Karan Samrat, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on March 11, 2018; Lalit Baraik, ‘sub-zonal commander’ on December 20, 2016; Maheshwar Singh aka Mahesh Singh ‘zonal commander’ on October 28, 2016 and Pankaj Munda aka Phagua Munda, ‘zonal commander’ on February 18, 2013.

SAIR had earlier noted that PLFI activities are principally connected with extortion and are more akin to an organized crime gang than any ideologically driven movement. Latehar, Superintendent of Police (SP) Prashant Anand, thus disclosed on December 6, 2020,

Conspicuously, Pradeep Ganjhu is the person who has a nexus with both the Tritiya-Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC/TPC), another splinter group of the CPI-Maoist, and PLFI, besides working for the criminal gang.

Further, on July 24, 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) chargesheeted Shakuntala Kumari and Hira Devi, both wives of PLFI ‘chief’ Dinesh Gope; Jaiprakash Singh; Amit Kumar and Fuleshwar Gope, in a case pertaining to the seizure of INR 2.53 million in demonetised currency. The money was collected through extortion.

With extortion as its primary objective, PLFI has principally targeted civilians. Out of a total of 118 fatalities inflicted by the PLFI, 111 were civilians and seven were Security Force personnel (data between July 2007 and December 27, 2020). There was a total of 217 fatalities (111 civilians, seven SF personnel, and 99 PLFI cadres) in PLFI-linked violence.

The period between 2011 and 2016 saw the peak of PLFI targeted violence against civilians, with at least 14 civilians killed in each of these years, with the exception of 2015. Since 2016, however, a total of 16 civilians have been killed, including one in the current year. As this data suggests, PLFI has indeed lost its strength.

However, the group continues with its attempts to keep its extortion business intact.

A December 1, 2020, report, revealed that office bearers of different trade bodies, including the Federation of Dhanbad Zila Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Jharkhand Industries and Trade Association have expressed concern over extortion messages sent by PLFI to traders. On November 29, 2020, four computer traders from Dhanbad District received separate WhatsApp messages in which they were asked to pay INR 5 million each.

In the meantime, according to a December 4, 2020, report, to further weaken PLFI, the Jharkhand Police decided to release photographs of seven wanted PLFI leaders, including its 'chief' Dinesh Gope, with a bounty of INR 2.5 million on his head; Jidan Guriya (subsequently killed on December 21); Tilkeshwar Gope aka Rajesh Gope, with a reward of INR 1 million; Awdhesh Kumar Jaisawal aka Abodh Kumar Jaiswal aka Chuha aka Bihari, Ajay Purty, Sanichar Surin and Mangra Lugun, all carrying rewards of INR 200,000 each on their heads. Awdhesh is from Nalanda, Bihar; while the rest are all from Jharkhand: Sanichar, from Gumla; Mangra, from West Singhbhum; Dinesh Gope, Jidan Guriya, Tilkeshwar Gope, and Ajay Purty, all from Khunti District. An official statement on December 4, 2020, from Police headquarters read,

Referring to this development, an unnamed senior Police officer stated,

Sustained SFs operations over a period of time have weakened PLFI. Not surprisingly, the outfit is making continuous efforts to regain its influence in the region, without notable success. The present operations against PLFI are timely and need to be further consolidated to wipe out this extortionist gang's footprints from the region.