Is the Kashmir strategy working?

Pahalgam and Delhi show terror network is alive and kicking despite muscular responses

Alok Tiwari

All indications in the initial probe of Delhi blast point towards a Kashmir-linked terror angle. It is not clear whether this explosion, that has already claimed 13 lives, was triggered intentionally or the explosives went off accidentally while being transported. Either way, this was clearly part of a terrorist operation. Investigators are also trying to find links of this incident with a haul of nearly 3 tonnes of explosive material in Faridabad from a doctor of Kashmiri origin. This comes within months of Pahalgam attack in which terrorists mercilessly gunned down over two dozen innocent people. That led to a mini war with Pakistan.

Together the incidents have once again left people feeling helpless, vulnerable, and angry. They will also serve to further widen the communal divide in India. They thus serve the agenda of those who thrive at these divisions. The probe agencies are already onto many suspects in the blast as well as explosives haul case. They will undoubtedly catch the rest. The culprits who target innocent people and seek to destroy the internal harmony of the country deserve the most stringent punishment under the law.

While home minister Amit Shah and others are assuring that nobody responsible will be spared, it must be ensured that the process is completed within a reasonable time and carried out with integrity. We have had several cases, a couple of them very recently, when even initial judgments in terror cases have come after decades and resulted in acquittal of the accused. This leaves the victims without a sense of closure and citizens uncomfortable with the fact that the agencies might have netted and imprisoned wrong persons for years under pressure to crack the case quickly. Both outcomes are best avoided.

Just like after Pahalgam, the blast in capital should also lead to questions about whether the government’s Jammu and Kashmir strategy is working. Two previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments and the current BJP-led government have all come to power promising a more effective Kashmir policy. The party and the larger Sangh Parivar backing it have always criticised the previous governments of being soft on terror and security. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when campaigning for the job, famously asked the then incumbent why he could not effectively seal the borders so no infiltrators come in. It is telling that after 11 years Modi being in-charge of borders, terrorists still come in, and BJP itself makes infiltration an issue in elections.

This is not for the want of dramatic actions. Nine years ago, we had demonetization that derailed the economy for months. A big rationale for that was that it will break the terror funding through counterfeit currency operating out of Pakistan. In the years following, Uri and Pulwama happened. Then came the biggest step of all—scrapping of Art 370 and splitting J&K state into two union territories. These effectively removed any semblance of autonomy in the region and gave full and direct control of everything to central government. This was supposed to end the terror attacks.

However, it led to a spike in targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits and government officers and finally to Pahalgam and now Delhi. In between there have been Balakot surgical strike and Operation Sindoor that nearly started a full-fledged war. Under Modi government the security forces are also supposedly responding much more robustly to provocations of Pakistan army. These ‘strong’ responses as opposed to weak steps of previous government were meant to deter the terrorists. Has that been the case? Is the government really deterring terrorists or cluelessly playing whack-a-mole? Not only does the strategy appear ineffective, but it has also alienated the population of Ladakh which was never the case. That region shares a huge border with China which makes it more dangerous.

Every government, Modi government more than others, is loath to admit a mistake. Still, present situation should lead to a rethink of strategy. Both Pahalgam and Delhi strikes reveal local support to terror network. That this has not changed in decades should be concerning. In the three full fledged wars that India fought with Pakistan, the Kashmiri people have solidly stood by Indian forces. That scenario began to change with unfortunate rigging of elections and installation of puppet regimes in 1980s by the then Congress governments. BJP, far from trying to win back that support, has done everything to alienate locals even more.

I have repeatedly made the point that what is tolerable in areas where people are fully integrated with the mainstream does not work where integration is weak. Unfortunately, all the steps the current regime has taken in Kashmir is aimed at pleasing its mainland base. Cross-border strikes, harsh border action, scrapping Art 370 all make BJP’s supporters happy, it does nothing to integrate the people of Kashmir with the rest of us.

Government cites booming tourism in Kashmir as evidence of its success but that is a fallacy. Tourism often did well earlier too. People need to work to make a living. But if there is an underlying grievance, there will be elements that will exploit that. That grievance cannot be addressed by building more roads or setting up new businesses, though even that has not happened in Kashmir. BJP, whose very rise is linked to exploiting communal grievance, should understand that better than anyone else. Hindus in India have done very well economically, BJP managed to create grievance among them and rose to power.

It needs to think similarly about people of Kashmir. You cannot win anyone over by depriving them of liberties and their sense of identity. A peace forced at gunpoint will always be fragile. It must be built on the foundation of respect and accommodation. If Delhi blast makes those in power think along these lines, the needless deaths in it may have served some purpose.

This column appeared in Lokmat Times on Nov 13, 2025