The controversy over Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s statement on Thursday on using ‘terrorists to neutralise terrorists’, suggesting the revival of the 1990s ‘Ikhwan era’, refuses to die down with even former Kashmiri counter-insurgents expressing dismay over the proposal.
“That was a different time in 1990 and this is a different time, and anyone has to be misguided to say openly that we will create state-sponsored gunmen again,” Usman Majeed, a former counter-insurgent who is now a Congress legislator from Bandipora, told The Hindu . “I was shocked when I heard Mr. Parrikar say that. It will be very difficult for India to find another Kuka Parray in Kashmir.”
Asked to elaborate on his comment after the sharp criticism, Mr Parrikar said he was suggesting “exploiting the differences between existing terror groups.” After the creation of the force, the “Ikhwanis” and renegades let loose a reign of terror not only on the militants and their families but also on civilians.
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Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s remarks in the capital earlier this week on “using terrorists to neutralise terrorists” has sparked widespread unease across Kashmir, reviving memories of the brutal counter-insurgency efforts of the Centre in the 1990s.
Police officials put the estimated number of Ikhwanis (also known in Kashmir as “Nawabadis” as the Ikhwan began from Nawabad village in north Kashmir) over the years at 4,000, they say very few of them were surrendered militants; a majority were those hired by the State to fight the militants.
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“They worked for the Army and the police had absolutely no say in their matters. No one could stop them or impose any laws or rules upon them. While they did inflict massive damage on the militancy in Kashmir, they also killed, raped and tortured thousands of civilians,” a senior police official told The Hindu.
Some of the top commanders of the Ikhwan ul Muslimoon across the Valley were Javed Shah in Bandipora, Ghulam Mohammad Mir alias Muma Kaana, and Kuka Parray from Hajin village.
Guns to ballots
Parray, considered the most dreaded commander of the Ikhwanis, started his own political party, Awami League, in 1996 and successfully contested the Assembly elections, starting a flow from the Ikhwan to mainstream politics.
Several Ikhwan commanders followed Parray with Javed Shah, Naba Azad and Papa Kishtwari joining the National Conference while others including Usman Majeed and Kuka Parray’s son, Imtiyaz Parray, joined the Congress.
Muma Kana was awarded the Padma Shri in 2010 for public service for his role as an Ikhwani.
“Besides politics, the Ikhwanis were absorbed in the Territorial Army and the Task Force of the J&K Police which goes to show how enmeshed they were with the State. But their power waned after 2000 because a lot of them were killed by the new militants who had a clear aim of eliminating the Ikhwanis,” said Khurram Parvez, a human rights activist with the Coalition of Civil Society. “The Ikhwan still exists, only it has been absorbed and made invisible. But it seems the government wants to bring the Ikhwan back.”
Kuka Parray was killed in 2002 . His son, Imtiyaz Parray, now a Congress leader, told The Hindu that while they had tried hard to move away from the shadow of the gun to politics, he was shocked by the Defence Minister’s statement.
“We saw what happened to those Ikhwanis who fought for the Army and also what happened to the families of those who died fighting. While the Army men got higher ranks, the Ikhwanis were only disgraced in their communities,” Mr. Parray said. “It is a horrible idea to pit Kashmiris against each other — by giving them guns the government will get them killed.”
‘Why is Mufti silent?’
Both Mr. Majeed and Mr. Parray say they are more surprised by the silence of Chief Minister Mufti Sayeed after the Defence Minister’s statements as the Mufti, in his first term as Chief Minister, had gone against the Police’s Special Operations Group and the Ikhwan.