Amidst growing protests over land transfer to CRPF, additional troops dispatched to Kashmir

On November 14, dozens of locals from southern Kashmir’s Pulwama district held a demonstration in Kakapora village against the transfer of land for the construction of the camp of Central Reserve Police Forces. Protesting locals stressed “at least 800 families directly relied on the land by growing wheat, mustard and paddy” over it. 

The state apparatus in Kashmir has approved the transfer of state land for various purposes including over 65 acres in favour of the CRPF. Other than land transfer for the establishment of battalion camps in southern Kashmir, this November, at least 5,000 extra paramilitaries were also deployed across the state which includes India’s Border Security Forces.

A move to further militarize the Kashmir region, thousands of additional paramilitary troops have been dispatched directly by the central government, New Delhi. On November 10, the interim authorities led by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha sought the string of targeted killings to be the reason for beefing up the security in the region. Scores of paramilitary forces were initially seen occupying the community centres and marriage halls fortifying them with new sandbag bunkers within the Srinagar city. However, the resentment shown by the locals compelled the authorities to dispatch some of its paramilitary forces to other accommodation. 

Following the spree of target killings allegedly by militants that left 12 civilians killed (non local vendors, members from Hindu minority community) in October. Police and paramilitary scrutiny across the region has been intensified. This year, Kashmir valley reportedly witnessed over 44 killings which includes; 19 militants, 13 civilians and 12 armed forces personnel. 

A spokesperson of the Central Reserve Police Forces Abhiram Pankaj confirmed recently that around 2500 troops have arrived who were deployed all over Kashmir valley.

There are around 650,000 to 750,000 soldiers already stationed in the Himalayan Kashmir region, making the region the most militarised place in the world, as per the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society. Adding to that figure, another contingent of around 40,000 paramilitary personnel were added when the special status of the state was quashed unilaterally in 2019. 

Due to the ongoing low-scale insurgency after it began in the 1990s, the Indian government responded by bringing in draconian laws that were introduced to curb the militancy and popular dissent in the region.

Laws like the Armed Forces Special Power Act, Public Safety Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and similar other provisions granted government forces impunity to operate under absolute power. So far in the armed rebellion and counter response from the state, tens of thousands of people have been killed in the protracted Kashmir conflict that continues to keep Himalayan region on the edge.  

Human rights figure

Kashmir’s landscape is dotted with permanent and temporary military establishments, notes several rights organisations which includes “air-fields, firing ranges, camps, barracks, bunkers, check posts, many of which function out of former civilian facilities such as university campuses, stadiums, cinema halls, schools, hospitals, recreational clubs and government rest houses”. 

As per the report titled Torture: Indian State’s Instrument of Control in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, “in January 2018, the State government disclosed in the Legislative Assembly that about 21,400 hectares (214 square kilometres) of land was under the illegal occupation of the armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir.”
“The government obviously through this figure is only highlighting its concern on the land which is illegally occupied by army, but in fact the land which army has acquired through legal procedures also amounts to around 19,000 hectares, therefore the total land held by armed forces in Jammu & Kashmir is more than 40,000 hectares (400 square kilometres, which in size is larger than 12 smallest sovereign nations of the world),” the 550-page report added.