Paralysis of Administration in the Valley
With the increase in the intensity of militancy in the valley since January 1990, things got out of control for the State Administration. Postal Services and Banks were closed, there was no attendance in Central and State Government Offices, public transport was disrupted, and food supplies were received from outside the state by the local food and supplies department, control of which had been seized by the extremist elements who distributed it further as per their will. Some meetings were called for, but with no result. In one of the meetings at the beginning of the extremism, I remember that I accompanied the then PMG, Ved Kumar, who was a short, puny gentleman. While he was dressed in a formal suit, I, a six-footer, had put on a beige coloured safari suit. The guard at the entrance stopped me, saying, “Security men are not allowed into the hall.” Ved Kumar looked back and told them, “Bhai, he is our Director.” And that is how I got in with a wry smile on my face.
It was unfortunate that many Officers were killed during the period, prominent among them were Musheer-ul-Haq, an Islamic Scholar and VC of Kashmir University, H L Khera, General Manager of HMT, Lassa Kaul, Director of Doordarshan and other Officers from the State Government. I recollect that only about a month earlier, Lassa Kaul, who was then Director, Radio Kashmir, a Director from the Staff Selection Commission and I had conducted an interview in the AIR, Kashmir premises. During the interview, a bomb was hurled at the gate of the AIR. I suspect the killing of Lassa Koul must have been an insider's job who must have informed the militants about his movements. He was a thorough gentleman, handsome and soft-spoken. With a military background, I anticipated the moves of the enemy, and therefore, restricted my movements, and as described earlier, shifted my entire office to the GPO complex.
One by one, the post offices were targeted by the terrorists, either burnt or looted or threatened. Most of them were closed, though some of them were shifted to secure Head Offices. I approached the IG police, a Muslim gentleman, who, while discussing, objected to my saying Anantnag and said that it is Islamabad. Besides, he told me that the Department of Posts will have to bear the cost of the security personnel provided. He asked me to write down my requirements so that he could order the recruitment of further policemen and get them trained before posting them as per my requirements. I could gauge his attitude and slowly eased myself out, never to show him my face again.
Surprisingly, a lady officer, Indu Gupta, was posted as Director, Vigilance in Srinagar. It simply showed the apathy of the Directorate towards the conditions prevailing in Kashmir. I had been holding the charge of both Director (HQ) and Director Vigilance jointly till she reported. Now I had to look after her also. She did not know the environment, and in my absence, she rushed to Sathu, Barbarshah S O, which was ransacked by the militants. As I came to know about this on my arrival in the office, I immediately sent a vehicle and called her back. I explained to her the situation and advised her not to venture out of her office in any case. Slowly, she got scared seeing the situation for herself. She was living alone in the IQ, and one evening she had nothing to eat as markets were closed and she had not stored anything. So she came to our quarter, talked to my wife, who assured her not to worry till we are here. She had her dinner with us. They became good friends thereafter. Over a period of time, she managed her transfer out of the Circle.
I also received an order to attend a training course in IIPA, New Delhi during the said period, which further showed that the Directorate did not know about the ground reality in the Circle. There was no PMG, and I was alone at that time. I could have eased myself after handing over charge locally to some senior officer, but I preferred not to. On the contrary, I wrote to the DDG concerned, firstly, to cancel my orders, and secondly, not to send any Officer or staff member for training till the situation improves.
However, I did feel concerned about my family and the education of my children. A few times, the processions returning from the UN Office stopped at Sheri Kashmir Park in front of GPO, and started throwing stones at the building inside the park. They ransacked it as well. It was a crowd of roughly a lakh of people. I thought to myself that if this crowd attacks the GPO, what will a small group of CRPF men do? How many rounds of fire can they fire to control the mob? The very thought sent shivers down my spine. I instantly resolved to send my family out of the valley. I told my wife to go to Shimla and try to get admission for the children in some reputed school there, and if possible, also seek employment there as a teacher. She showed reluctance by saying, “How can I leave you alone. I had to explain to her that this step was taken at least to save the lives of the children and not to hamper their education. She agreed and went to Shimla, but returned to Jammu, saying that only one school agreed but offered me a job as a warden, which I refused. Fortunately, by then, Burn Hall School, Srinagar, had opened a branch in Jammu titled St Peter’s Higher Secondary School and all children from the erstwhile Burn Hall School were admitted there. My wife also got a job there.
The situation under Governor Jagmohan changed gradually. Things were slowly brought to near-normal, though the migration of Kashmiri Pandits could not be reversed. They are still languishing in Jammu and other places in the country, hoping that a day will come when they will be back in their homeland. One good thing that happened was that the Governor posted a Relief Commissioner, who distributed relief to the migrant Kashmiri Pandits who were not employed. In addition, tents, blankets and warm clothing were also distributed initially, and food items and milk were supplied thereafter. This was a great step for the rehabilitation of the migrants who were either accommodated in vacant schools and other office buildings or in camps at specified places in Jammu, Nagrota and Udhampur. In fact, the Kashmiri Pandits regard Jagmohan as a messiah for the work he did for their resettlement outside the Kashmir valley. (to be continued)
