Abandoned In Lotus Time

The coalition finally gives way, removing the semblance of federal order in Kashmir. Now, in direct line of Centre.

- Naseer Ganai in Noupura

AIMAN (2) and Deeba (3), too young to understand the scope of the tragedy, sat by the body of their father, Aijaz Ahmad Shan, who was shot dead by security forces in this small hamlet in Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Outside, slogans against Mehbooba Mufti and her People’s Democratic Party (PDP) filled the air. The irony is not lost on the mourners—Noupora was once a PDP stronghold, the home of party vice-president Sartaj Madani, Mehbooba’s uncle. In official records, Shan (25) would probably become just another casualty. But for the people of Noupura, his death reflects everything that is wrong with the manner the governments—both at the Centre and the state—mishandled a sensitive issue and ended up fanning anti-India sentiments in the Valley.

Around the time Noupura was echoing with slogans against her, Mehbooba was meeting Dineshwar Sharma—the Centre’s pointsman in Jammu and Kashmir— at the secretariat in Srinagar. She had no inkling that a few hours later, the PDP’s ally for three years, BJP, would pull the plug on her government. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav announced the end of the coalition government at a press conference in Delhi on June 19. The disconnect between Kulgam, the state secretariat and Delhi was never so evident than in that moment.

Noupora’s tragedy unfolded hours after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced the government’s decision to not extend the unilateral ceasefire after the month of Ramzan. It can be debated what the ceasefire achieved, but residents of Noupura in South Kashmir, a hotbed of militancy, say that during the truce, they could sense some calm in the South Kashmir village.