In J&K, more loyal than the king

The polls so far were largely free - but there were some cases of coercion

By Prabhu Ghate

While a large number of Kashmiris voted freely in the first round of polling, despite the threat of militant violence, it is important to recognise that there was also coercion by the securitgy forces. Only if this is confronted is there a chance that it can be stopped in subsequent rounds.

Coercion was more frequent in villages off the main roads that remained univisited by the election observers and the media. I was a member of one of five teams of civil society representatives that visited about a hundred polling stations in the two districts of Baramulla and Kupwara. As we were driving though Magham, in Handwara constituency, we were stopped by a crowd of agitated villagers from the hamlet of Uchchar, about 2.5 km away up a kacha road. They said personnel of the 24 Rashtriya Rifles accompanied by ikhwanis (former militants, or ‘renegades” had visited early in the morning, beaten some of them up (we were shown fresh wounds) and herded like ‘bhed bakris’ down to the polling station. They said they told the RR that they were not willing to vote in this elections as in previous elections, but had their ID cards impounded until they cast their votes. Apparently a fracas then occurred and there was firing in the air.

We drove up to Uchchar to talk to the few women who remained in the village, when 7 ikhwanis in full battle dress regalia with guns and a walkie talkie sets walked out of the woods from the opposite direction. Realising the villagers would no longer be able to talk, we returned to Magham to check with the RR. An RR personnel, who appeared to be an officer (he was wearing no insignia of rank, and would not disclose his identity), refused to discuss the incident and told us to contact his CO in Drugmulla. However, it was too late in the day to backtrack.

As we were leaving the villagers begged us not to report any names since they would have absolutely no redress in the event of a ‘crackdown’. Some of them had voted, but were still awaiting the return of their ID cards.

Members of the other teams saw security force personnel banging at doors, and several villages reported announcements made in the morning at the behest of the forces from mosques, urging people to cast their votes. In places people gathered on the roadside after voting to show their ink marks to the forces. “Otherwise they will come to our houses to check,” they explained.

It is not clear whether the initiative for coercion came from field commanders being more loyal than the king, or whether there was pressure from higher levels. Whatever the case, it is reprehensible that any instances of coercion ocurred at all, in the face of clear instructions from the Election Commission.

*The writer was part of the Coalition of Civil Society a team of volunteer observers for the J&K elections.

(Source: Indian Express)

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