Young militants in J-K pose threat to political setup

He is 21 years old and his pictures are doing the rounds on social media, while the other is 45 years old and security agencies don't know how he looks like.

While the younger one, who operates in south Kashmir, is more into social networking sites, the other, who has made north Kashmir his bastion, is averse to using mobile phones.

Meet the two militant commanders - Burhan Muzafar Wani and Abdul Qayoom Najar - who demonstrate the complexities and evolution of the militant landscape in Kashmir.

Wani has emerged as a young militant commander and the face of new generation of Kashmir's militancy at a time when number of militants in Valley has declined and infiltration, according to the Army, has been brought to the zero-level.

On the contrary, Najar employs completely different methodology to militancy where secrecy and invisibility remains paramount preference. This tactic has been the hallmark for his survival for 20 years, making him longest ever surviving militant commander in the region.

Active since 1995 and rising in the militant ranks, Najar was poised to be chief operation commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. But earlier this year, he led a rare rebellion forming Lashker Islam outfit, seen as ultra radical in its approach and style.

Ironically, in the 25-year-long history of armed insurgency of Kashmir, Wani became first militant commander to release his pictures on social networking site Facebook, which police and security agencies describe as an attempt to galvanise militancy and bring back romance of early 1990s when thousands of young men joined militant ranks with a dream to bring back Azadi (freedom).

Coming from a middle class family, Wani like new generation militants, have puzzled the security agencies which are spinning theories about the reasons that makes educated youths of middle class families, especially in south Kashmir, to join militancy. Since January this year, around 34 youths have joined militancy from south Kashmir with security agencies saying more may join once weapons are available to them. In over a decade-long armed insurgency the prospective militants have never felt shortage of weapons as a hurdle to join militancy. It is happening now.

As Wani and his group of militants pose for pictures every other day unmasked removing the veil of anonymity surrounding underground militancy in the state, police in north Kashmir faced its biggest embarrassment this year when they released pictures of Najar declaring a sum of Rs 10 lakh reward money for anyone who would inform police about him. This happened after a spate of attacks by Najar-led group on telecommunication network across Kashmir. However, the picture police passed off as Najar turned out to be of a shopkeeper.

Najar's name surfaced after the attacks on mobile towers in Sopore and its adjacent villages in April and May this year. Later, killings of Hurriyat Conference sympathisers rattled the separatists who condemned it and sought investigations at the highest level. Hizbul Mujahideen initially blamed Indian agencies for these attacks but later suspended Najar from the outfit accusing him and his associate for carrying out the attacks.

Najar, like Wani joined militancy when he was just 16. He was later arrested in 1992 but that didn't deter him as he joined the ranks again in 1995. Since then, he is operating in north Kashmir. He doesn't use modern cell phones or telephone and blames mobile telephony as the major cause leading to arrest and killing of top commanders in north Kashmir.

Police officers say for long militants used veil of secrecy to hide from the radar of security forces. But now, they claim, it is changing. Given the reach and access of security agencies it becomes impossible for new-age militants to remain undercover.

But they too have come of age, claims a senior security official.

A senior police officer said that young boys joining militancy poses challenge to political setup which has failed to address political aspirations not to anti-insurgency grid. He claims that anti-insurgency grid continues to be strong in Kashmir and number of militants has not increased substantially. "When you remember militants by names you should know their number is not large and they are dwindling," he said.