JK News Today Commentary
Ever since abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, one of the primary goals of the Modi government has been to free Jammu and Kashmir from the menace of terrorism. The Modi government had interlined the Pakistan sponsored terrorism into Kashmir and the barriers that Article 370 had created between the erstwhile state and the rest of the country.
Pakistan took advantage of the vulnerabilities and the inner conflict within the Valley since 1947. It could find opportunities to vitiate atmosphere as it had a small support base on this side of the ceasefire line. . Its support base intruded into various aspects of life – education, revenue and police and the Article 370 provided an immunity of sorts.
This nexus brought about the situation in which anti-India forces grew strong, leading to the manifestation of terrorism across the Valley- forcing the minorities to flee the land of their forefathers in darkness under the threat of murder and annihilation. More than 350,000 Kashmiri Hindus, better known as Kashmiri Pandits, had to run out of the Valley. That was a momentous tragedy, the depth and scope of which remains unmeasured until this day- more than 37 years of their migration.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday held a high-level meeting to review the security situation, during which he made three critical points: (a) a complete synergy between all wings of security forces to grasp the threat of terrorism and neutralize it, (b) make J&K terror-free, and (ac) among other counter-terrorism tools he emphasized on assault on fake narratives and news.
Sinha knows is well aware of the things going wrong because of the fake narratives even when the security forces perform with extraordinary efforts and sacrifices. The fake narrative is more dangerous in multiple ways. The happenings and the narrative before Pahalgam happened on April 22, 2025 when 26 innocent civilians were showered with bullets point to his concerns. It may be very, very difficult for Pakistan to repeat Pahalgam-type incident but there is no guarantee that it would not think on the lines or attempt to do so. Pakistan is incorrigible.
Post- Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor, LG administration has seen that how Pakistan sponsored narratives in cyber space and also in the physical circles have created a polluted psychology. There are people engaged in disseminating the fake news for few monetary gains or simply because of their radical ideology. In both the cases, the attempt is to impair the psyche of the rationality. The polity tends to buy some of the fake narratives, which help sustain the theory of something big happening, and also spotlight imaginative fears.
Professionals know that there is a huge difference between the freedom of expression and deliberate attempts to distort the reality. But unfortunately, the real professionals and real-time news has been pushed to margins. The flood of the fake narratives tends to sink the real and professional handling of the events and their interpretations .In this age of social media dictated narratives, the vulnerable sections of audience, particularly young generation, falls for the spicy and the twisted narratives.
It is important to verify the credentials of the men and women involved in this. This is part of the duty of the administration as any leniency would amount to compromise with the professional ethics and duty toward national interest. National security and sovereignty is supreme. That should be respected. Everything else is secondary to that.
LG Manoj Sinha has given a direction and if that is followed in letter and spirit, the goal of terror-free J&K can be achieved sooner than later.
