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THE NATION: KASHMIR MILITANCY
THE ACID TEST
For a state disfigured by a decade of violence,
rights violation in Kashmir is beginning to approach the manic radicalism
of the Taliban. On August 8, two young women in downtown Srinagar were
splashed with acid. Their crime: not only were they wearing make-up but
they were also without veils. The Islamic dress code had been grievously
flouted and punishment was mandatory. Confessing to the act, an unknown
militant group, the Lashkar-e-Jabbar, issued a warning: it's only the
beginning of a campaign to prevent "immodest" dressing among
Kashmiri women and August 15 would be the deadline.
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| VEILED FEAR: Women are the latest targets of militant
ire |
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Though the acid was diluted and the women released
after first aid, scars in the community have begun to show. Terror is
discernible among women, many of whom have started donning cloaks and
veils, even as the sale of black silk (for veils) has increased. Young
men have been visiting mosques advising people to follow the Islamic way
of life. Even the local imams have started stressing on a dress code.
But equally prominent is the dissent. "Wearing
a burkha should be an option for women, not a compulsion. There should
be a campaign to educate women on the use of the veil instead of using
force," says Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami.
"It is a serious matter," agrees Girja Dhar, chairperson of
the state Women's Commission. "The only silver lining is that all
major militant groups have condemned the attack."
Indeed, prominent militant groups have dissociated
themselves from the dress code campaign. Says Hizb-ul Mujahideen spokesman
Salim Hashmi: "These are anti-movement forces out to undermine our
armed struggle." Senior BSF official R.P. Singh differs. "Militant
groups were openly advocating adherence to an Islamic dress code but now
that the people are resisting the use of force, they are backing out."
Militants, however, deny the charge. "The dress code is on our agenda,
but it is not a priority," says Lashkar-e-Toiba spokesman Abu Osama.
"At present, our objective is to secede from India."
Intelligence reports suggest the campaign began
at least a fortnight before the attack and is reminiscent of early 1990
when similar campaigns were launched. Those efforts had come to a naught.
Will this one sustain the onslaught of popular resistance?
—Izhar A. Wani in Srinagar
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