Authorities in J&K exert control through fear among government employees

Srinagar: Rather than focusing on restoring public confidence through improved law and order, authorities in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, headed by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, appear to be asserting their control through fear, by tightening their grip over the administration. A series of administrative orders intended to scrutinise the local bureaucracy appears to be the preferred method, putting in place an administrative framework to inculcate fear into the functioning of employees.

The latest set of government orders seek UT Level Screening Committee verification of the “character and antecedents” of employees in government.
“Every government employee is mandatorily required to maintain absolute integrity, honesty and allegiance to the Union of India and its Constitution and do nothing which is unbecoming of a Government servant,” reads the government order issued by the General Administrative Department of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on September 16.

According to the latest directive, “action will be initiated against employees who fail to report relatives, persons sharing residential space or associates who are connected with any foreign government, associations, foreign nationals known to be directly or indirectly hostile to India’s national and security interests. Action will also be taken against employees in case they fail to report an unauthorized association with a suspected or known collaborator or employee of a foreign intelligence service.”

In this latest order, authorities also specify that “during periodic verification of character and antecedents of government employees, it has to be kept in mind, whether there is any involvement in any act of sabotage, espionage, treason, terrorism, subversion, sedition, secession, facilitating foreign interference, incitement to violence or any other unconstitutional act by the employee.”

Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Commissioner/Secretary to the J&K government, in another order on September 16, stated that the administrative departments including the heads of those departments must mandatorily obtain the latest vigilance clearance for any employee applying for a passport. This is because the acting system does not have any mechanism which would “prevent issuing passports to those employees who are either under suspension or face departmental inquiry or prosecution on account of serious charges”, the order stated.

“The Anti-Corruption Bureau has also brought to the notice of the government that the present mechanism for issuance of passport to government employees without obtaining requisite vigilance clearance results in the issuance of passport to those employees against whom vigilance cases are pending,” the order read.

Soon after the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian Constitution on August 5, 2019, the government’s Special Task Forces have been actively scrutinizing the 4.5 lakh government employees.

In April 2021, the authorities invoked Article 311 (2) (C) of the Indian Constitution against three employees who were terminated from their positions without any procedural enquiry. School teacher Idrees Jan from Kupwara, Abdul Bari Naik, an assistant professor from Kulgam, and Nazir Ahmad Wani, a naib tehsildar from Pulwama, were terminated by Lt Governor Sinha in the larger “interest and security of the state”.

The sacking of three employees from the service of the J&K government on April 28 created a sense of fear and panic among other employees, who stated that they were feeling overburdened by the greater control exerted by the Union Government, especially since August 2019.

The latest order reads, “Any association or sympathy with persons who are attempting to commit such acts or involved in aiding or abetting or advocating “act of sabotage, espionage, treason, terrorism, subversion, sedition, secession, facilitating foreign interference, incitement to violence or any unconditional act”, such acts should be listed. Involvement of an individual’s immediate family, persons sharing residential space with the employee to whom he or she may be bound by affection, influence, or obligation or involved in any of the above acts, directly or indirectly, having a potential of subjecting the individual to duress, thereby posing a grave security risk,” the order reads.

On June 10, at least 11 employees from several departments such as police, education, agriculture, skill development, power and health were terminated in a similar manner after they were suspected by the authorities of being involved in “terror funding”.

Authorities in Kashmir insist that there is no requirement to issue any formal enquiry against the dismissal of those employees who have “objectionable character”. Four of the dismissed employees reportedly belonged to Anantnag district, three hailed from Budgam, and one each from Baramulla, Srinagar, Pulwama and Kupwara districts.

As Fayaz Ahmad, who works with one of the government departments noted, the tension among the employees has risen tremendously not just procedurally but in terms of code of conduct. “We are on our toes knowing anything suspicious related about work or any such involvement who is deemed problematic. Such a level of fear was never there before. There is no ambiguity that we can be dismissed for any vague reason,” he lamented.

The latest government orders are adding to the insecurity and fear among employees, stating that, “on the basis of discrete verifications, a list of adversely reported employees received by the government from time to time shall be taken into cognizance by the concerned administrative departments, which shall then immediately report it to the general administration department.”

—–

.

.